Guest Blogger, Christi Campbell, shares her professional perspective and answers a question I receive frequently: “Should I find someone to help me train my dog?”

Why Train My Dog?

Many people live, if not happily, at least in equilibrium with their dogs without any formal training.  Indeed, the words “dog training” can bring to mind images of police dogs marching around and harsh methods of compulsion and punishment.  While there are some people who still train that way, the vast majority of dog trainers have evolved into much gentler “life coaches” for you and your dog.

Christi Campbell with Red Rocket Rider, 2006, Belgium, on a four country tour teaching frisbee seminars.

If you are reading this, it is a safe bet that you are interested in a more balanced and fair approach to training.  In fact, you may not be interested in “training” in the traditional sense at all.  So, what does the word “training” really mean?  Dog training is a systematic approach to developing a common language and way of communicating between you and your dog.  Dog training gives you a way to ask your dog for specific behavior that you like (or to ask your dog to desist from specific behavior that you don’t like) and it gives your dog a way to understand what you are asking and to do something (or stop doing something) in order to please you.  Without a common language, you are speaking Chinese to your dog and your dog is speaking Martian to you, and that can lead to a lot of frustration on both your parts.

Talking to your dog through an animal communicator, though wonderful, is not a substitute for dog training.  That would be like expecting a toddler to do everything you ask of them without showing them what you mean.  Toddlers understand our language and our meaning, but they still need some teaching and guidance around what behavior is appropriate and safe.  Dogs do not understand our language and our meaning until we help them, and they need the same kind of guidance as a toddler regarding appropriate vs. inappropriate behavior.

Your dog is brilliant and wants to please you.  Your dog is also living in the moment as a DOG, not a human, and will do what works for him in that moment.  If there is a steak on the counter and your dog is hungry, what works for him in the moment is to grab that steak off the counter and run out into the yard to devour it.  That is a totally normal response for a dog and, to a dog, there is nothing at all wrong with that behavior.  It is only in the context of a human life that the behavior becomes problematic.  Dog training is a way to help your dog understand the peculiar constraints that come with living as a dog in a human world. Dog training smoothes out the  rough edges and makes life a little easier for both of you.

Now, by “dog training” what I really mean is “intentional dog training.”  Whether you are aware of it or not, every moment you spend with your dog is training of a sort.  Your dog is highly educated in studying you.  He knows your every nuance, and he’s always interested in what good things may come to him as a result of his careful study.  If you are inconsistent, your dog has learned to play the odds.  For example, if you sometimes feed your dog from the table and other times (like when you have company) you fuss at your dog for begging at the table, your dog is going to beg at the table every time because he is sometimes rewarded for that.  That kind of intermittent reinforcement is a very powerful tool, and that is what gets humans to sit at the slot machine for hours and hours hoping for a payout.  Your dog is essentially playing the table scrap slot machine.  No matter how much you fuss most of the time, if you ever slip up and feed him, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of begging.

Christi and Red Rocket Rider at UFO World Cup in Denver, 2002 (they won).

Which brings me to a critical point about consistency.  The most important part of intentional dog training is consistency, and usually it is the most difficult for humans to grasp and follow through with.  Just as with the begging at the table example, there are many hundreds of situations that you and your dog encounter in everyday life.  If the “rules” are not consistent, your dog will choose the option that rewards him the most and go with that, whether or not it is the behavior you intend to reinforce.   I’m not saying you have to be “on” every second of every day, training without a break, never getting to just hang out with your dog.  You just need to be aware that inconsistency is a clear message to  your dog that he can choose his behavior in that situation because you can’t make up your mind what your preference is.

Your dog is always studying you, and your every action and interaction with your dog is filed away under “more information about my human.”  More importantly, your dog believes everything you say to him, and most of what you say is non-verbal.  If, by your actions, you say you don’t mind him jumping up on the couch, your dog believes it, and is genuinely shocked when you get upset because his paws were muddy this time.  If, by your actions, you tell your dog “it’s okay not to come when I call you,” he is truly puzzled when you freak out because he didn’t come when you were worried he would be hit by a car.

We call it dog training, but it is really “people training.”  If you’ve noticed, dog trainers generally spend very little time training your dog and a lot of time training you.  We need you to understand your dog’s point of view and how he thinks, in order to help you communicate with him more effectively.  In many cases, we need to explain to you why your dog is behaving the way he is, because if we can’t get you to change YOUR behavior, there is little chance of getting your dog to change his.  Remember, your dog is doing what works for him in the environment he lives in.  If you teach him what to do to make you happy, even if it isn’t his first preference, usually he will do it because he loves to make you happy.  If you do not teach him what your preferences are, he will make himself happy and love you all the same.

Living with dogs is a partnership, a dance, a privilege.  We owe it to them to at least try to understand their world and their way of thinking.  We also owe it to them to be as coherent as we possibly can when asking something of them, and part of being coherent is sharing a language, a common understanding of certain words, phrases and actions.  I used to think dog training was important because it made the humans happy.  I know now that dog training is important because it informs the dogs and requires the people to do their best to communicate in a way the dogs can understand.

** Continue on with Part 2, which discusses types of training and how to choose a trainer that is right for your family and your needs. 

Christi Campbell, J.D., is a partner in Harmony Animal Wellness in Kittredge, Colorado and offers private training by appointment through Harmony Animal Wellness, 303-674-6288.  Christi has been training dogs for more than 30 years, professionally for more than 15. In her quest to understand the canine mind and body, she has taken animal communication classes, trained in TTouch and Dorn Therapy and become a Reiki Master.

Christi travels nationally and internationally teaching training seminars and judging canine disc competitions. She volunteers as a trainer for Freedom Service Dogs, Colorado Disc Dogs and several rescue groups. She lives in beautiful Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, four dogs and two cats.

Tags: aggression, animal communication, anxiety, behavioral issues, dog training, Dogs, dominance, interesting professions