Canine Capers: Many Roads Do Not Get To the Same Place

By Lesley Liddle

Lesley Liddle is a certified service and pet dog trainer. First Mate Lulu is a Corgi/Red Heeler with spots like a baby harbor seal; Crewman Leonard is a Chihuahua/Doxie with tall ears like a rabbit. Both dogs have very short legs and were originally found in California shelters.  Lesley has average legs and can be found on Orcas Island.

I don’t like head halters, choke chains, prong collars or electric collars. Or whips, or kicks, or hanging up my dog until he passes out. Bullying tactics are all a lousy way to treat or train a dog. Punishing a dog with terrifying pain should never be an option. Yes, you can get a dog to do certain things by pinching his ear until he does the task, or upping the electric shock on the collar until he conforms to your command, which is how many bird dogs are taught to retrieve dead birds, but what does that say about you, the trainer?

And how does that enhance your bond with your dog, or build his confidence in himself?  These methods of training are legal and still being used even though they are undoubtedly cruel. It’s just that dogs (animals) still do not have the basic rights we so desire for ourselves.

Oh, I did learn a lot from Cesar Milan and I do think there may be a rare time and place to use his extreme roll over if a dog is dangerously out of control and needs to absolutely stop and experience dire immediate correction. I  think Cesar has a deep understanding of dog nature and language. There is much that can be learned from him – particularly with badly out of control situations. And I know he really loves dogs, and especially hard to love last chance dogs. So he deserves lots of credit.

But as there are many approaches to learning, and one dog learns differently than another, I have found a middle ground of teaching that I use, which is to look at and manage dogs as individuals and train from that perspective.

Some dogs shut down and their eyes glaze over if you so much as speak harshly.  I had a Golden like that. She could only hear me and learn if I spoke very softly. And some dogs test you and need a strong leader all the time. Some learn quickly and some require a lot of repetition and patience.

But all dogs that I have trained respond well to a reward system. I want my dogs to learn by earning a reward for choosing the right action. The only punishment that I sometimes use is natural cause and effect, meaning if a big dog is forever dumping over the trash can I might set three mouse traps on top of it for an unpleasant but harmless effect when he jumps on the lid. That usually works pretty well and I am not in the picture when it happens.