han Irish Wolfhounds
How to be a Good Puppy Trainer
Train Yourself First
A lot of thought and effort goes into being a good trainer, and most of it is a mental thing. Puppies have spirits, just like the rest of us, that you must understand and encourage in ways that will make sense to your dog. Your puppy has bestowed on you the highest honor, one you�d never receive from a human: a lifetime commitment to respect your judgment and abide by your rules. You need only to show her how.
In order to show your puppy how, you need to remember five key things that a good dog trainer does:
� Accepts and modifies his own personality
� Never blames the pup
� Recognizes the pup�s unique personality
� Understands his (the trainer�s) role in the training process
� Learns from the dog
Recognize and Adjust Your Personality
Now�s the time to analyze yourself. Take a pen and paper and write down three adjectives to describe your personality. What kind of person are you? Demanding? Sweet? Forgiving? Compulsive? Be honest. Then compare your personality with your dog�s character.
Are you demanding, but your dog is a sweetie? If so, someone is going to have to change. Making too many demands on a sweet dog only frightens him; he�ll shut down or run away when training begins. If you�re compulsive and you have a laid-back dog, you�ll be laughed at. Have you ever seen a dog laugh at his owner? It�s really quite embarrassing. For you to be a good dog trainer, you must modify your personality to suit your dogs.
Never Blame the Pup
Believe it or not, puppies don�t react out of spite. Your puppy�s behavior is directly related to your reactions. My mantra?
A dog respects whatever gets attention.
Whatever gets attention. And they don�t care whether the attention is negative or positive. So if you�re out there saying, �I tell her she�s bad, but she just ignores me!� I have something to tell you: Your dog interprets your discipline as interaction and will repeat the unwanted behavior again and again.
So how do you handle unruly situations? The first step to becoming a good dog trainer is to stop blaming the dog.
Never run at your puppy for anything. Racing head long toward a puppy is scary. Visualize someone two to four times your size barreling down on you. Overwhelming. Although your puppy may collapse in fear or run from you, she won�t �know� anything. Consider other options like using treat cups.
Recognize your Pup�s Unique Personality
Yes, puppies have personalities, too. If you�ve had more than one, I�m sure you know exactly what I am talking about. So many people start their story with �my last dog was so easy!� But this isn�t your last dog. This dog is unique. And to train him, you must begin by understanding his personality.
No matter what his personality, your dog needs to interact and be understood. Puppies love to share a secret language with you, whatever the commands you use, and are content staying close to you as long as you include them in your daily activities.
The six common character types
Most dogs fit into one of six character types. Identify your puppy�s character type and remember it as you work through your training.
Eager Beaver: These creatures do whatever is required to make you happy, although they can be difficult and manic if you ignore their training. Eager Beavers want to please so much that they stick to whatever gets attention. If you like to toss the ball, puppies with this personality will bring it back 500 times. It is important to recognize the eager beaver in a wolfhound as during the first 6-8 months of their lives, exercise must be limited. If you encourage jumping, these dogs will jump on you � and everyone else � whenever excitement builds. If you encourage them to sit and settle down on command, that�s what they�ll do. With this puppy, all you have to do is decide what you want from an adult wolfhound. There is no need to use harsh training techniques.
Joe Cool: Laid back and relaxed, puppies with this personality have control of every situation and seem to be less focused on you than they imagine. Give these fellows a command, and they�ll look at you as if to say, �in a minute�, and then they�ll forget. Organize a lesson and they�ll fall asleep. Although they�re quite funny and easy to live with, training is essential for these dogs. Without it, they may not respond to you off leash. They may also be unmanageable in social situations. Diligent and patient training techniques are necessary.
The Jokester: A quick-minded perfectionist, this dog could teach you more than any book. The reason? Dogs with this personality are revved up Wonder Pups who get into a lot of trouble if they�re not directed. Dancing on the edge of good behavior, they�re biggest accolade is laughter and they must be firmly persuaded to cooperate. Laughter, after all, is attention � trust me, it�s hard not to laugh at a dog prancing around with an oversized cantaloupe in his mouth. Given clear, consistent, and stern instruction, comedians take to training well. Their puppyhood will test your patience, but they make wonderful dogs if trained.
The Bully: These dogs take themselves far too seriously. In a pack of puppies, this pup would have been destined to lead, and your home is no different. Unless you�re experienced, a pup of this nature can be difficult to train. Physical leaning and mounting are common, but thankfully not really a wolfhound trait.
Sweetie Pie: Docile and mild, these puppies like to observe situations rather than control them. They adore the people they love and must be trained under a soft hand. If you yell at them � or at anyone else � they crumble. There�s little to say against these dear little puppies. Although it�s easy to skip over training these pups, training is essential for their safety.
Scaredy Cat: These puppies like to view the world from behind your legs. Soothe this behavior, and you will make it worse. Unlike children, who might feel relieved, soothing actually reinforces the dog�s fear. You must act confident and relaxed in anew and startling situations. Tell your puppy �excuse me� and move her away if she ducks behind you. Only reinforce her if she calms down. Training is essential to help these characters feel more secure. These puppies respond best to a very gentle hand.
Understanding Your Role in the Training Process
�Training puppies is about getting them to want to work with you!�
� Training is about making your puppy want to work with you.
� Your puppy isn�t a machine; he�s a spiritual being.
� You are your puppy�s social director and his leader.
� Every puppy learns at different rates. Frustration is catchy, so stay calm.
� Your mom�s right again � patience is a virtue.
Learn from Your Pup
Isn�t dog training about controlling the dog? No. That�s not the whole story. Any dog trainer worth his weight in dog biscuits knows that learning is never a one-way street. Raising a puppy teaches you invaluable lessons that you can use with the people in your life as well. From your puppy, you�ll learn patience and forgiveness. You�ll come to understand behaviors that don�t please you. You�ll feel a commitment grow inside you and see it in your family. If you listen with your heart, your puppy will teach you many lessons.
How to Think Like a Dog
There is more to your little fur ball than blinking eyes and four paws. A fascinating creature in his own right, your puppy needs you to understand where he�s coming from before he can give you his full cooperation. No matter how many stars you wish on, your pup will never understand what it�s like to be human � no matter how much you work together.
Until you can think with and not against your dog, you can�t really train him properly. You need to explore your dog�s individual personality and learn his language.
So how do you think like a dog?
Doglish: Speaking the Language of a Pup
To be the best teacher, you need to be fluent in Doglish, the language of your puppy. Give your family and friends a lesson, too, and encourage consistency.
Doglish consists of three elements:
� Eye Contact
� Body Language
� Tone
In Doglish, words, feelings, and lengthy explanations don�t count. Complex reasoning is impossible for your puppy to follow. Puppies are so innocent in their simplicity, it�s beautiful.
Eye Contact
If you�re constantly looking to your puppy in stressful situations (someone�s at the door or the dog�s stealing a dish rag) and are having trouble encouraging your dog to pay attention to you, guess what? Your puppy thinks you depend on him to be the leader. He thinks you want him to make all the judgment calls. Before you can figure out how to handle these situations, you have to understand that to train your puppy, you must encourage him to look to you for direction.
You reinforce whatever you look at. Look at a well-behaved dog and guess what you have? You got it. A well-behaved dog.
Think of your dogs energy as a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being asleep and 10 being hyper-excited play. Between 1 and 8 is the happy zone, which includes all the endearing behaviors you love. Between 8 and 10 is the wild zone, which contains all the behaviors that drive you crazy: jumping, stealing, nipping, and running out of control, for example.
Remembering that dogs repeat whatever behavior earns them your attention, you can see that if you pay a lot of attention to a naughty dog, you get Mister or Misses Naughty. By redirecting wild energy and focusing on the good stuff, you know what you get? A perfect little angel (well almost). The bottom line is this: Only make eye contact when your dog is calm.
Believe it or not, the 8 to 10 zone is no picnic for your dog. Although he�s rowdy, he�s unfocused. This manic behavior is a simple reaction to not understanding what you expect � a matter of stress and containment. Discipline does not help because your dog often interprets it as confrontation play. Structure and training help the most.
Body Language
Body language is a funny thing. Imagine this: Your puppy becomes excited and hyper when company arrives at the front door. Desperate to save face, you start shouting and pushing your puppy as the company fends the both of you off with their coats. You try every possible command � Sit, Boomer! Down! Off! Bad dog! �but to no avail. The whole arrival scene is one big fiasco.
Body language is an integral part of Doglish. Play, tension, relaxation � they all have different postures. Knowing that you puppy thinks you�re a dog and doesn�t quite grasp the �I�m pushing you frantically because I�m unhappy with your greeting manners� concept, you�re not communicating what you think you are. In fact, you�re copying his body language. As you blaze the training trail, remember these three things:
� Stand upright and relax when directing your dog. Imagine a peacock, beautiful and proud, chest out, confident, and in control. Assume this position. When giving your puppy direction or a command, throw your shoulders back and stand tall just like a peacock. Tell your family and friends about this position and start strutting your stuff.
� Don�t face off or chase your puppy when you�re mad. To your dog, you�ll look like you�re playing.
� When you�re trying to quiet or direct your puppy, stay calm.
� Always remember, you set the example.
I know, you�re asking, how on earth can this be done? Can�t I ever get down and play or cuddle my puppy? Of course you can, those are some of the biggest perks to having a dog. Just don�t play with your puppy when he�s in a mischievous mood, or you�re asking for trouble.
Tone
If your puppy thinks of you as another dog and you start yelling, he hears barking. Barking (yelling) interrupts behavior; it doesn�t instruct. And barking increases excitement. Some of you may have a puppy that backs off from a situation when you yell (although he�ll probably repeat the same behavior later). The reason he backs off is because your yelling frightens him � he is afraid of you � not because he understands. Yelling is just no good. So what works? Commit these three tones to memory. The three D�s:
Delighted tone: Use this tone when you want to praise your puppy. It should soothe him, not excite him. Find a tone that makes your pup feel warm and proud inside.
Directive tone: Use this tone for your commands. It should be clear and authoritative, not harsh or sweet. Give your commands once from the Peacock Position.
If you bend over when giving your puppy a command, don�t be surprised if your puppy doesn�t listen. You�re doing the doggy equivalent of a play bow (a posture that invites a game). Think of it in human terms: If you ask me to have a seat while you�re hunched over and looking at the floor, I�d be less interested in where to sit and more interested in what on Earth you�re looking at. When giving your puppy directions, stand tall and proud.
Teaching children how to use the proper tone
Do you have kids? If so, you�ve probably noticed that sometimes they call out to puppies in a very high-pitched tone, and sometimes they don�t pronounce commands properly, either. And you�re probably wondering what to do about it.
Well, until kids are 12, you�re better off focusing on what they�re doing right instead of honing in on their imperfections. So my advice is simply to over-enunciate all your commands so that the kids learn to pronounce them properly and in an appropriate tone. For example, instead of saying sit, say siiit. If you over enunciate each command, your kids will notice the effects and start mimicking you. And when your kids copy your intonations, the control transfers from you to them.
Discipline Tone: I�m not much of a disciplinarian. My approach encourages more structure than strictness, but you should have a few tones that tell your dog to back off or move on. I use �No, Sir� and �No, Ma�am� a lot. Your tone should be shameful or disapproving, like �How could you?� or �You had better not touch that�. Discipline has more to do with timing and tone than your puppy�s transgressions.
As you can see, this language is much different to English. Many people assume that their puppies understand them when, in fact, they�re often picking up the opposite message. If you chase your table snatcher, your English is saying �How dare you!�, but your Doglish is saying �PARTY!� Remember, every interaction you have with your puppy gets translated into Doglish. From now on, you�re being watched from a canine�s eyes, so you had better start acting like a canine.
Don�t repeat your commands. Dogs don�t understand words; they learn sounds. Saying �Sit, sit, sit Boomer, sit!� sounds different from �SIT� � and that�s what Boomer learns. If you want your dog to listen when you give the first command, make sure you give it only once; then reinforce your expectations by positioning your dog.
And finally, The benefits of positive attention
If someone asked you what you do when you catch your puppy resting or chewing a bone quietly, would you say, �nothing, I enjoy that wonderful moment of peace.� Well that would be honest, BUT, those are the times when they ought to be showered with affection. No wild, twist-and-shout, hoot-and-holler attention.
Just calm, soothing, loving attention that makes your puppy smile inside.
A soft whispering praise is best mixed with a massage-like pat. My mantra? Your dog will repeat whatever you pay attention to.
So you decide. What would you rather have? A puppy that stays by your side with a chew bone or a frantic sock stealer that races around the house like an express train. If you like the sock stealer, you have just wasted your time in reading this section. But if the bone-chewer image appeals to you, stick with it, you�re on the right road.
Dogs are drawn to positive energy fields.
A Puppy's World
A puppy who plays by tugging learns to challenge.
A puppy who wrestles for freedom learns caution with people.
A puppy who hears yelling learns to tune people out.
A puppy who's disciplined by hand learns to fear hands.
A puppy who is unscheduled senses chaos.
A puppy who is pushed aside grows manic in its longing for love.
YET a puppy who is encouraged grows confident.
A puppy who exchanges toys learns respect.
A puppy who is given exercise learns self control.
A puppy that's taught routines learns to trust.
A puppy who delights in his name enjoys togetherness.
A puppy who is forgiven learns tolerance.
And a puppy who is adored knows the gift of shared love.
- Sarah Hodgson (Puppies for Dummies)
For much more useful information and tips treat yourself to a copy of "Puppies for Dummies"
www.dummies.com
