Devoted Guardian by Jewell
Reflections
All Rights Reserved
The Holistic Dog
Considering the whole dog and how training fits in....
Printed in the December
issue of
Spirit of the Valley
by
Fran Jewell
Owner/Instructor - Positive Puppy Dog Training, LLC
Executive Director, Positive Partners Assistance Dogs, Inc.
Not
many people associate obedience training with the Holistic care of their
dog. When we use the term
Holistic, we think of using Chinese Herbs, Homeopathy, natural nutrition,
acupuncture and other schools of thought associated with good health. The
term “Holistic” refers to the whole person, or dog in this
particular case. Education is
a part of that whole. So, why then, if we intend to consider our dog
Holistically, would we not include education for our dog?
Education for people, helps us to develop who we are and understand
our world better. It does
exactly the same thing for our dogs.
I see “obedience
training” as education and a tool for communication between our dogs and
us. While sometimes, the term
“obedience” connotates “control”, some people find it hard to
consider training for their adored companion.
In the larger picture, when we train our dogs, we learn amazing
things about them, and in turn, they learn about us.
Training enriches our understanding of each other and develops a
trust that simply living with a dog cannot.
When we train our
dog, we discover their capacity to learn, their willingness or lack of
willingness to please. We learn what motivates our individual dog and what
makes them different from every other dog.
We learn their idiosyncrasies that make them special.
But, best of all we learn more about their language and they learn
about ours.
When we
teach our dog something as simple as sit, or as complicated as searching
for lost people, we teach our dogs our language…Sit, Down, Heel, Search,
etc. Dogs do not understand English until we teach them.
And in turn, we do not understand as much about our dog’s
language until we experience them. That is the basis for communication. The more we teach our dog, the better our communication
with them is.
When someone
comes to me with a problem with their dog, inevitably it is because the
total picture is off and the dog is not being considered holistically.
If the dog is out of control, it can be an energy management
problem, a dietary problem, a health problem, a communication (training)
problem, or leadership problem and is usually a combination of all of
those things. If the dog is
aggressive, it can be dominance confusion, a leadership problem, health
problem, lack of socialization, or communication problem.
Dog training has
changed over the years almost as much as technology and probably just as
much as the medical field. Almost
like “bleeding a patient” was an accepted treatment.
In childhood, paper cups and string made a telephone from one
friend’s house to another. We
used to accept very forceful techniques in dog training.
With new knowledge about how dogs learn and proven evidence that
dogs can actually problem solve, dog training is no longer the dreaded
process it was for many years. Using
motivational, directional techniques we can actually utilize the dog’s
natural ability to solve problems and learn in an entirely different,
exhilarating and meaningful manner. We
have learned to look past the nuts and bolts of “performing a
behavior” to understanding at depth each dog with their individual
abilities, learning styles, and passions.
In short, with the advancement
in training techniques, particularly the development of clicker training,
we can and should incorporate training our dog as part of a holistic
lifestyle. It is not only a
training technique dogs and people can get excited about as fun, but it
helps us to develop a deeper sense of relationship with our four legged,
dear friends.
Copyright
Positive Puppy Dog Training LLC 2004