Dog training equipment - It is expensive, so why doesn’t it train the dog?

In my professional capacity as a pet behaviour specialist, I am constantly challenged by the strange perceptions of pet owners.

A few of years ago, I was swimming my Springer James in one of Telford Town Park’s splendid pools. As a two year old, he needed constant supervision, prone as he was, (once an all consuming scent hits his nostrils) to ‘plot loss.’ As I was watched him swimming, my whistle was in my mouth, ready to forestall any sudden, unscheduled adventure.

Suddenly, I spotted a smart, be-suited middle aged man with a scrumptious but immaculate, young red setter. The setter looked ready to join my James in the water, and the chap seemed aghast at this prospect. In order to be helpful, I offered to call my dog out of the water. To this end, my whistle already to my lips, I blew the recall signal. James looked up, I gave the recall hand signal, and out he came.

I praised James when he reached me. He was all smiling, all wagging, long tongue hanging out, and happiness and goodwill exuding from his very being. Three gallons of water and several strands of vegetation were shaken off his body. Not all of this attached itself to me. I had neglected to give him a ‘down’ command before he reached me.

Everyone who has a propensity to depression should have access to a Springer; they should be available on The National Health. Their sheer joy of living is a real tonic. However, as you can see, you do need a sense of humour.

The Setter’s owner looked amazed. He fully understood the great personal conflict a gundog has in leaving excellent swimming water on command.

He said, ‘that was wonderful, I need my dog to do that, where do you get those whistles, they’re wonderful, aren’t they?’ He actually thought that the whistle made James come out of the water! Many people have no understanding that whistles, clickers, leads, head collars etc. are only, at the best, training aids, or at the worst controlling aids.

Many people attend two day courses with me, in order to help to gain a reasonable relationship with their dogs. They all attend with a car boot full of ‘equipment’. ‘None of it works,’ they say. ‘I bought a clicker, and when my dog ran off, I clicked it, but nothing happened. ’Or, ‘I bought a head collar, and put in on, but the dog just panicked.’

Guess what? Equipment is there as an aid to training, not to replace it!

Opinions vary as to the use of equipment, food, and so on. The truth is, dogs are individuals, as are people, and the level of training required by owners is as varied as the number of owners. Methods also vary with the capability of the people, and the motivation and capability of the dog.

Food is a useful teaching tool, but does not replace respect or good handling, and needs to be faded out once a behaviour has been learned. Head collars might get your dog to walk calmly with you, but will usually not help with walking nicely beside you off lead. The more you rely on equipment, the less control you have over the dog off the lead. In my opinion, if you rely on equipment, this is a judgement call on your relationship with your dog. You need to teach your dog to obey you willingly on command. Dogs have to be taught to associate coming back to you when you blow the whistle.

Rather than thinking about equipment, why not explore behavioural training?

Many people do this without putting a name to it, and they are usually people who have a great instinct for working with animals. However, for the rest of the pet owning population, this can be a steep learning curve! However, I do this stuff for a living, and have trained for many years. Anyone can learn to shape behaviour in their pets, it simply takes a good teacher, and a willing student. Chuck the equipment!

Should you holiday in Mediterranean Islands, take time to observe the local ferals.

email: petsbehaving@aol.com
Telephone: 01746 764332