Great Expectations
A few years ago, I brought an adolescent dog home from the shelter. You know the type – part beagleshepherdspaniellabrador. A robin stalking, trail sniffing animal who liked to herd birds and paddle water out of her bowl as fast as I could put it in. She was a four-legged piece of imperfection with soulful eyes and poetic ears, and while furtively stealing my socks out of the laundry basket, she also stole my heart.
Life with a new dog holds great expectations. Regardless of whether you are a novice owner or an experienced trainer, this relationship has its challenges and its joys. Establishing a peaceful co-existence under the same roof can be accomplished with time, patience and a few of the following training tips:
Enroll in an obedience training class. It should quickly become apparent that the class is for you – not the dog. A good trainer will show you easy and effective ways to train your dog and manage behavior in a positive manner. Ask if you can observe a class before signing up.
Take your dog for a walk, every day. This is a great time to begin the bonding process, and walking will help socialize your dog to new people, new dogs and all sorts of interesting things in the neighborhood. Long walks make tired dogs, and tired dogs make happy owners.
Teach your dog to come when called. Reliable recalls are important and life saving. If you walk your dog on a long line or retractable leash, you can practice recalls on your daily walk. Call the dog, praise him when he arrives, reward him with one of his favorite treats and then send him back out to investigate the shrubs. Your dog will figure out that all he has to do is check in to claim his prize, and he can quickly get back to important business. With practice, your dog will come to know that the best things (praise, treats, ear rubs) happen when he’s close to you.
Give your dog a hobby. He should be able to entertain himself while you are gone or when you are home and otherwise occupied. Buy your dog a rubber Kong © toy, stuff it with his dinner and a few of his favorite treats and watch him settle down to work. A wise old trainer once told me, “Dog who chews toy, cannot simultaneously bark, chew couch, destroy underwear or consume Birkenstocks.”
Teach your dog to sit. You want your dog to know that when all else fails, sit is good. Dogs are effusive when it comes to greeting people. We should take lessons. On the other hand, I keenly recall pulling the front paw of a Labrador retriever out of my mouth (along with tiny bits of mud and heaven knows what else), after an especially enthusiastic greeting. When the owner apologized, I said what most people say after being accosted by an out-of-control canine – I told her, “It’s OK.” Trust me, it’s never OK and I didn’t mean it. Teach your dog to sit when adults or children approach to say hello. Teaching your dog to sit when greeting people is easy. Training your friends, family and neighbors to wait is a little more difficult, but you can do it!
Housetrain your dog. This is relatively easy to do if you remember the two major rules of supervision and confinement. Use a crate to confine your dog when you can’t supervise him. Most dogs will view the crate as their nest or den and will not go to the bathroom when confined there. When you take your dog out of the crate, lead him outside to the spot where you want him to go to the bathroom and use a command like, “do your business, or make my day!” Once your dog has gone to the bathroom outside, be sure to praise him. You can then bring him indoors and leave him out of the crate for short periods of time with supervision. Your dog should always be in the same room with you so you can keep an eye on him. Most dogs will begin to circle, pace or sniff the floor before they go to the bathroom. If you’re paying attention, you’ll begin to recognize this canine choreography and can predict when they need to go out.
Supervise your dog around children. Dogs and children can unintentionally do harm to each other, simply by doing what comes naturally to them. Children, especially young children, are not physically or mentally equipped to control or re-direct dogs very well, and what starts out as play may quickly escalate into a struggle. Dogs and kids can become best buddies for a lifetime, under your direction and watchful eye.
Most of all, love your dog -- every day -- quietly, joyously, and constantly.
