Communication good start for any training

Sometimes I wish my dogs were better trained. I know it’s a matter of getting back what you put in, however.

Most every dog I’ve ever had I managed to teach them the meaning of “no.” Even those one or two that liked to ignore that word could be stopped cold in their tracks with a sound I call the aaaaghnt. It’s a universal sound that stops animals wild and domestic, little kids and even wives about to order clothes from a mail-order catalog.

Most of my dogs I’ve even trained to sit on command but I decided I might have met my match with my little Maggie dog.

She has always been food and treat oriented and I thought it would be easy. Instead it was frustrating. No matter how long I worked I couldn’t get my point across.

I was moving the treat back over her head to get her to inadvertently sit down but instead she would just turn. Pushing her bottom down wasn’t working either. I was amazed at how difficult it is to push a little dog’s bottom down.

Finally I got a glimmer of a response and quickly rewarded for it. Another one and the same thing and soon she was actually sitting on command. This is the dog I never did think was ever going to understand how to use the dog door, whereby every other dog before had learned immediately from the other dog in the house.

I worked harder and must have been more patient when I was younger. I actually trained on my own two dogs to retrieve birds on command and both hunted birds, though only one ever pointed a little bit.

I was thinking to myself if I had a good retriever I might actually do some bird hunting this year. I looked down at the little terrier who wouldn’t sit and told myself life may be too short to make that happen.

Dogs are smart and if they’re loved they’ll do anything to please their master. Sometimes we’re just not plain-spoken enough with them to make them understand what we want out of them. Once they know what they’re supposed to do, the end result can be accomplished quickly, with very few wasted commands and virtually no need for scolding.

Being a leader of other humans is not much different. If the initial communication of the desired end result is made plain, the leader and team are headed toward success. It may take a little repetition for things to become fluid and natural but without communicating the big picture correctly first you’re both lost.

Whether it’s training a new employee or setting a group on course to accomplish a project or training your dog to sit, simple plain communication in the beginning will set the course for good.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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