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Praise And Punishment
"It is impossible to train a dog
through his skin or his stomach," is a well known saying, and the
trainer who attempts it will never attain success. And when someone
exclaims that his dog is more obedient when whipped, I am constrained
to inquire exactly how that dog obeys. It will be found that he obeys
invariably through fear which is just the opposite of what we want. A
dog ought to work with pep, and joy, with shining eyes, willing to
repeat on command at any moment for his beloved master. Surely we do
not want him to obey shivering, with his tail between his legs, and
waiting only for the moment when the command is finished so that he can
slip away at the first opportunity out of reach of the master who
abuses him!
Shyness is caused by wrong treatment or abuse; by hitting, pinching or
whipping. As such abuse originates in the hands, the dog at first
becomes hand-shy and, suspicious that he will be punished for
everything he does, he loses confidence in his master. In other words,
he grows master-shy. No dog is born shy. All puppies come joyfully no
matter who calls them. If the mother is shy, it is natural that the
puppies should reflect her attitude as long as she remains with the
litter. For this reason, the puppies of a shy mother should be taken
from her at the age of eight weeks.
Every dog considers his acts as right. And from his standpoint they are
right. For instance, he tackles the man who reads the gas meter.
Suspicious of the intruder's movement with his flashlight, he considers
it his duty to protect his master's property. Wherefore, it becomes our
duty to divert the dog's thinking to other channels, not by whipping,
abuse or starving for it cannot be done that way. By means of our own
mental superiority we must discipline him in a sensible way to do what
we want. We must make him understand that acts of his, of which we do
not approve, can only result in discomfort for him. Of course the dog
should receive praise when he does right; nevertheless, praise ought to
be administered as sensibly as punishment else it will tend to produce
quite the opposite effect. In fact, the dog that is over-praised and
over-coddled often becomes spoiled, destructive and disobedient. I do
not like to see owners petting, even kissing, their dogs in public for
no apparent reason: such conduct is detrimental to the best interests
of all dogs in that it seems to further inflame dog haters. Yes, those
who really love dogs, as I do, realize that, insofar as caressing a dog
in public is concerned, a gentlemanly restraint is the finest
advertisement of true regard for our friend the dog.
It is the problem of the owner to allot praise and punishment
consistent with the dog's nature. Naturally throughout all training a
dog of soft character needs more praise than a dog of good strong
character. Regardless of individuality, however, when the dog performs
in perfect harmony" with his lesson, he should be praised, but in
moderation. And I believe it need not be added that no dog should be
given praise or punishment without good reason.
I myself invariably hesitate to administer punishment for fear the dog
may not have understood what was required of him. Frequently, the
lesson must be repeated again and again, in a different way even, for
the purpose of making the order clear. When the dog docs not respond
the first or the second time, the guide must not lose his temper: he
must try it all over once more. To strike the dog is to inspire fear,
whereupon he may be apprehensive about doing even the right thing
through dread of punishment.
It is quite different when a dog goes through his lesson several times
correctly, then out of sheer stubbornness refuses to repeat it. This is
the time for definite but short punishment such as a jerk at the
collar, or a hit with the chainette. But never whip a dog: never do as
one trainer, so-called, recommended: "take him by the ears and shake
him." Not only is punishment of this kind absolutely useless as a form
of correction, it is detrimental to all future training because, as
previously outlined, it is done with the hands which must as far as
possible be kept away front the dog when punishment is administered.
Important also is your conduct after the dog has been punished.
Immediately go through one or two commands with him. Give him some
slight praise, then make up with him by a little play in order to
restore his confidence. Do not, however, mix praise with punishment.
The word NO, or SHAME will constitute the lightest form of reprimand,
while the most drastic is the throwing of the chainette. The first
mentioned can be employed as a warning in connection with any lesson,
whereas the latter should be used with caution and only when it is
certain that the dog understands the command but will not respond. Do
not punish in any way at all when a dog docs not know his lesson, or
when it requires what seems to you to be too long a time for him to
grasp it. Be quick to look for faults in yourself, and make allowances
for the dog as a creature devoid of reasoning power. And don't forget
that you are his mental superior. Once more, let me say, keep your
temper. If you cannot control yourself, you can never control anyone
else, much less a dog! Nevertheless we must be strict, and accurate,
during training. We must see to it that every command is carried out
with exactness, otherwise the dog will not regard his training
seriously, and success will be doubtful. Don't be sentimental: be firm
if you would expect results.
Things easy are seldom truly successful. Quite to the contrary, results
achieved by patient, hard work arc alone enduring. While on this
subject of punishment I would like to mention a case that should prove
of interest to dog lovers as well as to trainers. Several years ago a
man asked me what to do about a dog which would never work in field
trials unless he gave him a beating beforehand. The rules governing
field trials in Germany are very strict, and the use of whip or
training collar at trials is forbidden. Consequently this man had never
won a trial despite the fact that his dog was well trained. He was not,
of course, permitted to use the whip before the examinations began. I
kept this dog in my kennel for a week and after I had won his complete
confidence by feeding him, I started practising. The first lesson
surprised me for though I knew the dog had been well trained, he would
not do a thing! Never have I seen a more stubborn animal. I tried every
exercise ten or fifteen different ways, always avoiding use of the
whip, of course, for the simple reason that I could not bring myself to
believe the owner's statement about the whip being necessary. My
resources were at an end!
As a last resort, I cut a soft branch from a nearby tree and, with it
in my hand, I approached the dog. Down he went, wagging his tail like a
puppy ready for play as he awaited me. Even then I could not whip him
because it is against my principles. So I started to beat the
ground close beside him. Each time I hit the ground, the dog was filled
apparently with a convulsive excitement. Then I threw the switch away,
whereupon the dog shook himself as if rousing from a pleasant nap.
Again I began the lesson with almost unbelievable results!
He went through all the exercises with such lightning speed that it was
a pleasure to work with him. Every day after that, I increased the
distance of the simulated whipping and, after ten days, I found I could
beat the ground a hundred feet away and get exactly the same effect.
This dog later won many field trials and eventually became one of
Germany's outstanding working dogs. And may I add that the owner has
always given me full credit for his success!
This is a striking case of animal masochism which of course is rare.
From it I have reached the following conclusion: If you have a dog that
has been accustomed to the whip and you think you cannot get along"
without it, try using it as I have described here. Truly, it is
painless punishment, more effective than a real whipping. Hit the
ground close to the dog, then watch results.
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