Dog Manners
I don't consider myself a great dog trainer by any means. However, I have had dogs all my life. I've been showing them and breeding them since 1987, so I have learned a thing or two. I've taken a few obedience classes and read more than a few books on training, dog development and psychology. More than anything else, I've lived with a house full of dogs all these years — anywhere from three to eight big dogs. I usually stay at around five, which is where we are now. Male, female, spayed, unspayed, neutered and unneutered. You learn that it's necessary to have some order in the household, if nothing else.
I've never been a real stickler for precise obedience work. I tend to think of my dogs sort of like kids. With that in mind, I do expect my "kids" to have some manners, both here at home and when we go places. Here are some things that my dogs and I agree on:
1. I'm the boss.
2. No fighting — ever.
3. No growling.
4. We share toys.
5. Dogs eat at the same time, in the same room.
6. We don't eat Mom's things. (I like this one, but they don't always agree.)
7. We don't take things off the kitchen counter. (They're pretty good about this one, but once in a while they slip up.)
8. Dogs can get on furniture, but when Mom says, "Get down," they better get down without an argument.
9. They are polite to strangers.
10. Bathroom is where I say it is — no marking when we go places. (They wouldn't dream of trying that in my house.)
The biggest disagreement we have is about barking. I am forever telling them to be quiet here at home. Usually they have seen a squirrel prance across the porch or some other terrible intruder. I have tried squirting them with a spray bottle or shaking a can of pennies at them — things recommended in books on training. Those solutions have never worked. They just make sure they are in another room — where I'm not — when they bark. I usually chase them outside now, telling them, "No barking in the house!" I'm sure my neighbors love me when the dogs continue the barking outside. But I try to make them stop out there, too. I start tossing toys for them and try to get them to play. They're usually more interested in whatever they're barking at, unfortunately. If they persist, I will make them come inside and take a time-out in their crates. Sometimes, like kids, dogs get themselves over-excited and need an imposed break.
Overall, things run pretty smoothly simply by insisting on some good manners. My dogs do know some basic obedience, like sit and stand. They're not very good on "stay," but I haven't worked with them very much. I did have a dog I took to obedience classes a lot, but he got very bored with traditional obedience work. About halfway through the eight-week course our instructor had us learning "Heel" by walking in circles, stopping, and having the dog sit at our left side. Doesn't sound too difficult, does it? Jasper didn't think so, either. So, after we had walked in circles for 45 minutes and practiced this exercise, he was bored out of his mind. When we took a break, he practically dragged me to the car. I'm afraid we didn't return. He had learned all of the exercises so quickly, this one really turned him off. I'm told that Rally-O is much more interesting and fun for the dogs.
