Allison's American Way of Dog Training

AuthorHouse

Contents

MEET THE TRAINER.........................................................IXINTRODUCTION.............................................................XIPART I: EQUIPMENT........................................................1-The Collar..............................................................5-The Leash...............................................................7-The Crate or Cage.......................................................9-The Muzzle..............................................................11-Shock Collars...........................................................13PART II: FASTING YOUR DOG................................................15PART III: DESENSITIZATION & INTENTION....................................21PART IV: THE DOG'S INTELLIGENCE/INTELLECT................................29PART V: TRAINING METHODS.................................................37-Induction and Compulsion—An example...............................41-Induction...............................................................43-Clicker Training Method.................................................45-Compulsion..............................................................46-Training Style Summary..................................................48PART VI: GETTING STARTED.................................................49-Picking Out Our Canine Companion........................................52-Bringing Your Puppy Home................................................54-ready to Train?.........................................................60*Pinch Collar............................................................60*Leash...................................................................61*Level of Physical Stimulation/Communication.............................62*Philosophy..............................................................63*Three Correction rule...................................................64*Body Posture............................................................65*Communication Summation.................................................66-Sit and Sit-Walk Around.................................................67-Down and Down Walk-Around...............................................70-Stand and Stand-Walk Around.............................................73-recall..................................................................76-Heel....................................................................81PART VII: ODDS AND ENDS OF DOG TRAINING..................................85-Barking.................................................................87-Training With obstacles—unexpected results........................89-Training "no" as a Positive Command.....................................91-Are outside encounters encouraging Aggression?..........................93-Contrast Training.......................................................95-ending the race to Answer the Doorbell..................................98-Counter Surfing.........................................................100-What to do with an Aggressive Dog.......................................102Frank Speaks Frankly ... an editorial on Aggression.....................104

Chapter One

Equipment

The Collar The Leash Crates/Cages Muzzles Shock Collars

Frank's Notes on Equipment ...

I know my training style has raised a few eyebrows in the past because of my use of a pinch collar. It's like I tell most people ... the pinch collar on a dog is like the bit in a horses mouth ... it's not the equipment that is harsh ... it's the handlers' use of the equipment. In the horse world it's called having "soft hands." In my world it's called "slack in the leash."

I have used small pinch collars on every size dog you can think of. The small pinch collar has seen me through smallish dogs (tiny ones get a special made mini collar) through Bull Mastiffs. Along with my six foot nylon cat leash some of the larger dogs are quite a picture!

I've gone to dog expos and I see people with dogs among the crowds with the huge pinch collars that I swear must weigh ten pounds and the dog is still pulling the handlers shoulder out of the socket while the large clip on the end of the leash is slapping the dog in the teeth every time he turns his head.

Not long ago I was attending a dog expo where my training kennel had a booth near an overhead door. The weather was beautiful so the door was open for additional outside activities. Picture what I saw ...

A dog on a huge pinch collar and leash dragging its handler first to the left until it was out of sight, and all of a sudden they would reappear going to the right until they disappeared. This back and forth "drag your handler" went on several times and I was beginning to think I was watching a cartoon.

Another good laugh was all the dogs with "leaders" on their heads. How would you like to be led around by the nose? ... or how about the dogs pulling on flat collars pressing against their windpipes? ... or harnesses bruising shoulders? Proper equipment is as important as use of that equipment. I hope you see the importance of this section of the book ... Frank

The Collar

Let's get the most controversial piece of equipment I use out of the way first. The collar I'm about to explain can be easily misunderstood—the pinch collar. I use a small pinch collar properly fitted on all sized dogs. In all the old training books, the proper wearing of the pinch collar says it should be placed at the base of the head to the top of the neck. The collar should be snug, giving it a rather severe appearance. This way, finesse and timing are required more than sheer brute strength.

When you look at why the pinch collar was even designed, you'll see that it was made to distribute the force of your correction evenly around the neck in a grasping type motion with dull pointed objects. The ends of a good brand of pinch collar will be blunted (rounded) and "double dipped" in chrome. However, they do grasp, similar to a dog grasping with its teeth. This is reminiscent of a mother dog training and disciplining its young. Try putting the pinch collar around your wrist and you'll see that it rests upon the points and evenly distributes spots of force around it.

The old standard choke collar that used to be applied for training constricts completely around the dog's neck, therefore increasing the possibility of physical problems and giving them the feeling in which the device is named ... choking. The popular flat nylon (or leather) collars may come in fashionable colors and designs, however you have no control over the dog's behavior, especially if you have a dog that likes to pull on the leash. Imagine the force exerted on the windpipe of a pulling dog with a flat collar.

I like to validate my position with the pinch collar by referring to a study anyone can find on the internet by Anne Marie Silverton, who is a nationally renowned professional dog obedience trainer. They put choke collars on 50 dogs and pinch collars on another 50 dogs. After the animals died, they did autopsies and found from the 50 dogs that had on the chokes, 47 of them had damage to the neck and trachea area, which was directly related to the blunt trauma of the collar. In direct contrast, 48 of the 50 dogs who wore a pinch collar had no damage at all. One of the two dogs damaged by the pinch collar was found to be abused, too....