Dog Training

It’s been a long time coming, but I have embarked on a new phase of training.  It started because we are watching a friend’s dog and Zoe has become a shrew.  Zoe is 12 years old and hard of hearing, so it is more difficult. 

There are many methods of dog training and I am not a fan of the ones that are harsh.  A harsh method was used on Riley and I believe that made his issues even worse.  Once the person who was helping me ‘train’ him stopped, Riley got better.

There is a show on television called “It’s Me or the Dog” and the trainer is Victoria Stillwell.  She believes in kind, compassionate training and I love her!  I put the show on my Tivo lineup and tonight she was discussing a method to get a dog’s attention and keep it when there is something that is distressing the dog.  You are supposed to have a small treat and place it up by your eyes and say “look at me” or “watch me.”  So I brought my container of tiny treats to bed tonight and every single time Zoe growled, barked, or snarled, I held a treat up to my eyes and said “look at me.”  Only when Zoe stopped growling, barking, and/or snarling, and looked at me did she get the treat.  Of course, I had to give a treat to the other dogs each time, as well.  It was pretty amazing to see the difference in her behavior in such a short time!  Last night it took an hour of petting her and yelling “NO!” to get her to settle down.  The anger she exhibited was frightening!  Tonight I never raised my voice, but used the scent of the treat to get her attention.  It took about thirty minutes.  Now everyone is peacefully asleep. 

I am not foolish enough to believe that one session on training is a cure-all, but I am looking forward to using Victoria Stillwell’s methods in other areas, as well.