Clean Run - December 2017 - 55

three life
lessons
i learned from
training dogs
© eileen anderson

By Eileen Anderson

When I first started to learn about training, it was in the world of competitive
dog obedience. In that specialized
niche, dog training was mostly separate
from everyday life. You trained the dog
to do this difficult but stylized stuff.
It was a sport, a competition, a miniculture. I jumped in, competing with
several dogs. This changed the course
of my life a bit, adding new interests,
activities, and friends.
But a friend used to tease me and ask
why this training didn't include anything "practical." Why didn't it teach
my dogs not to jump on her when greeting? I would weakly tell her about the
Canine Good Citizen classes and test,
which is a great step in the right direction in the obedience world. But I also
knew in my heart that a dog could easily pass the CGC at that time and have
poor manners in real life. (I know because I did it with two dogs!) There was
something missing.
I only gradually learned about another
type of dog training; one that is based
on the science of learning but is also all
about practicality. This type applies to
December 17 | Clean Run

everything from helping dogs get along in human homes, to agility, to search and rescue (it applies beautifully to competitive obedience as well). It considers the ethics of
changing functional behaviors. It encourages us to learn about dog body language so
that we may better perceive our dogs' response to training and other situations. This
type of training emphasizes enriching our dogs' lives even as we may need to change
some human-unfriendly behaviors.
It also causes one to realize that the laws of learning apply to humans too, and
that professional dog trainers are actually training humans as much as they are
training dogs.
This was the new-to-me world of training that I had hoped was out there. This was
the missing piece. And when I finally found it, the lessons I learned caused changes
in my life, my beliefs, and my behavior.
Here are three of the many things I've learned.

Lesson #1: Perceive the dog (or person, or fish) in front of me.
I tend to live in my head. My friends tell me they could rearrange the furniture in my
house and I wouldn't notice. I believe my thoughts. So when things go counter to my
expectations, I don't always notice right away.
A potent example of this happened when I took in my once-feral puppy, Clara. She
had grown up wild to the age of about 11 weeks. She came in my house (ignoring me
and slipping through the door) because she heard my dogs barking. In the space of an
hour she had accepted me as well. She was a puppy, right? Puppies are fun; puppies
are joyful. Puppies return our love for them. So when Clara accepted me, I assumed
that would extend to the rest of the human race. She was young and she had turned
the corner fast with me.
The next day I had her in my car to take to the vet for an exam and shots. I stopped
at a friend's house. Look at my new puppy! Friend sticks her head in the car. Clara
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - December 2017