One of the imperatives of training is to be calm. If you are a hot tempered person who gets angry easily when things do not go exactly as planned or expected, your body chemistry will alert the dog that “you have gone off.”
Dogs react to this state by being excited, which is what you must avoid. Many people create excitement scenarios around getting the leash and preparing for the walk. Don’t do it. The dog needs to be calm. Don’t speak. Just walk with him quietly and be ready to correct with the neck chain if he gets excited. The quiet keeps the dog from escalating excitement, a state from within which he cannot think.
Make sure the dog has had enough water before you set out on a hot day. Feel the surfaces like roads and sidewalks: a dog’s footpads can blister during long treks on hot concrete or asphalt. If your neighborhood has been problematic because of the unpleasant dog encounters, choose to walk the dog in some other area while you are training him to be more confident with you.
Your dog needs exercise to defuse his natural energy level prior to training sessions so walking quickly along a quiet street or road allows the dog to exercise without confrontation. Other dogs, activity, noise and commotion on the street are all distractions and should be avoided in the early stages of training because the dog can learn only if he is calm and can concentrate on the task at hand without distractions. Being able to ignore the distractions and focus is the goal of training.
The average dog will, as training to walk with you progresses, begin to look up at you as you walk along. This is a sign that the training is coming along nicely. If your dog continues after a few sessions to be very distracted and unable to focus, you may be advised to look at his diet.
Dog foods can be responsible for attention deficit disorder, which causes the dog to be unfocused and always watching everything around him but the task at hand. Affected dogs often chew their legs or paws, or lick themselves excessively. Dogs, like people, are susceptible to allergens. Wheat, corn, gluten, sugar, by-products and additives of questionable quality can all produce allergies and their unpleasant side effects in your dog. A change of diet can change a whirling dervish into an amenable, trainable prince or princess. Choose foods with only meat or feed raw meat. That’s what the dog’s digestive tract is geared for. Tear, chew and swallow, just like the wolf. Wild wolves travel hundreds of miles in search of food and certainly do not eat every day, yet their energy needs are met. Wolves chew stones and lick dirt, but you should give your dog a daily vitamin and mineral supplement. Worm your dog regularly.
These are the trappings of training that will help both you and your dog be successful in your quest to share a calm, loving and disciplined relationship.
Next week: Make Optimum Use of the Sit
Ravinn O. West is kennelmaster and trainer at Ravendale Kennel and Training Centre at Cochrane, Alberta. Her latest book, The Tao of Dogs is available from www.ravinnwest.com You may send questions or comments to her via [email protected]
