The methods behind the madness

Recently, I announced, mostly to myself, that I would be willing to work with other people's dogs and do some minor dog training and teach relatively easy tricks. In her usual critical manner (it's OK it's good for me) Andrea asked what method of training I was planning to follow. Because I had no set plan of action, that question led me to examine my own dogs and the systems I've put into place for them (See? It's good for me, really).



No matter what we are doing, I want to set up my dogs for success. I actually enjoy the learning process and I'm not impatient when it comes to getting them from point A to B. Most of all, I want us to have fun.

There are so many dog training methods out there that to actually make a conscience effort to choose the absolute best one could drive you crazy. I believe that people with a natural understanding of dog behaviors and a strong visual concept of what they want to accomplish will gravitate towards the process that best suits their purpose. At least, that's how it's been with me.



When it comes to agility, there is only one way I want to play with Lola. Nice clean straight lines, defined body language, and a strong connection with your dog are what I like best about Greg Derrett's system.

When Greg walks a course he never has to wonder how he is going to handle it. This is because he has developed a system of handling which is logical and clear to the dog. His consistent signals never cause the dogs to question what he is asking them to do.

I admit that I haven't tried other systems but I know what feels right to me and how I want Lola to run a course and I'm fortunate enough to have Greg chart out our structured training path.

Here's an example of such a path. (note: this is not a video of Lola. I know it's hard to believe, but trust me, it's not)



When it came to herding, I dove into it head first, not even thinking that there could be more than one way to train a dog. But, as is my nature, I did my research and absorbed as much stockdog knowledge as I could. As I began to understand what I was doing, and JC advanced, it became clear that the techniques we were using to improve were actually part of a training system.

Derek Scrimgeour's system to be exact.



His training method can best be described as:

" all about proper communicating with the dog, he says, not confusing gestures and 'barking' at them. 'These dogs are looking for logic all the time,' he says. 'They will keep guessing and guessing because they love the work so much. But the way we train them here, we give them the logic. I don't want to put the dog in a position where it has ever got to guess what I want. Sheepdogs are, he says, highly sensitive animals who can be brought to the brink of a nervous breakdown by poor training and bad treatment. 'I used to love fast, pushy dogs,' he says. 'Now I appreciate other things - like bravery, intelligence and control. In dogs, as in people, it's often the deeper, quieter, less immediately obvious qualities that matter most. His training is also about ironing out bad habits - which, in the process, can reveal as much about the dogs' owners as it will about the dogs themselves."

It's funny but my preferred method for training agility is much like any of the games that I enjoy the most. Sports with black and white rules and definite structure. Anarchy is not fun.

As for how I've actually lived my life, well much like the herding training JC receives, I've always been fairly easy going, very forgiving of my own mistakes, and accept that every experience is part of the learning process.
This is probably, why to me, it is easy to accept that agility is the greatest sport ever, and that herding is a way of life.

So back to the original question of what training methods would I use if I was just teaching basic good behavior to other people's dogs. I'm still not too sure, but I know that I reward mediocrity and that my own dogs are smart enough to have shaped my behavior through precise operant conditioning. Put it all together and I believe I must have the breakthrough training system right at my fingertips!