Our Dog Has Trained Us Well
Okay, we have a question for you folks who love to train dogs -- Who does the training, the dog or the person or both?
We ask, because our cocker spaniel Leaf, smart little adolescent boy that he is, seems to be training us and everyone else as much or more than we're training him.
Example: At doggie day care this week, we hear that Leaf scratches with his mighty paw on the gates to let the staff know whether he wants to play with the big or the little dogs. They come running to fulfill his request.
Example: We use our trainer's suggestion for how to get Leaf to stop trying to lick dirty dishes in the dishwasher when the door is opened. We say, "Leave it." When he stops, we're to give him a treat and say, "Take it." Get the picture? He's trained us to give him treats by licking the plate or threatening to do so in hopes that we'll say, "Leave it" followed by "Take it."
Example: Leaf loves to beg at the table when we eat. Rather than hassle with him at every meal, we put the gate up between the hallway and dining room. He's trained us to give him a kong that occupies his little mind and focus while we eat in peace.
Example: Leaf has trained us to give him a treat so that he doesn't go into overprotective mode when an invited guest comes into the house. The guest gets trained, too, to offer him a treat.
So you tell us, who is training whom?
Categories: Observations, Amazing Angel Animals
Your post reminded me of some training that went on between my older dog Bandit and a younger new foster dog, Cayenne.
Neither Bandit nor Chase has been a counter surfer or a thief, which may surprise some of you. Bandit is a purebred Australian Cattle Dog and Chase, we think, is an ACD-Collie mix. Cay (a rescued ACD mix), on the other hand, is getting bolder and bolder around our house. She has taken to checking what is on the kitchen counter (if she can get the chance). The other night, I was sitting around the corner at the dining room table and I saw Bandit hustle Cay out of the kitchen. Apparently she had gone in there to “surf” and he had rounded her up and herded her out of there. A perfect use of his herding abilities and “dog police” personality! And this time, he was working with me, not against me. Good dog! It’s nice when the new dog learns how to be good from the others, not just bad!! Today I noticed Bandit staring pointedly at something on the living room floor. It was one of my gloves and he was trying to tell me that Cay had stolen it and left it there. I guess he didn’t want to pick it up and give it to me, lest I think he had stolen it himself. So he sat there and stared at it, but wouldn’t touch it!
You know that saying that goes something like, “Lord, make me be the person my dog thinks I am”. Well, when he was younger, Bandit thought I was a doormat and he could walk all over me, especially when we were learning to herd sheep. He had a natural instinct for it and I did not (in spite of my Scottish heritage). So much for the saying. In my case, it was “Lord, make me the person my dog needs me to be”. Or “Lord, make me the person who can provide leadership for this dog.” Or “Lord, make me a person who won’t keep getting run over by this dog and his bloody flock of sheep”. After a few years of training in agility, obedience, Rally, canine good citizen, acting class (tricks), and herding, with a little bit of tracking thrown in, I’m finally starting to measure up. He’s respecting me more and more. Now he’s even helping me train the new dog!
This story first appeared in my blog at www.8StateKate.net/Word Press on July 20, 2008.
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