Rachel’s Dog Training

Contrary to what many people think, a dog trainer does not train a dog. No. A dog trainer trains the owner of the dog to train the dog. There is a good reason why the dog trainer trains the owner rather than the dog. The reason is that from a dog’s point of view, he can have only one boss. There can be only one alpha dog in his pack (family).

If the trainer were to do a foolish thing and train the dog, the dog would then consider the TRAINER as the alpha dog of his pack. The dog would obey the trainer, but the owner would still have an apparently untrained dog because the dog would only obey his alpha dog — the trainer.

There is an old saying in the South that goes, “If you think you are so tough, try ordering another man’s dog around.” The fact is that you will not have any luck at all in ordering another man’s dog around, or another woman’s dog around, either. Dogs have only one master. That is why dog trainers train owners to train their dogs.

There is almost a mystical connection between a human and his or her dog. Dog have the capacity to give all of their love and devotion to one human — their human. I don’t intend to offend cat lovers, but the fact is that no other animal on earth has formed a bond with humans that are as strong and as lasting as dogs.

I think the credit for this human/dog connection must be given to the dog. Dogs have adapted to living with humans in the human’s environment rather than the other way around. There is simply no devotion greater on earth than a dog’s devotion to his master, and humans can have more than one dog, but a dog has one master.

All the best,

Rachel and the Dogs

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Dogs, like people, have varying degrees of native intelligence. Humans are given an IQ (Intelligence Quota) test to determine their basic level of intelligence. There’s no such test for dogs.

Basic intelligence of dogs is often broken down by dog breed. That is, the generally held opinion is that some dog breeds are just smarter than other breeds. I’m not so sure that this notion is actually fact, but that’s the general consensus.

Doberman Pinschers, Border Collies, Poodles, German Shepherds, Papillions, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers are considered the smarter breeds of dogs. But individual dogs within these “smarter” breeds, dogs of other breeds, and mixed breed dogs can be just as smart. Sometimes the “smartness” of the dog is determined by the “smartness” of his trainer.

The fact is that dogs are born with a desire to please their masters. They don’t WANT to be “bad dogs.” Some dogs are, of course, more willful than others, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t really want to be “good dogs.”

The human/dog relationship is one of the most interesting. Dogs are pack animals. That is, they adjust their behavior to what is considered acceptable within the pack they belong to. Have you ever seen a mother dog “correct” a puppy’s behavior? If he bites too hard or tries to eat out of turn, she turns him over on his back and literally gets in his face.

From the puppy’s point of view, when he’s adopted, he becomes a member of a new “pack” and he’ll do his best to conform to the acceptable behavior of the group, no matter what pure breed he is or what combination of breeds he might be made up of.

And he’s not a “dummy” if he doesn’t understand what you are teaching. You must be the alpha dog in his new pack, and you must learn to communicate with your puppy so that he’ll be “smart.” If your dog isn’t learning what you teach him them you may need to rethink your strategies.

All the best,

Rachel and the Dogs

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There’s an old adage that says you can’t buy love. I’m really not so sure about that. You can buy a dog, and a dog is love. Dogs give their owners unconditional love. They don’t care what their owners look like — short, tall, fat or skinny — it’s all the same to a dog. They don’t care whether you’re rich or poor, whether you live in a mansion or a one-room shack, he will love you, and he’ll love you unconditionally.

Actually, the relationship between humans and dogs is unique. Mankind has domesticated all kinds of animals over the millennia: cats, birds, even snakes and skunks. So why is it that the dog has turned out to really be man’s best friend? The long relationship between the two species might explain it. The history of humans and dogs coexisting goes as far back as 15,000 years. We’ve had time to get to know one another pretty well.

Dogs, it seems, provide measurable health benefits to humans. Studies show that those who have dogs as companions have lower blood pressure than those who don’t have a dog. Studies have also shown that dogs can lower the blood pressure of those who are in high-stress jobs.

Research has proved that just a 12-minute visit with a dog reduced stress-inducing hormone emissions and lowered blood pressure and pulse rate in hospital patients. The dog — he really is man’s (and woman’s) best friend!

Rachel and the Dogs

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Food is one of the main things that revolve around in dog’s heads. Most dog’s await their dinner in anticipation, hope for the crust of their owners sandwich and just dream of food all day long. However, their are some dogs who only eat when they’re hungry, turn their nose up at the sandwich crust, and dream of pats and plays all day, not caring if they are offered an early dinner.

Food is a major part in training your dog as well. Which ever kind of dog yours is, food plays a major part in any obedience. The story below proves this theory. I am training two dogs, one who loves food, and the other not as much. But if you use a variety of different foods they both learn and enjoy equally.

I had three different types of treats; cheese, carob and their every day dry food. These dogs already knew basic commands; sit, shake, etc, so I tested the response to all of the treats using the same command.

I first asked the dog who loves food to ‘Shake’ and rewarded her with some dry food. The next time I asked for her paw she wasn’t as enthusiastic, thinking that she would only receive her everyday dry food as a reward.

When she gave me her paw the second time I rewarded her with some cheese. She loved the cheese, but she ate it so fast that I don’t know if she even tasted it. The next time I asked for her paw she was more enthusiastic to give it to me expecting more cheese.

This time after she had given me her paw I rewarded her with a piece of carob. This she really savoured and waiting for more she looked ready to give me her paw again to gain another piece of carob or cheese. She knows that I have delicious treats for her and she wants to do what she has to in order get them.

Then I tested this on the dog that wasn’t as interested in food. She also knew the command ‘Shake’ so I asked her for her paw and rewarded her with some dry food. She nearly turned her nose up at it but thought that she had better eat it in case it was all she got.

I asked for it again and rewarded her with some cheese. You could see that her thoughts changed when she spotted the cheese believing it would be worth her while. She took the cheese happily and savoured the taste. Wanting more she became more alert awaiting another command.

I asked for her paw again and she gave it to me really fast. I then rewarded her with a piece of the carob. Her face really lit up at the taste of this and when she swallowed she wanted to give me her paw again to get another piece of carob. I could tell that both dogs loved the carob more than anything else.

I then used the three different treats to train them to ‘Rollover’. I first taught the dog that loves food. I lured her over using the dry food first. She wasn’t as impressed with this treat but took it and enjoyed it anyway. I repeated this step with the cheese and she looked more interested in learning the trick.

Then I used the carob to guide her to roll and she wanted to continue the lesson so she could get more carob. I continued to teach her with the carob and she learnt more quickly than she had been when I was teaching her other commands using the dry food.

Then I tested it on the dog that isn’t as interested in food. I also taught her to rollover. I first tried to get her to roll using the dry food. She didn’t want it so she didn’t roll. So I tried her with the cheese and she cooperated well. Then I tried her with the carob and she worked just as well as she did with the cheese.

My theory worked. Both dogs worked better with something that they really like. Every dog will cooperate with either a really tasty treat like carob or a favourite toy.  I continued to teach the dogs other commands such as ‘Wave’, ‘Beg’ and ‘Walk Backwards’ using the carob and cheese and they learned faster than the commands I taught without it.

Good luck with your training!

Rachel and the Dogs

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