Excited again!!!!!111!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!!!1

I am really excited again about owning a dog! See, for the last couple of weeks, the shininess had worn off Denali, and her minuses were starting to outweigh her pluses.

First a little background. This is our first dog, for all intents and purposes, and we know absolutely nothing about training or raising a puppy. So we bought a book and enrolled in puppy classes at a large pet store chain.....I'll call it Smet Part.

(A little disclaimer: I like the store, Smet Part, but the particular trainer that I got just didn't set right with me. So this post should not be construed as being against the store, but rather the trainer and specifically, the training methods.)

So, for 6 weeks, the SP trainer has been teaching us how to get our dogs to behave using treats. The only negative tool that we had to use was removing ourselves from our dog's presence (because the dog REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to be around you and it doesn't like not being around you so it's punishment).

Well, we have had a problem with Denali biting during play. It's just puppy nipping, but she has broken the skin on more than one occasion, and we were starting to get worried about her biting not only us, but also others.

Unfortunately, the SP trainer only offered the "remove yourself" tool to correct this behavior; I am not by nature a passive person, so I would have much rather taken immediate action towards Denali other than hoping she associated my going away with her biting.

Well, everything changed last night as we engaged the services of Larry Blackburn. This guy is the real deal! Right off the bat he gave us two more tools to actively curb Denali's unwanted behaviors.

The first tool, which was to address the biting issue, was to be used when she was trying to bite or already was in the biting process; we would immediately take our index finger and shove it down her throat until she gagged. Yeah, sounds icky, right?

It works. Larry explained that we were not hurting Denali, but we were making her very uncomfortable, and in the process, preventing her from biting us as she couldn't bite while gagging. I can personally say that I've used the maneuver a couple of times and have noticed a drop in the biting behavior. YAY!!! Denali is becoming a joy again!

The other tool, which address her biting our legs, shorts, and pants, was to step on her back paw. Once again, we weren't out to CRUSH it, just enough pressure to make her uncomfortable (usually a yelp was the result).

The biggest thing about both of these tools is that they're immediate and action oriented. Denali quickly associates the bad behavior with the negative tool and stops the behavior. It turns out that pain and discomfort are much better tools to address unwanted behavior.

Of course, I knew this was true for kids; while my oldest son professes to need positive encouragement, it is only negative consequences that affect a change in him. When I use only positive feedback, it just allows him more time to put off the change until he absolutely has to...ie, when the negative consequences are upon him!

There were other things throughout the hour of training that resonated with me from a training standpoint, but the one that really stands out is his whole philosophy behind why the dog obeys.

See, the SP guy, by using treats, teaches the dog to perform for the treat; Larry, on the other hand, teaches the dog to obey me, regardless of any treats.

SP method: I'm a vending machine
Larry method: I'm the master

Personally, I like Larry's way much better, and after thinking it through, I came up with an interesting thought about the difference:

SP thinks that I am fostering a loving bond between me and my dog by not using negative reinforcement, but in reality, I'm just getting my dog to love/obey me because I'm bribing her. And we all know what happens when the bribes stop.

Larry, on the other hand, actually teaches me to create this bond through positive and negative tools, and Denali loves/obeys me because of me, because of her desire to please me, and because of her respect for me. No bribes needed.

And, for the parents out there, I'm sure you can relate to the difference between having your kids obey you because you bribe them and having them obey you because they respect you. In the former case, the kids are constantly wanting more. The latter is a world of difference and makes the home much more pleasant.

So, here's to Denali and a home more pleasant!