The Old Trainer: Huskies are a challenge for trainers

DEAR OLD TRAINER: I am having a hard time training Brutus, my 2-year-old Husky. You never mention using treats to train your dogs. Do you use treats and would it be easier to train Brutus using them?

Dan, South Lake Tahoe

A: Huskies are wonderful dogs, but one of the hardest breeds to train. They are smart, energetic and have a big ego. That’s a challenge for any trainer.

It’s not that they can’t learn – they do that with ease – it’s that they think they already know everything. Their attitude is, “I love you, boss, but I’m so smart and handsome I’ll ignore any command that doesn’t fit my plans because I know best.”

Go ahead and try treats with Brutus if you think it will help.

Treats do work, but I don’t use them for several reasons.

One, I don’t care to walk around all day with my pockets stuffed with treats.

Two, I don’t want my dogs to stop all activity and wait for a treat each time they do something right.

Three, I base all training on canine psychology and in the wild the pack doesn’t get a reward when they obey an order from the leader. Expectation of reward is a human affectation, not part of canine psychology.

Really, it comes down to what the trainer prefers, because the dog doesn’t care one way or the other.

DEAR OLD TRAINER: We have two dogs, Hobe, a 3-year-old Bichon, and Lady, a 5-year-old Schnauzer, who are both trained. We just rescued Mandy, a 1-year-old Jack Russell we will pick up in 10 days. Will it cause a problem when we introduce her to the older dogs?

Aaron, San Leandro

A: No problem at all. You have the Canine Rule of Thirds in your favor.

The Photography Rule of Thirds is an aid experts use in composing their pictures. The canine version holds that adding a third dog gives you a 50 percent increase in enjoyment at a cost of only 1 percent increase in your time.

That’s because your older dogs do most of the training. They keep her in line, show her the ropes and teach her what your commands mean.

Young dogs are like little brothers – they imitate everything they see their hero do – so let Mandy tag along on walks and to the dog park. She will learn commands and hand signals watching the other two.

Hobe and Lady may snarl and bristle now and then when Mandy arrives, but don’t worry. They are just teaching her the pack rules. Watch and you will learn a few lessons about training.

Don’t interfere unless it becomes physical. Let them work it out on their own.

Hobe and Lady have the right to protect their toys and their favorite spots in the house and car.

Feed Mandy at the same time and in the same place you feed the older dogs, but watch until all three are finished.

Separate her from the other two when working on basic commands they already know. It makes the older dogs uncomfortable if they see the leader unhappy and having to discipline or correct the new dog. They worry that they have done something wrong.

This story was originally published January 30, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "The Old Trainer: Huskies are a challenge for trainers."