Who were your favorite teachers in school? Picture those individuals for a minute, and I’ll bet I can describe them: Interesting, exciting people who made learning fun. People who were kind to you, and made you feel respected and appreciated. The teachers you remember most fondly were probably “tough” in that they had high expectations for you, and required you to learn and perform a lot. They encouraged participation, didn’t make a big deal over your mistakes, but cheered on your successes. You probably did well in their classes and felt “smart” in that setting. Am I right?
In fact, people who meet that description are using the same sort of teaching techniques that Whole Dog Journal promotes for training dogs. We advocate for these applications of positive reinforcement because they work so well, do not present a danger or threat to dogs or their handlers, and are so enjoyable for owner/teachers and their dog/students alike.
This issue of contains an unusual and, I hope, inspiring concentration of articles about positive training and behavior. Consider making these articles your new year, newly positive training guide!
I put Whole Dog Journal’s training advice to work every time I need to take photos to illustrate our articles. For the article on target training, I went over to my friend Donna’s ranch. Donna has five of her own dogs, and frequently finds several of the neighbors’ dogs hanging around, so I knew we’d have lots of fun training any number of canine models to target. I arrived at the ranch armed with my camera, loads of treats, several clickers, and a target stick. When I pulled out the target stick, which I had fashioned from a wooden back scratcher with a small ball on the end, Donna started laughing. “Remember Howard?” she asked me.
Years ago, Donna had a laid-back, 100-pound, yellow dog named Howard. When visitors would ask Donna about the stately Lab-mix, she would say mischievously, “That’s Howard; he’s a stick dog.” Of course, to most people, that would imply the dog is a compulsive stick chaser, one that is likely to drive you nuts by repeatedly dropping a stick at your feet in an effort to get you to throw it. Looking at the laid-back old fellow, most guests would look a little dubious. “Here, I’ll show you,” Donna would helpfully insisted. “Howard, go get your stick!”
Howard would gravely get to his feet, go into the kitchen, and dutifully return with a long, thin stick that had something on one end. He’d bring the stick back to Donna, and then, as the bewildered guest looked on, turn his slowly wagging tail toward her . . . and settle in for a satisfying session of back-scratching! Not quite the type of “stick dog” people expect!
I hope you have fun finding new tricks for a stick with your dog.
