Jack Haskins: Canine philosophy key to training

DEAR OLD TRAINER: We have a 12-month old Doberman/shepherd mix. Solo is very sweet and learned house training in just a day or two. I want to train her myself, but she is so playful and full of energy I feel overwhelmed. Where do I start and what do I do?

A: There is no official starting place when you train a new dog, but the first thing beginning trainers must study is canine philosophy, not the technical steps involved in each command.

The way you understand canine psychology is to watch dogs. Study Solo and every dog at the dog park. Watch their body language. Why are their ears erect at times, laid back at others? When is the tail up or down? Why do they stand erect at times, slump at others? Where do they focus their attention?

Then go to YouTube and watch the stunning documentary “Wolves at Our Door,” a master’s class on the canine mind.

And read my column every week.

After you study what makes dogs tick, prepare a training plan for Solo.

Movie star – and dog lover – Jimmy Stewart was once asked how well his dogs were trained.

“Well now,” Stewart replied, “the difference between ‘trained OK’ and ‘trained perfectly’ doesn’t really matter to me. I once did a film with Lassie. When that dog got excited he jumped all over Rudd Weatherwax (Lassie’s trainer). If the world’s smartest, best-trained dog can jump around to show he’s happy, then my little dogs should be allowed to do the same.”

That point escapes many dog owners. The first rule of training is to have fun and make sure Solo does, too. And nothing is more fun for Solo than having you love on her and brag on her.

You must be confident. If you are, Solo will be too. The problem is, you cannot fake confidence. If you are nervous Solo will know it an instant, so relax and have a good time. As long as you and Solo have fun and she ends the session a little more trained than she was when it began, it was a success.

In addition to understanding canine psychology, there are standard techniques a trainer must master for every training session:

Exercise Solo to burn off some of her energy before you start. Stand erect. Adopt the same formal body language as a teacher in a classroom.

Speak in a normal voice. Keep each training session short – no more than 10 minutes – but hold several a day. Eliminate distractions during training sessions.

Here are the four steps to teaching any command:

1. Show Solo what you want her to do.

2. Give the command in your normal speaking voice.

3. Give her 10 seconds to think about it.

4. When she does it right, praise her and love on her.

I always start with the “sit” command, but as long as you use the above information you may start with any command that suits you and Solo.

Remember, no matter what you are teaching your dog, love is the most important part of the training.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Jack Haskins: Canine philosophy key to training."