 |
| This Cairn puppy may like to steal and chew on shoes
– unless, of course, he is just resting at Mom’s feet after a long walk? Careful observation will help you make an
informed decision about the Best next step to take! |
"…Assumptions about a dog's
understanding or capabilities, unless confirmed by careful observation of the
dog himself, can lead to training problems, undermine or destroy your
relationship with the dog, and in some cases, are tantamount to cruelty." Suzanne Clothier
The Fine Art of Observation
The importance of observing what
your dog can tell you
about himself, and how you can use that information
to make humane training decisions.
Understanding, analyzing and resolving behavior or performance problems
requires a good deal of detective work. As the famous Sherlock Holmes knew, no
detail, however small, is insignificant. The more acutely you are able to observe
the dog, the more accurate your analysis will be. Acute observation and attention to detail is
the hallmark not only of great detectives, but of great trainers.
One of my most bemusing moments as a trainer came when I was working with a dog
who had bitten several people. As I
worked the dog over a variety of obstacles, his owner commented several times,
"I can't believe he hasn't bitten you yet!" I never could decide if she was simply amazed
or just disappointed. I wasn't bitten
because I watched the dog for even the smallest sign that he was beginning to
feel threatened.
With this dog, subtle changes in his breathing pattern, a compression of the
lips and a constriction of the pupils gave me the only clues I needed. At that
point, with no further clues and without pushing until I saw more dramatic
signs, it was a simple matter to shift our activity to something less
threatening and allow the dog to calm down. Ignoring these clear but subtle signs would
have undoubtedly caused the behavior to escalate until perhaps we had a full
blown aggressive episode ending in a bite. (This dog has gone on to become a wonderful
companion who easily earned his CGC certificate, and a photo of him in Santa's
lap at a "Photo With Santa" fund raiser remains my favorite of him.)
Dogs live and act in a world of exquisitely subtle signals in their
interactions with each other. Our
observations and communications in our interactions with them must seem
unbelievably coarse at times to these sophisticates of non-verbal
communication. Turned around the other
way, we would perceive such inattentiveness to our subtle signals as rude,
uncaring or perhaps simply stupid. Fortunately for us, dogs bring to the
human-dog relationship their wonderful powers of observation, allowing them to
be highly aware of our posture, breathing, muscular tensions, and facial
expressions, often reacting to changes of which we are not aware. Training or behavior problems often result
from the dog's response to signals we unknowingly have sent. Unfortunately, the dog is often blamed rather
than the handler.
Our responsibility as handlers and trainers is to attempt to be as skilled in
our observations and non-verbal communications with our dogs as they are in
their interactions with us. Our reliance
on verbal communication is perhaps one of the biggest stumbling block in the
training process. As a rule, any concept that cannot be fully explained in a non-verbal
way is a concept that a dog will be unable to grasp.
Learning to become skilled as an observer requires that you practice these
skills. As the artist Frederick Franck
said in The Art of Seeing, "We often look, but we rarely see." Information
gathered through careful observation is crucial. Without such information, you cannot make any
informed decisions on the dog's behalf.
A sad example is the Sheltie presented to me at an Integrated Approach seminar.
The handler's complaint was that no
matter what technique they used, the dog was "lazy" and continued to
sit crooked. For over a year, she and
her instructor had used increasing amounts of compulsion to force the dog to
sit straight. A quick observation showed
that the dog moved with his entire body bent slightly to the right, and his
tail did not hang straight but over his right hock. Naturally, when he sat, he was unable to sit
straight - he couldn't even walk in a straight line. I found
it shocking that not once did the handler or the instructor take the time to
really look at the dog - the answer was there all along. The dog was doing his very best, but had a
real, physical limitation that prevented him from achieving the goal set for
him by his handler.
Take the time to observe your dog
carefully and often. Like us, dogs
change, have off days, injure themselves and get confused. If you
are observant about your dog's capabilities and limitations, you can make
informed decisions. Assumptions
about a dog's understanding or capabilities, unless confirmed by careful
observation of the dog himself, can lead to training problems, undermine or
destroy your relationship with the dog, and in some cases, are tantamount to
cruelty.
"Copyright © 2013 by Suzanne Clothier. Used
by permission of Suzanne Clothier. All rights reserved. For more information
about Suzanne please visit SuzanneClothier.com"
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