DOG TRAINING IN A COOKIE CUTTER WORLD
Every semester I teach at least 20 handler and dog teams the beginning steps of how to modify leash reactive behavior. At the surface it seems simple: the dog barks, lunges, growls, pulls and carries on like a nincompoop.
Underneath is the more difficult part. The problem is Reactivity is a symptom of other problems and many problems can create reactivity. Though our core skills for behavior modification are the same, how they are implemented for best effect is another matter entirely, which is why it is insanely difficult to give more than surface level advice without working in-person.
Training, especially behavior modification, requires good technique, but it also requires a lot of feel and timing. In this way dog training is part art and part science.
This past semester two of my students had young rescue husky mixes. Approximately the same size, same age, and with many similarities. Both were frustrated by their leashes, both generally excited but not aggressive. On paper, this was the same problem.
Except they needed two entirely different things. Why? Because although the dogs were similar,
their handlers weren’t!
We are never teaching the dog alone. We are teaching them in relation to their handler(s). Together they are a team.
Here’s the Scenario
Dog #1 – Let’s call him Axel.
Axel couldn’t care less about his owners. They were doormats to him. Even with solid technique, he needed to learn to care about the other side of the leash, especially with one partner.
Axel’s front-running problem was zero connection. He needed his handler to step up to create and enforce boundaries while being generous with his reward structure. When the handler was able to do that, connection started to happen. When connection happened the Reactivity (at least in the classroom) all but vanished.
Dog #2 – Let’s call her Belle.
Belle actively cared quite a lot about her handler. Her handler was also very sharp, dutiful and militaristic. He wasn’t punishing or mean by any stretch, but he had a (somewhat rare) ability to make his dog snort fire simply with the regimented military like presence he brought to the work.
He had a natural level of intensity most high end handlers want to bring to their obedience or protection work. However, on that leash his intensity gave her intensity, which created a tornado of reactivity. The handler had created a dragon. Once we softened the human end of the leash, the dog too was able to soften, think and respond, and much to my pleasant surprise was not nearly the dragon I thought she might be.
Same problem • Same type of dog • Same age • Same skills • Different handlers • Different focus in the execution
If Axel’s handler got advice to be softer and sweeter, they’d still be stuck and the dog would have never started to clue in to anything at the other end of the leash. If Belle’s handler got advice to put anymore energy into their dog, she’d only learn how to breathe fire hotter and faster.
As much as a trainer, behaviour analyst or behaviorist rely on the dog’s side of information, we also have to look and address behaviour modification on the human end. From how someone holds a leash, to their pace, to where they look, to their muscle twitches, to the way they hold their back – it’s all behaviour. With a savvy coach and a lot of effort, together, the human’s behaviour and the dog’s behaviour can be pulled towards the desired goals.
If you’re ever looking for behaviour help with your dog, make sure that they treat you and your dogs as individuals versus giving you a prescription to follow. Behaviourally speaking, make sure they coach you and not just the better looking side of the leash.
