The Old Trainer: Dogs don’t think the leader walks in front

DEAR OLD TRAINER: My obedience class trainer said it was important to make Trig, my 5-month-old schnauzer, walk behind me to prove I am the leader. How do you train your dogs to walk behind you?

A: I don’t. I want my dogs out front so I can keep track of them and enjoy watching them have fun.

Making your dog walk behind you has nothing to do with leadership. It is an example of projecting human psychology onto a dog who is motivated solely by canine psychology.

Think about it logically for a moment. When wolves hunt in the wild, the leader cannot possibly be in front of every wolf because they are spread out. Therefore, whether the lead wolf is in front or not has nothing to do with being leader of the pack.

It is the fact he orders the pack to be where he wants them and enforces his orders that makes him the leader.

Let Trig walk in front of you so he thinks he is protecting you and so you can watch him. Order him back to you when you think it is wise. The fact you give the orders and control the walk is what demonstrates leadership, not where Trig walks.

DEAR OLD TRAINER: We just moved from San Diego to Mammoth Mountain. Lacy, our Lassie-type collie, is a year old and has never been in cold weather, but is already growing a winter coat. It is only September and not even cold yet. Her coat is twice as thick as it was. How did she know to grow a winter coat and how did she decide when to grow it?

A: The formal name for a collie that looks like Lassie is rough collie, and they have few equals when it comes to growing winter fur. They produce a beautiful, thick coat that makes them look rotund instead of the lean, athletic dog they really are under that movie star fleece.

Collies are as smart as any breed, but Lacy did not decide to grow her winter coat. No dog does. It’s an involuntary reflex triggered by the lower arc of the sun after the summer solstice.

Beginning in late June, each day is shorter than the one before. Days remain warm and the variation in the sun’s position is so slight, most humans don’t notice it.

Lacy didn’t either, but something inside her did. Her wolf DNA measured the change in the sun’s reflection off the trout streams, sensed the shadows getting longer and the days getting shorter, and told Lacy to prepare for the time when, in Bob Dylan’s words, “the rivers freeze and the summer ends.”

The elevation of Mammoth Lakes is also a factor. Winter comes early to the high country because the dip of the sun to its winter path is more pronounced at high altitudes. Dogs get the signal in midsummer: Get ready for winter, the north winds are on the way.

Mammoth Mountain gets some ferocious storms, but they won’t bother Lacy. Her ancestors were bred for cold weather. Once that coat grows out, winter will be one big frolic for her no matter how cold it gets.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 9:10 PM with the headline "The Old Trainer: Dogs don’t think the leader walks in front."