play with your dog

When I first was interested in dog training I was introduced to choke chain. It was on my first BC Divo who was just one year old then that I needed to train. He was a great puller as all young BCs are and I'd had difficulties to go out with him on leash.

Dono

I fitted them on his neck properly as instructed and started to walk with him on heel position. With the choke chain on him he started to walk as usual and he suddenly stopped before he made the second step forward. Yes, the choke chain worked as I'd been told.

I was told that they did not hurt dogs. But then why my Divo stopped? The effect shocked and horrified me. I was in love with Divo at first sight and could not bear to think of hurting him.

The choke chain could be the very useful tool  because the dogs trained with them I knew were all nice dogs. But I thought I needed the skill to use them without hurting the dog. I was sure that Divo would be grown up before I got the skill to use them.

from left: Oribe, Dada, dono, Pepper, Jody

So I chucked them away. I lurked around. I needed someway to tell him what "heel" meant but could not find it for about six months.

Meanwhile because I was in love with him I needed to please him. I played frisbee with him. I started Agility. Divo was really good in both of them. But still I could not teach him how to heel.

One day I found an article in an English dog magazine. It was about how to teach competition heelwark. It was with a ball to play with dog as rewards but there was no mentioning of pulling leash. It just said not to let the dog make a mistake. That gave me the idea how. When I tried it with him I saw Divo's eyes said, "Ya, now you are talking. I've got it."

That was seventeen years ago. Just around that time the reward base dog training with the learning theory was started to be introduced to Japanese dog owners. Now many people knows how to teach dogs with rewards, mainly food.


In freestyle we teach our dogs many "tricks". When I saw the Crufts International these top freestylers performed many "tricks" one after another.  I would say that with these punishment base training with choke chains seventeen years ago it would have been very difficult to teach these tricks to dogs even for the professional dog trainers.

But now at my next freestyle lesson of the Cruft International there were two dogs who were taught to step on the handlers feet with their front paws, the popular trick of this year. That trick could be taught ( if not proofed) by family pet dog owners with using clicker/treats in rather short time.

They all came to me but does not mean
they would dance with me happily

So why and how there could be so many freestyle dogs who cannot simply perform two min. routine without losing the animation, attitude and attention?

Why and how there could be so many freestyle handlers who cannot keep their dogs' animation, attitude and attention for just two min?

Food rewards are very effective to teach dogs behaviors. But that doesn't mean we can cultivate co-operative working spirit in dogs. 

I tell people in my class to play with their dogs without treats in their hands for two min. with the music on. If they cannot keep the dog's attention then, then how could they expect the dog to perform the routine without treats in thehandler's hands in public?