The Magic and Science of Walking (Part Two)

Dogs are very good at training humans, have you noticed that? Here's a scenario:

Tyler comes home from work and he's exhausted. He gets a cold beer from the fridge and opens the door to the back patio. His dog Sport goes outside with him. Tyler sits back in a deck chair. He wants to drink his beer and relax. Sport is sniffing around taking care of dog business. The neighbor is mowing the lawn. It's a nice sunny afternoon. Tyler takes another swig of beer and sighs happily, closing his eyes.

Then he feels hot breath on his face. He looks, and there's Sport by his side. Tyler pats Sport and smiles. Sport picks up a muddy tennis ball and looks hopefully at Tyler. How about a game of fetch? Tyler shakes his head. "Sorry pal, I'm beat. I just want to sit for a bit."

Sport drops the muddy ball in Tyler's lap and wags his tail.

Tyler drops the ball beside his chair. "Not now, Sport. Maybe later."

Sport barks. He's got a really loud bark, that dog. And it's piercing and insistent. ARF ARF ARF!

Tyler sighs, picks up the ball, and throws it. Sport chases after it. Hooray!

Here's another scenario:

Janine and her friend Kate are sitting in the living room talking about the movie they're going to see that night. Janine's dog Teeka comes in and jumps up on the couch next to her. Janine moves over so Teeka can have more room.

See how well those dogs have trained their humans? Tyler said no at first but Sport insisted and eventually Tyler did what Sport asked.  And Teeka has Janine so well trained that Janine didn't hesitate at all before making room for her.

Can you think of any tricks your dog has trained you to do?

Humans are pretty agreeable, generally. Moving over to make space for a friend to sit is normal behavior for us. And we're smart. We can understand that barking dog wants us to play. So it's reasonable that we take these steps that make it easier to exist alongside our pets.

Now think about this: how often do you ask your dog to pay attention to you?

I'm not asking how much time you spend with your dog. I'm asking about intent. When he comes over with a ball or pushes his head into your lap to get petted, he's getting your attention. When he chews on a shoe or chases the cat and you scold him, he's getting your attention. How often do you ask him to pay attention to you?

When you call him in from the yard, how many times do you have to call him before he responds? 

When you ask him to sit, how many times do you ask before he does it? Does he look to see if you have a treat first? Dogs have sure got us bamboozled!

Let's get that dog's attention! It all starts with the most basic trick in the world: sit.

So that's the next step: Get your dog's attention with the magic of SIT.

That's it for now. Spend the next few days noticing how your dog has you trained and I'll be back soon with Part 3.