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Before you can be something, you have to know what it is you want
to be. Before you can teach something you have to know what it is
you are trying to convey. That is the problem for most dog owners
living in the city. A lot of us grew up with dogs running free in
a backyard. We never worried about traffic.
When I first came to Chicago twenty-one years ago I was the only
one I knew who owned a dog. Sadie was a smart Irish Setter. It's
funny because even today I often hear people eluding to the fact
that Irish Setters are supposed to be stupid. Hunters blame the
show people and breeders blame other breeders for whatever happened
to the Irish Setter.
What I saw involved the wiring of the dog. They seemed to be wired
differently. They react quickly and are more sensitive to different
stimuli in the environment. It doesn't mean that they can't be taught.
When you have a busy Bones you just need to make sure that you use
very good motivators. You will need something that will over ride
their quick impulses. I would also recommend working on a good recall.
Your goal is to think," I don't have time to watch my dog.
I want my dog to keep an eye on me." You will start to obtain
this realistic goal by getting the dog to love the sound of the
whistle. This will become your motivator. The rules are when you
come home you whistle and not just any random sound.
You want to choose a melody that is your secret message to your
partner. Before you feed Bones -whistle. When you play run around
and then switch directions -you got it whistle. If Bones does not
respond to the whistle, ignore the feeling of wanting to strangle
him.
Do not teach any negative feelings with the whistle. Evaluate
the behavior everyday for five minutes four times per day. Do turn
on a timer of some sort (microwave, egg timer, wristwatch) because
five minutes goes very fast. You will be tempted to play the whistle
game longer.
Do not exceed the time limit. You are working on developing an
attention span also. You want everybody to finish the exercise with
a good attitude towards learning. You can put all the obedience
you want on a dog but if you don't have the right temperament it
can come out to haunt you. It can happen on any street in any city.
Temperaments are very predictable. If you have a shy Bones you
can expect that traffic especially busy bus routes and congested
areas will be very hard for this puppy. This is especially why you
want this puppy to have positive feelings for the sound of the whistle.
A shy Bones who gets spooked by a sudden noise can break away from
it's owners control surprisingly quick. Of course also understanding
proper leash control will help avoid a tragedy.
 A
whistle is high pitched and can carry more effectively over your
voice especially my voice. My husband is always saying "what"
to me. So you want to establish happy and good times associated
with the whistle. Then once you have conveyed this message it is
time to go hide. You want to teach the Bones to seek you out. Make
sure it remains a game. Keep whistling until Bones finds you and
then run around your dining room table whistling.
The reward is to chase you. Now depending on the type of Bones
you have, this energy can also create other problems like jumping
up and nipping you and tearing your clothes. I do not recommend
using small children until you have more control of the pattern.
Don't worry. As you continue to teach household patterns this ill
behavior will be addressed.
Every thing we work on will have a pattern and a formula to it.
This will help us stay on track. When you have a Bones who has learned
to love the melody of your whistle you will be able to recall bones
from any room in your house. If you don't have control of Bones
on the inside of the house you won't have control on the outside
with heightened distractions.
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