PET Tracks
DO AS I SAY
Jan Jaeger
The customer really didn't want advice. What she wanted was to vent. Her dog was apparently an incorrigible jumper, and anything I suggested she dismissed or had already tried without success. But when she mentioned that she had even "lifted up my knee to catch the dog in the chest," she had my full attention. This technique to discourage jumping is one that harks back to a previous generation of training strategies and is one I haven't heard for some time. And it got me to thinking of how training techniques, like our relationships with our pets, has evolved over the years.

Working dogs have assisted man in many capacities, learning commands and exercising inherently bred traits to mind the flocks, chase down or fetch quarry, kill vermin or haul carts. But it wasn't until WWI, when dogs assisted man in wartime activities such as detecting minefields or flushing out snipers, where behaviors had to be learned and predictable, that training developed into a codified system.

A German Army officer, Konrad Most, is credited with establishing modern traditional training by the methods he used for training military dogs at the turn of the 20th century. Although we would consider his corrections and punishments heavy-handed, his operant conditioning formed the basis for the clicker training so popular today. His techniques spread as his students and disciples relocated, although his book, published in Germany in 1910, was not translated into English until 1954.

William Koehler, also a military trainer, sought precision obedience by blending strict discipline and lavish praise, and his methods used during WWII firmly established the military style of dog training. As a civilian trainer, Koehler prepared dogs for Disney films for 20 years. His book "The Koehler Method of Dog Training" is probably the alltime best-selling book on dog training, shaping dog training philosophy from the 1950s until the 1970s and forming the basis for many training methods in use today. While decried as abusive by other discipline proponents, if you have ever used a choke chain to leash train your dog, you have used a Koehler method.

Koehler is also given credit for changing the attitudes about the place of the dog in the household. Through his obedience training, his insistence on having a relationship with the training partner, using collars and leashes and emphasizing the importance of exercise, the dog came out from under the porch and into the house as a well-behaved pet.

The Monks of New Skete, a small order of monastic brothers located in upstate New York, bred a superior line of German Shepherd dogs and their book "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend," brought them fame with their training techniques. Their philosophy was to train the dog by being the leader, the "alpha." They were also strong advocates of crate-training, forever changing the way we begin life with our new puppies. The "dog bible" of the '80s, our dog, Geronimo, was brought up on this book.

On Nantucket, we had our own dog guru during the1990s. John Ross and his wife, Barbara McKinney, lived here part time, then full time before relocating to Florida. John's puppy classes were always full and we still sell his books, co-authored with Barbara, Dog Talk and Puppy Preschool. He too, espoused training from a canine point of view. John's favorite correction was a low pitched "Na-a-a" growl and he was not above biting an obstreperous dog on the nose. He often recommended the prong collar for "power steering," and a high-pitched, singsong "Good Dog!" rather than a treat for praise. Many Nantucket dogs grew up on his methods, including our Junior.

Now clicker training is back in the limelight. If you remember Col. Most, introduced earlier, this form of positive reinforcement training, operant conditioning, has been around for almost 100 years in the dog world, but it took Karen Pryor's book "Don't Shoot the Dog" in 1984 to raise awareness once again with dog trainers. The Internet and the increasing popularity of agility training have further fueled interest in this discipline, which advocates insist is a fun way to learn while strengthening your bond with your dog.

There is no doubt that Cesar Millan, of National Geographic Channel's Dog Whisperer series, has a special gift with dogs. Arriving in this country from Mexico in 1990, he had no money and could speak no English. Today, he is an advisor to the rich and famous, host of a television series, and subject of a best selling book, "Cesar's Way." Cesar also believes in the power of the pack, using energy and touch to undo lovingly reinforced but destructive efforts owners inflict on their dogs to make them into people with fur. He says, "I rehabilitate dogs, but I train people."

I have to agree; a well-trained dog owner is a

delight to behold. I

Jan Jaeger is owner of Geronimo's, Ltd., Nantucket's pet supply and gift shop, and is a member of DWAA and CWA (Dog and Cat Writer's Associations of America). Her pets at home are Junior, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and three cats. At the shop are the cats, Messrs. Fish and Chips, Flower bunny, Willie guinea pig and two budgies. Send e-mail to jan@geronimos. com.