I try not to give unsolicited advice or judge my friends when I’m around them & their dogs. For the most part the dogs truly are good enough, but they aren’t all necessarily what I would call trained. (As a preface - this article features photos of my friends’ amazing dogs that have joined me on hikes and are pretty darn good!)
One thing I’ve noticed is that our beloved pet dogs are pushed and dragged and get in trouble a lot. The owners spend a lot of time being affectionate, but not very much time laying a groundwork for training language or communicating how they want life to look. They fix what’s happening in the moment, but not in a way that teaches their dog what they want in general.
Kudu
My friend absolutely loves her two small doodles and is fine with them being just a little trained. Ultimately, as long as the dogs are safe and minimally annoying to be around, if she’s happy, I’m happy. One day we were doing a project on her living room floor when the younger dog walked over to us and right on to our workspace and supplies. My friend immediately and absentmindedly shoved her dog off with a swift sweep of her arm. No ‘out’ command. No directional hand signal. No attempt to communicate.
I was really taken aback when I saw this happen. Like, really shocked and upset. I had to carefully consider why that would surprise me so much. I took the time to build a language with my dog and a relationship in which she is mostly observant to my cues & respects my communications. I was surprised by how aggressive it seemed to me to shove a dog with no communication or warning. Unless the situation we were in was dangerous, I would never shove my dog. Ideally no one would.
Luna
From the dog’s perspective, sitting on the floor is usually an invitation to interact. Most of the time, accepting that invitation is well received by affectionate owners who pet their dog whenever it comes up to them. Looking at the situation from the dog's perspective, how was she supposed to know this time was different? How could the dog have avoided getting shoved?
Building communication and respect with a dog involves giving a lot of guidance as well as some corrections. These corrections are designed to make a dog temporarily uncomfortable so they associate the discomfort they feel with the behavior we deemed dangerous or otherwise undesirable. They also are designed as building blocks to the end goal of creating a language and relational system that decreases the need for corrections over time. My friend got done what she needed to get done in the moment - the dog was moved - but in this case the dog experienced discomfort and wasn’t set up to learn anything about how to avoid it in the future.
When I begin an interaction with a dog where I need them to do something, I make sure I get the dog’s attention. This is a key step that is often missed. Then I embody an ‘on the job’ energy so the dog knows something is being asked of them. I give a clear verbal and/or directional cue, saying just one word they know and not a sentence of human talk. I visualize what I want my dog’s response to be. After that I wait a beat, which is 1/2 a second to 2 or 3 seconds, giving my dog a chance to process my communication and decide what to do.
If my dog completes the command with little or no hesitation I reward them with the relaxation of my energy, a ‘good dog’ and/or a little scratch.
Heidi
If they don’t complete the command, I determine if it’s because they didn’t understand or they are being obstinate. If they may not be clear on what I’m asking, I repeat the instruction with more guidance, like a hand signal or by repositioning myself. If they're having an obstinate moment I may increase my energy and move closer to add pressure. I’ll keep doing this until I get the outcome I want, then relax and reward or even simply shift my attention away from them to remove the discomfort they felt a moment before.
Sometimes the pressure is in the form of a touch, but only following multiple commands and combined with other cues. My dog will learn that I touch them in a not super pleasant way when they ignore a command. It will never be in a way that could cause harm, just sufficient annoyance (you know, kind of like what you feel when your dog continues to do the stuff you wish they would stop doing). This touch is usually a light pulsing pressure to help the dog make the choice to move away without doing moving them myself by pushing them. If necessary I’ll guide a dog with pulsing pressure on the collar in the direction I want them to go, associating the action with the initial command by repeating it and the directional cue (such as pointing).
Bootsie
These days people bristle at the thought of intentionally causing a dog any discomfort. Part of it is this generation's zeitgeist dog training myth that rewards can solve every problem. They can't. Part of it is projection. We don’t like that most of our lessons come through discomfort and consequences, so we try to shield our dog from that. Of course we don’t like causing our dog discomfort, however when it’s done intentionally that discomfort is proportional and temporary. When we abstain from guiding our dog’s behavior through deliberate corrections, we unintentionally double the discomfort they experience - the discomfort of the natural consequence of the behavior -like pulling on the leash or getting too excited to make good choices - as well as the discomfort of our usually too harsh and, from their perspective, out of nowhere reaction.
In the situation in my friend’s living room, I would have done a few things very differently. First of all, I would have made sure my dog had sufficient exercise so she wouldn’t be as excited about involving herself in my human tasks at home. As I sat down I would I’d glance at my dog to see if she’s interested or not, knowing that action could be misinterpreted as an invitation. If she started coming over, I’d give a light ‘eh-eh’ sound, put up my hand like a stop sign and tense my energy to let her know that wasn’t the right move. If she kept moving towards us I’d repeat the verbal cue and go from the stop sign cue to waving my hands gently in a ’shoo’ movement. If that still didn’t work I would start getting up, as if to walk into her space and move her out of mine (I have found usually just acting like I’m about to get up is enough to make the point). When she gives up and goes back to her spot I can reward that choice with a light, sing-songy ‘good girl’ and go back to what I was doing knowing that my dog is in place, at least for now.
Be kind to your dog by learning some training techniques so you can give commands and apply pressure effectively. Guide your dog’s behavior in each moment in a way that builds their understanding for future situations. Make the effort to deliberately apply the training techniques, even when they are hard to wrap your head around in the beginning or when they take a bit longer that you’d like to produce results. Be aware enough of your actions to anticipate situations where your dog may make mistake. Be aware enough of your dog to give them cues before they make the mistake to help prevent it. Notice the first few steps of a bad idea and give your dog a chance to listen to the commands you already taught them. If all that doesn’t work, use as little pressure as possible or as much pressure as necessary to guide them out of a behavior or situation you don’t want and into a behavior you do want. Last step: repeat as needed and enjoy life with a companion and teammate you can communicate with.
