About > What I've Learned

Do we need to drastically change the way we view the behavior of dogs? Absolutely! The basis for most traditional training methods is a misperception of dog behavior as we observe it. We condemn dog behavior which we find impulsive and problematic, and use various means of punishing the dog, without understanding what's causing problem behavior.

MY EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN ME THAT DOGS ARE BORN BEING OBEDIENT! But, obedient to what? They are obedient to the only authority, the only source of directives, they are given at birth -- their instincts. These inborn tendencies I call the rule book or the owner's manual for their breed. For example, herding dogs typically are problem "chasers." They think they are being the best dogs possible when they chase and nip a child on a bicycle because their rule book dictates herding behavior.

A dog's inborn rule book gives him lots of information, but it is all the wrong information. Let's consider an analogy. Let's say you want to be a medical doctor. But the only textbook you are given as a resource is a mechanic's manual for repairing automobiles. The information in that book is true and factual, but it is all the wrong information for helping people with their medical problems. And using that information will get you into a lot of trouble!

It seems dogs are always in trouble. If the rule book for behavior a dog is given at birth does nothing but get him into trouble, he becomes more and more insecure and frustrated as he matures. By the time he's two or three years old, he not only has the wrong rule book, but he also by that time has an enormous burden of anxiety, confusion, even anger, from misguided attempts by humans to alter his behavior through punishment and correction.

Recent figures indicate that 8 out of 10 dogs in pounds and shelters are there because of behavioral problems. Rather than punish, condemn, or give up and abandon the dogs, we must give the dogs another source of directives. A source that has all the right answers to all of the questions the dog must answer in order to live in human society. That source is a caring, communicative human - - the dog's companion, partner and family - - in short, YOU, if you have a puppy or a dog.

Of course, the dog must first learn to ask his questions and begin the Dialogue. I call the moment when the dog turns to his human companion and asks the first question the "initiation of Dialogue." Following the initiation of Dialogue, every dog I work with learns very quickly how to ask his questions. Then the owner can provide the answers the dog needs. Moreover, with Dialogue the owner helps the dog learn to keep his attention on the owner, teaching the dog to let his environment "gray out" for him, much as icons in a computer program "gray out" for the user if the user is in a part of the program for which those icons are irrelevant. Think how this helps a dog who is afraid of other people, or other dogs, or a multitude of other things in his environment! The dog learns to focus on his owner and trust that his owner will completely take care of him and the circumstance around him. The dog no longer needs to be in survival mode or in self-defense mode or control mode.

The dog learns not to make his own decisions. It's unlikely his own decisions will be the right ones because he's consulting his faulty inborn rule book. He must instead ask you, his owner and lifelong partner, all his questions. And you in turn must agree to always respond to his questions and give him the right answers. It is a partnership for life. The dog can live confidently for the first time, not always looking over his shoulder and wondering what might next befall him. When a dog can have peace of mind and live with confidence, he can accept others around him much more readily -- not only humans, but other dogs as well.

Problems Dialogue has overcome in dogs include but are not limited to:

• Biting
• Attacking dogs or other animals
• Snapping
• Defending food or toys
• Chasing people
• Jumping on people
• Pulling on the leash
• Growling at people
• Attacking their own bodies by chewing and scratching
• Submissive Urinating
• Barking Neurotically
• Escaping out of yards