Sasha had her second dog training class today.

Every day I realize more and more that this is not about training the dog, it’s about training the humans… and the dog kinda gets something along the way. 🙂

We started out reviewing what we did last week, which was basic walking and sitting. Issuing commands, issuing corrections. Being consistent. That’s really the key is consistency. Getting the set down to something simple and everyone sticking with it. For instance, you don’t really need sit, stay, quiet, etc. because implied in sit is to stay and be quiet. But it was evident to Abel that we’ve been working with Sasha — he saw a world of difference compared to last week.

We worked in a slightly different location on the grounds, taking Sasha into new places, new noises, new things, new distractions. She was certainly nervous, but we were able to manage it and she did OK. It’s interesting that she does not eat when she’s nervous enough. Both the trainer and a friend who came with his dog to watch us commented that was odd. But that’s how she is. Once she calms down, she’ll take the treats again.

Then we started to work on “place”. Moving her onto the place, getting her to understand the place. Wife struggled with it a bit because while Wife was working on it, Sasha didn’t get fully onto the stand, Wife moved her leg onto it, the stand creaked, Sasha jumped, and Wife didn’t react immediately to correct things. Plus, Wife isn’t as big or strong as me, so Sasha quickly realized that a physical strength fight against Wife is one she could win. So, there was some struggle there, but they were able to overcome it. I think it was good for Wife too, as it’s helping her gain more confidence in her ability to handle Sasha.

Our homework is to continue working on walking, sit, consistency and simplification of commands (gotta watch what comes out of our mouths, e.g. “sit” not “Sasha sit”, “No” not “Sasha No” or “NoSit”). But now we’re going to add working on the “place”. No command yet, just getting her used to the physical thing.

We needed to get home, but before I go to bed tonight I need to buy her a “place”. I have guidelines… just need to figure out what’s going to work for her. Plus… where in the world are we going to put the thing?? That’s really the big question. 🙂

All in all, she’s improving. There is a LOT of work still ahead. I admit, I’m tired. It’s very mentally and emotionally consuming and thus draining. But we’ll hang in there, for I believe the investment is worth it.

I’m getting quite the crash-course in being a good dog owner.

Before owning a dog I could generally tell who was a good down owner and who wasn’t… it was evident in how the dog behaved and how the owner treated the dog. But now I see more subtle things, and one very interesting thing.

Read this article.

 

The number one biggest mistake dog owners can make with their dogs is to treat them like humans. The human race is such a kind, compassionate species that we tend to look at our canine companions as little humans. When in reality, they are canines and have a very different thought process. This is what differentiates mankind from other species in pack societies; there must be a specific order, from the leader on down to the last follower. Everyone has a place. The leaders are the strength of the pack. The followers need the leader to guide them. This primal instinct keeps the pack secure and happy.

 

And oh, do we treat our dogs like little humans.

We must think like a dog and must treat the dog… like a dog. Of course, in human society, to treat someone like a dog means to treat them in a sub-human and poor manner. If towards your dog you act in a manner that humans see as strong and compassionate, your dog will see it as you being weak. If towards your dog you act in a manner that the dog sees as strong, then humans are going to see you being an incompassionate asshole to your dog.

What to do?

Be viewed as an incompassionate asshole.

Treat the dog like a dog. That doesn’t mean treat them badly, that means treat them as they need to be treated — like a dog. Dog groks dog, and our human behavior passes through their dog-filter and gets interpreted in dog ways. In any communication, what’s more important is the message received by the receiver. Make sure your dog receives the right messages.

Today was Sasha’s first day of doggie school. We’re going to Triple Crown Dog Academy, which is the best school in the area.

I’m pretty impressed with the facility and our trainer, Abel. Looks like they run a good ship, and Abel has the knowledge and experience. He’s never worked with a Kuvasz before, but he was reading up on them before we arrived.

We started out with me being interviewed about our situation, what we wanted out of training, and so on. We then took Sasha out of the car and brought her over to the potty area. Abel observed and as expected Sasha was excited and nervous and reacted as such. We switched her collar to one of their StarMark collars, and boy, that made a difference. She was MUCH more responsive to corrections.

We worked on basics of walking on a loose leash and “sit”. How to work in correction, how to work in praise. The interesting thing? Some of the immediate “how do we deal with these problem situations?” are going to be addressable by this. For instance, when sitting, dog should sit, quietly, waiting for us to “free” them; distractions shouldn’t distract, they are to do nothing but sit (if you will). So let’s say there’s something outside she doesn’t like and she runs up to the window and starts barking. I don’t mind if she alerts us to the situation, so that bark is OK, but continued barking? No go. But do we need to issue other commands, like “quiet”? Well, perhaps later, but not right now. Right now we just work to distract and have her work on “sit”, since that works out the “be quiet” part as well. Of course, we must be a human Pez dispenser with the treats to keep the positive reinforcement going. But for now for the next week, this is where we want to go. Also our walks and teaching her how to walk on a loose leash help out with distractions, keeping focused, and so on.

By the end of the hour? She was approaching Abel and ate out of his hand but then something spooked her and she barked and ran back to Momma. But it was a big change from how she was an hour prior. Furthermore, she was getting pretty good at keeping a watch on us as we walked; able to go further and further without problem.

So, the trainer felt the progress was good. We were all pleased with the results. Yes again we’re behind the curve so there’s work to be done. But so far, so good.

We’ll continue doing private lessons like this for a few weeks, working on the basic obedience and manners. Once she’s got things down, we’ll continue to up the ante, further training, group classes, and so on.

I’m just happy to see progress, both in her, and in us.