Adding Raider into my pack and my life has been an unexpected, unforeseen and undeniably wonderful decision.
He is quirky with endless fun energy and a joy to train, even with the typical ups and downs everyone experiences with a puppy. His unique markings and charming personality get him a lot of attention. When asked, I say Raider is a border collie cattle dog cross with a touch of Australian shepherd and maybe kelpie mixed in. Anyone with just a tad of experience with any one of those breeds has no shortage of judgments and comments. Everything from, "So you enjoy playing with rocket launchers?" to, "You invested in a good treadmill, right?"
But contrary to the popular wave of opinions I have received, he has been anything but a difficult dog to train.
Having a couple decades of experience training a few thousand dogs has given me an edge in this department, but what I think was the biggest influence was that I didn't label Raider. I ignored all the literature about the breeds that created him and chose not to stereotype him. When I began training him I didn't do so from the perspective of him being a border collie or a blue heeler, but from the viewpoint of him being a dog. As a result, he displays none of the negative behaviours typically associated with those breeds, but is a joyous mix of all the positives.
There is no doubt that selective breeding has created certain traits distinctive to each breed. These characteristics can assist someone when trying to decide which breed or mix to adopt, but they shouldn't influence an owner on a dog's trainability.
Much literature regarding breed-specific training was written when training methods involved compulsion. Dogs are far more sensitive than those outdated training methods ever gave them credit for. In the past, when a dog didn't respond as predicted to forceful methods, typically more force was used and, as a result, the dog's trainability (or not) was labelled instead of the training being re-evaluated. Ultra-sensitive breeds like hounds - which include beagles, coonhounds, pointers, setters, spaniels, etc. - were written off as stubborn and untrainable when force was used on them. Sometimes they were called stupid. They are far from stubborn or stupid dogs, but when forceful training methods are used they often shut down emotionally due to the physical pressure. The more a frustrated owner increased the force in training, the more resistant to learning the dogs became.
With our modern understanding of dogs' sensitivities and emotions, a contemporary pro-positive approach to training and an understanding of a breed's traits, these sensitive dogs are very willing to learn and easy to train when praise, affection and food rewards are employed.
Success in all training is achieved through trust. All dogs are incredibly loyal creatures and are willing to do whatever their human asks once a trusting bond has been developed. But the thing is, you cannot force any one or any thing to trust you. Trust is earned, never forced.
Labelling a dog as untrainable places a negative seed in your head and taints everything your dog does. If you label a dog as difficult to train, your brain will be all too happy to see any and all behaviours your dog exhibits as difficult, even if they are not. Labelling or stereotyping compromises the trust because the dog has already failed in your head before it had a chance to succeed. Pro-positive training is all about developing a trusting relationship between the owner and the dog. Food rewards combined with praise and affection are the quickest ways to establish trust with dogs. Once a strong bond has developed, food rewards can be phased out and rewards such as affection and interaction will be just as suitable, sometimes even more than food.
Raider is a wonderful mixed breed of high-energy dogs and, ironically, if I had let my experience with these breeds influence how I trained him, I doubt he would have turned into the charming little dog he has become.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her at k9kinship.com.
