Down through the years many different training methods have been developed to teach our pets various things. In the end analysis the main goal of any training method is to learn how to better communicate with your dog. When a dog understands your request, he or she is far more likely to respond obediently. If your dog doesn’t understand what you are asking, you will never accomplish your training goals.

There is a well-known national dog trainer whose name is Margot Woods. Margot has been training dogs for over 40 years and has made a short but interesting statement regarding communication. She says, “if you treat your dog like a child, your dog will treat you like an animal.” Dogs communicate significantly different that humans and often times completely opposite from one another.

The humanizing of our pets is leading us into a complicated and ethical dilemma, which for some pet owners has resulted in complete frustration and failure. There is far more behind the surrendering of unwanted pets to shelters than some unexpected pregnancy. An unresolved behavior problem is the leading cause for pets being abandoned. These unresolved problems often times are the direct result of people treating there pet like humans and creating the bad habits they really want to eliminate. That is another one of my statements designed to “win friends and influence people.” In fact, I hope to do just that. If I can help influence you that dogs communicate and learn differently from people, you may resolve some of those vexing dog-related issues.

So, which training method is the best one to use with my dog? I’m glad you asked that question. There is no one method of training that is going to work for every dog with the same level of effectiveness. One of the most popular training tools in dog training today is the use of treats as a reward. Food is a great way to reward a dog for a job well done. However, it is not always the best training tool with a dominant dog. Let me explain. Most people have seen the documentaries on wolves or wild dogs. These packs of wild animals have a pecking order. The alpha dog is the leader of the pack. When the pack hunts down some prey and kills it, which dog in the pack do you think will eat first? The alpha-dog of course.

When the alpha dog in the pack wants to get a subordinate dog in the pack to comply with a request, what does he or she do? Does the alpha dog offer the subordinate dog a food reward in order to get it to comply with a request? Of course not. And this is one reason why so many people have training problems with their dogs. You just can’t train most dogs using treats and expect the dog to respond obediently with distractions. Sure the dog will listen when you have the treat and no one else is around, but introduce something more motivational than the treat and your dogs schooling just went out the window.

I think people perceive the use of treat as positive and more humane than using a little discipline. Anything negative must be bad, right? All one needs to do is watch two or three of the neighborhood dogs playing together and the touching that goes on is anything but purely positive. Older, well-behaved dogs will nip or bite younger unruly dogs in order to communicate proper social behavior.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in using treats for training too. But there is nothing more likely to lead to error than to begin with the part rather than the whole. Any training method needs to be balanced if it going to accomplish anything lasting.

Let me give one example. Dogs that jump on people are to be found everywhere. One of the most common methods used to cure this problem is described something like this. First, when the dog jumps on you, turn to the side and ignore the dog until it sits. As soon as the dog sits, reward the dog with a treat. It is assumed that the dog will learn that sitting is rewarded and the jumping is ignored and eventually the dog will stop jumping. I know people that have been using this method for over a year and they tell me that their dog jumps up more now than ever. Why? Dogs learn by association. The dog has actually learned how to jump by being rewarded. The dog learned, first I jump up, then I sit and then I am rewarded. The dog has learned the sequence perfectly.

I know that this article hasn’t really given you anything new to train your dog, but perhaps you have learned a few things that you shouldn’t do. I am not saying that you shouldn’t give your dog treats or reward your dog for compliant behavior. I am saying that you’ll never train your dog using treats and love alone.

Contact Information

Tom Beitz is the owner of the Academy for Puppies and Dogs and is an authorized dealer for Pet STOP Hidden Dog Fences. Tom can be reached at (716) 628-0651 to answer your questions or he can be found on the web at www.smartdogtrainer.com . E-Mail: Tom@Smartdogtrainer.com

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