Babies are new to me, but dogs I understand. Dogs are relatively simple: get your early conditioning right and you'll have the most loyal companion you could possibly wish for. My dog, for some strange reason, loves and adores me. Anywhere I go, she wants to be; no tether is required to keep her by my side. All of this has been achieved between my human self and my dog dog despite sharing no common language.
So why do parents insist on walking children on leads?!
I teach puppy classes as an additional source of income. One of the key behaviours that we work on in the four 1-hour sessions is the 'recall'. This simple behaviour is one of the most important you can train a dog, as, if you have done it right, you can be certain that at a word your four-legged friend will rush back to you, safe from whatever danger they were heading towards, or simply by your side where you'd rather they be. It is this behaviour that allows you to confidently walk your dog without the requirement of a lead (though law forbids this in most public places).
There are two key points that must be acknowledged for the successful training of a recall. They are as follows:
Firstly, the recall should be your puppy's absolute favourite thing in the world: "Christmas and Disneyland all in one", as a very talented trainer has said to me. Its reaction upon hearing your call should be "About time!", followed by an immediate, giddy explosion in your direction. To achieve this you need to offer them more than a dry treat upon arrival; it must be an emotional response, driven by a justified expectation that they will receive some combination of their favourite things: food, toys, pats, praise and (above all) YOU!
The quickest way to destroy all your hard work is by not acknowledging your pooch's response, or (worse) punishing it. Too many times I've seen devastated children wandering aimlessly around my workplace, desperately searching for parents through tear-filled eyes, only to be rewarded at their reunion by parents chastising them for ever becoming lost in the first place! What better incentive to stay "lost" than that reception?!
Secondly, set yourself up for success. One of the most important rules we tell participants in class is that they are not to attempt to call their puppy away from the dog-filled park, when they know full-well that their training hasn't reached that point yet. You start small - literally calling a metre or so towards you in a confined, boring space, then slowly build up their experiences until you can be certain that you will have success at that higher level.
Every failed attempt to recall your dog teaches them that it's a command that can be ignored. Similarly, think back to those red-faced parents you've seen, desperately pursuing their free-running toddlers, screaming something along the lines of:
"Tommy, come here mate. Tommy. TOMMY! Get here now! NOW TOMMY!!"
And the saga continues...
"Understandable," you may say, "that they would wish to use an alternative method to keep their child close. It isn't actually a lead, it's a little cuddly monkey backpack that happens to have a long tail that parents can hold."
Call it what you like, but it's a lead. So here is my declaration and great will be my shame if I am ever proven wrong:
I WILL NEVER WALK MY CHILD ON A LEAD.
I am determined that my early conditioning will be sufficient that my child will desire my company. If she wanders, I will save my recall for a moment where I can be confident in its success, or else find an alternative method of retrieval (I DO have a sheepdog after-all!). And yes, you may say I have just compared my daughter to a dog, but it's what I know and it's what I love; if you knew me you'd understand that it's far from an insult!
I teach puppy classes as an additional source of income. One of the key behaviours that we work on in the four 1-hour sessions is the 'recall'. This simple behaviour is one of the most important you can train a dog, as, if you have done it right, you can be certain that at a word your four-legged friend will rush back to you, safe from whatever danger they were heading towards, or simply by your side where you'd rather they be. It is this behaviour that allows you to confidently walk your dog without the requirement of a lead (though law forbids this in most public places).
There are two key points that must be acknowledged for the successful training of a recall. They are as follows:
Firstly, the recall should be your puppy's absolute favourite thing in the world: "Christmas and Disneyland all in one", as a very talented trainer has said to me. Its reaction upon hearing your call should be "About time!", followed by an immediate, giddy explosion in your direction. To achieve this you need to offer them more than a dry treat upon arrival; it must be an emotional response, driven by a justified expectation that they will receive some combination of their favourite things: food, toys, pats, praise and (above all) YOU!
The quickest way to destroy all your hard work is by not acknowledging your pooch's response, or (worse) punishing it. Too many times I've seen devastated children wandering aimlessly around my workplace, desperately searching for parents through tear-filled eyes, only to be rewarded at their reunion by parents chastising them for ever becoming lost in the first place! What better incentive to stay "lost" than that reception?!
Secondly, set yourself up for success. One of the most important rules we tell participants in class is that they are not to attempt to call their puppy away from the dog-filled park, when they know full-well that their training hasn't reached that point yet. You start small - literally calling a metre or so towards you in a confined, boring space, then slowly build up their experiences until you can be certain that you will have success at that higher level.
Every failed attempt to recall your dog teaches them that it's a command that can be ignored. Similarly, think back to those red-faced parents you've seen, desperately pursuing their free-running toddlers, screaming something along the lines of:
"Tommy, come here mate. Tommy. TOMMY! Get here now! NOW TOMMY!!"
And the saga continues...
"Understandable," you may say, "that they would wish to use an alternative method to keep their child close. It isn't actually a lead, it's a little cuddly monkey backpack that happens to have a long tail that parents can hold."
Call it what you like, but it's a lead. So here is my declaration and great will be my shame if I am ever proven wrong:
I WILL NEVER WALK MY CHILD ON A LEAD.
I am determined that my early conditioning will be sufficient that my child will desire my company. If she wanders, I will save my recall for a moment where I can be confident in its success, or else find an alternative method of retrieval (I DO have a sheepdog after-all!). And yes, you may say I have just compared my daughter to a dog, but it's what I know and it's what I love; if you knew me you'd understand that it's far from an insult!
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