Training the Trainer

I am one of the most undisciplined people you could ever meet. No gratification is immediate enough for me. So naturally we adopted a dog who was my canine prototype. My wife figured that if Hamilton was ever to get his rambunctious behavior under control he and I would have to go to training. Late in my middle age I would need to learn patience and the necessity for rules and boundaries. And so would Hamilton. It would be a tall task for both of us and whoever would undertake to teach us.

My wife does her research. She spent several days searching the web and found Andrea Arden. She was well known in New York for her positive approach to dog training. Classes were offered at the New York Dog Spa and Hotel and at Biscuits and Bath in Manhattan. We signed up for evening classes at the New York Dog Spa and Hotel in Chelsea.

Hamilton was partially house trained but a poor walker. By this time he was nearly four months old and steps needed to be taken. I couldn't function much longer racing home from my office to get him out every couple of hours. Nor was the expected exercise that I was to get from his walks going to occur if each and every change in direction was a negotiation. I would pull and he would pull back, squatting on his haunches.

I am a large person but with Hamilton's rate of growth I would soon be losing these battles of will. His pulling advantage was increased by our use of a harness that clipped the leash on his back rather than his collar. Using just a collar proved impossible. He would pull against it until he choked himself. I was getting nasty looks from people as a result. So we went for the harness.

School started for Hamilton and me right after Labor Day ( my wife came along to monitor our performance ). I was 55 years old and reliving the most miserable moments of my life, the end of summer and the return to school. Whether it was elementary or high school, it always started the Wednesday after Labor Day, making the Tuesday in between the most depressing day of the year. It took college to get me to look forward to the turning of the leaves. Even so, to this day, I can't completely shake the gloom I feel during the fall weather.

To Hamilton gloom is the result of not getting his toys to play with or the treat he desires. Going to school was a thrill. First there was the ride in the pet cab ( more on this in a later post ), then there was the excitement of going into the Dog Spa with it smells and other dogs being boarded or groomed. He is a highly social dog. In his class there were dogs of various sizes. The one characteristic they all shared was that they were under six months old. I was in a room with a dozen frolicking, yapping, cosseted puppies.

These are the dogs of Manhattan. They are chauffeured to private school, indulged with toys and activities and many are provided nannies in the form of dog walkers, groomers and day care centers. It was a life that my dog Rusty on the South Side of Chicago could never have imagined. Hamilton embraced this world. Originally saved from a kill shelter in West Virginia by a rescue society from New Jersey, he now had a driver, a tutor and dog food made from human grade ingredients, and many new playmates. He was delighted.

Our instructor lined us up around the room and explained the principles of positive, dog-friendly training: rewarding good behaviors, preventive management and using gentle methods to teach. Our lessons took place over six weeks. Emphasis was on how we as owners needed to understand our dogs needs and behaviors and to use kindness and food or treats to reward desired behaviors rather than violence and anger to punish bad behaviors. The result with Hamilton is that we now have, by our friends and neighbors admission, a mostly well behaved and, most importantly, happy dog. He is house trained, walks calmly beside me, barks only at appropriate times, is not possessive of food or toys and almost always ( no one's perfect ) leaves discarded food and junk alone when commanded to do so on our walks. He sits in the elevator and lobby and at the curb on his own. He sits, stays, comes, lies down and rolls over when asked. If he is being too rambunctious all we need to do is tell him to "settle down" and he stops the offending behavior and lies down ( at least briefly).

It was the instructor at the Dog Spa that recommended we use the Easy Walk harness to teach Hamilton how to walk. We were running out of ideas. We tried a Gentle Leader and a Halti but he hated having the straps around his muzzle. He would stubbornly sit and refuse to move. The Easy Walk fit around his back like most harnesses but the leash clipped to the strap across his chest instead of his back. This leash placement shifted the leverage to me and I was able to guide him where to go rather than having him pull me.

The instructor also recommended we use a clicker to signal a reward each time he walked by my side rather than running ahead of us. Click, and he received a treat if he stayed by my side. Run ahead, no click, no treat. Very Pavlovian.

My wife points out that she's been using Pavlovian training on me for many years. She thought I needed some remedial help so we took Hamilton to additional puppy training at the Murray Hill location of Biscuits and Bath. From that instructor we learned about tethering as a way to dissuade Hamilton from misbehaving. Saying " Oh no, Hamilton", putting him on his leash and placing the leash on a door knob to inhibit his movement and remove him from our presence. This proved so effective that even though he is now full grown and would be hard to tie down in our apartment, all we need to do is show him his leash or say " Oh no, Hamilton", and he immediately stops his offending behavior and settles down on his own.

To contact Andrea Arden about her dog training seminars and classes use www.manhattandogtraining.com. This is an unsolicited recommendation. I've never met her personally. I am just a very satisfied customer. And if you should be walking in Manhattan and come across a dog named Hamilton you will see why. OK- he does still jump on people when he's excited, but we never expected perfection. After all, look at me.