Training . . .

So, today I was SUPPOSED to have a doctor's appointment. Which is exactly why I woke up with a sore throat and sniffly nose, symptoms of an illness I thought I'd kicked out a couple days ago. I called to reschedule the appointment and suddenly I've got an entire day to myself. Or, do I? My chore list immediately raised its ugly head, reminding me that I need to: scrub the bathroom, finish loading and run the dishwasher, wash the car (with the teenager's help once he decides he's not too tired to get out of bed - at 9:45 am already), water all the fruit trees and potted flowers on the porch, vacuum the living room AND somewhere in there find time and energy to do my own exercising and work with the dogs on their grooming and training needs.

What, really, does a dog NEED in terms of training? For us, it basically means I spend a few minutes with each dog individually and then together as a group just going through the things they need to remember in order to do well and be stress-free at dog shows. With Riley we don't need to do much but I am working on more Rally signs and off-leash behaviors with him because he's rather 'casual' about his positioning and I'd like to see more correct or, maybe a better word is 'more specific', responses to things like coming back around to heel; I would prefer he actually sit square and in the proper position instead of strolling around and casually plopping his butt like a truculent teen. I know Rally isn't his most favorite thing in the world, but we made the deal that if I keep taking him into the conformation ring for the applause he would do as I ask through the Rally ring courses. Thus far we've earned a Rally Intermediate, not sure if we'll pursue it further competitively but I do still want him to play with me doing the exercises at home. For Mirage, training centers more on getting her to stay on the straight path for FastCAT and working on the Rally signs so she can earn her Rally Novice title the next time I take her alone to a dog show. And with Sierra? Well, it's all hands on deck because she's doing great at all the conformation behavior (stand pretty, pace alongside me to show off her gait, behave on leash around other dogs, let the judge touch you without you licking her ear, etc.) and we're starting to add more complex things like the down-stay then come back over a jump to circle around and come to heel position. She's enthusiastic about it and so I keep training sessions short to avoid making her bored.

Why do I consider those "needs"? Well, because while I'm sure they'd be happy enough just laying around being dogs, my particular puppies love to be part of a team with me (or Mark) and getting to play these games together gives them a sense that we're a unit, a partnership, and that gives them joy on top of the mental and physical exercise. Dogs tend to thrive when they have a sense of pack, I think, and by making them part of our team while doing something they can learn new levels of gives us both the mental stimulation that makes it possible to teach other things (like not running out the gate even though it's wide open for the propane delivery guy) and keep them from coming up with their own 'entertainment' out of boredom. We don't have incessant barkers, diggers, chewers (except the puppy phase), and I believe it's because our dogs are adequately stimulated and exercised and are kept happy with all the interaction they get. I understand not all dogs need this level of training* or interaction, nor do all people want to spend that much time with the dog they aren't really that attached to, but for us and ours, that's part of what makes the Canaan Dog the perfect breed; their desire to be bonded to and working with (not for) us combined with their intelligence and ability to learn new things easily and joyfully, almost like they enjoy the challenge. I also love that they actually DO have an off switch - a joy in doing little more than laying on the couch watching a comedy special or particularly long movie with us humans. I suppose if I were more energetic these days we'd be doing Trick Dog, trying Agility, etc. but for now, hiking and exploring and doing the Rally and FastCAT and herding conformation stuff will have to suffice.

Training supplies don't have to be expensive or extensive, either; we're not dealing with agility so we don't need the tunnels and jumps and other things important to learning those skills, but we do have a set of soccer cones from my son's playing days and I did purchase a complete set of Rally signs (not necessary if you have sticks and paper and pen as the signs are all detailed on the internet) and we do set up the course in the yard, using past course maps to give me the general idea. We have a variety of leashes because our dogs do a variety of events and I need them to know that when in THIS collar and leash, stopping means sitting in a heel

position while in THAT collar and leash it means stand in a proper stacked pose for the judge to evaluate your structure. They have a martingale for herding training and a safety collar for when we're hiking. I have (languishing) in my Amazon card a longer leash (longe line) for training other things but in all these years have managed without one so I just can't seem to pull the trigger on that one. We have things we can set up as jumps, including some pvc left over from a bathroom repair and some cinderblock that used to prop open the old garage door, so we can make adequate jumps (the dogs just need to know the command, not have identical jumps to those in any trial ring) and we have space in the yard for a FastCAT run, although the pulleys and rope are not yet gathered for construction as we're still waiting for Mirage to let us know if she's managed to conceive puppies (fingers crossed so hard I'm getting bruises!). I think it's important to note that while there's a time and place to properly and responsibly use one of those obnoxious flexi-leash things, many folks who do are horrible and irresponsible and not doing anyone any favors by letting their dogs have the illusion of freedom that often gets used to annoy the (insert bad word here) out of anyone they happen to come across on their public outings. No matter what equipment you use to interact with your dog, please be safe and educated in its proper use and be respectful of the dog and the others around you.

I tend to look at training as a fun activity we share, not as a chore I have to drag myself and the dogs into and then make sure I get right with incessant repetition. Also a note for those who own (or wish to) a Canaan Dog; do not forget that something done right once is an achievement, done right two or three more times is reassuring, and done four or more times in a row is just busywork and can be a real turn-off. Training sessions are short spurts of "do this with/for me" interspersed with lots of loving, tussling, running around like crazies, and so on. I don't like drudgery just as much as my dogs don't like it and since I'm a grown-up and in charge here, I don't have to do things I don't like. Well, I do, but browbeating my dogs into the ground isn't one of them.

*Small and toy dogs often get the reputation of being hard to train when in reality it's the people most likely to have a "naughty" toy dog are the ones who don't train, they just pick the dog up out of any bad behavior. This, of course, rewards the behavior (in the dog's mind) because if they bark and snarl at the neighbor walking up, they get a hug from mommy and picked up right into the middle of mommy's conversation so they feel safe, included and rewarded for behavior mommy finds inappropriate. I wish more people would figure that out and actually train their toy dogs (and practice that training - not good enough to do it just in class, you have to do it whenever you're around your dog, no matter what, as consistency is key) and live that training so the dogs know what to anticipate and can earn the rewards by behavior that everyone finds acceptable and fun to be around.