Many of you know that I am a retired patrol/SWAT officer and former DOD Combat Skills Instructor. I have owned my own training company Modern Combative Systems LLC since 2007. During my career I have taught everything from firearms to high threat driving, and of course what I do the most of now, dog handling. Anything a dog does good or bad is a result of what a human has or has not taught them.
Whether it is combat skills or dog handling, it is too easy to focus on tools in an attempt to fix your problem. This is why when a dog is choking themselves people go from a collar to a harness, now the dog is pulling with every more strength but at least they are not choking themselves. Whether it is guns or dog, it is impossible to solve a training issue with equipment. Most reading this have a pile of “dog stuff” that is no longer used.
No matter what skill set I am teaching, for the student to be successful, the most important thing is mindset. Without it all the training and tools in the world are worthless. Something all skill sets also have in common is that there is a ton of unfiltered information to be had on them all. This leads to one of two things, either the person tries many of them for a short period of time and gives up, or the person is so overwhelmed by the information they give up. There is very little money in taking the complex and making it simple, that is the reason, for the most part, I now only dabble in tactical training, mostly as a hobby. Whether it is using a pistol to defend yourself or being able to control your dog as you pass another dog, yesterday was your last training day. What you did or failed to do will influence the outcome of the situation.
No matter how many people live in the house the dog will likely choose one person. Everyone…with effort can influence the dogs behavior but they all choose one. If that is you in your home you have a choice, you can choose to accept the position of packer leader and lead your dog, or you can choose not to and see what happens. Action and inaction both influence outcomes in all situations. If the dogs chooses you as their person and you refuse to accept the position as pack leader, and instead just tried to “love” the dog, whatever happens, happens. You will have the same amount of influence on the dog.
If you are still reading this and have chosen to be a pack leader here we go. Whether you have one dog or a pack, from the minute your feet hit the floor in the morning you lead. When you intentionally lead dogs notice. This commands their attention and reduces their attempts to challenge you and each other. Lack of leadership is a void that a dog cannot accept and one or more will attempt to establish order. For dogs, because of their relatively short lives, leadership is not a life time appointment. Within a pack dogs get sick and die and another dog steps into the role. This is the reason that they challenge over food, water, space, toys, and attention. The later two are actually human constructs. They are actually part of space. Your dogs are keenly aware of your physical, psychological, and spiritual baselines. When they are off the dog becomes anxious for their wellbeing.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is of course written for people but I will attempt to use it in relation to canines for our purpose. All creatures have physiological needs in this order; water, food. sleep. A dog that knows he will get these things from one person everyday as a matter of routine is going to be a secure confident dog that will look to the handler for all other things. Many of you know that Odin plays a huge part in my recovery from PTSD. This is because pretty much every day for the past five years (except when I am away and Mamma does it) at 7 AM my alarm goes off, my feet hit the floor, he comes out from under the covers between me and Mamma, I kiss his nose and say “good-morning son”. He follows me out of the bedroom and I let him out while I go to the bathroom. Before letting him in I put his bowl of food in his box. He comes in and eats. When he is done, and I have my coffee, we both go to the couch. He sits on my right as I do my prayers and devotionals. His puts his back to me and gets scratched. On my worst days I still have the obligation to lead him….and my family. It is not all about me…or you. We have responsibilities. There is a reason that during war the enemy attempts to kill the leaders. Disrupting leadership is key to winning. Do not allow your leadership to be disrupted. The relationship is this, Odin expects certain things of me and in turn does what I expect from him. If you are intentional and consistent your dog will be too. Leadership is a choice confirmed by actions.
Now onto training and tools. There is no way around it. The foundation of all obedience is loose lead walking. Dogs communicate using movement and touch. This is why I don’t use treats for most things and severely limit my body movements in addition to how and what I say. When your dog is focused on you they are starved for information on what you want them to do. Most people are just unaware of their movements and tone. These are tools for communication but you have to be sure you are not sending mixed signals.
What I am going to say now is self serving because I designed it, sell it and use them to train all dogs. I am talking about the Immediate Correction Lead that comes with every appointment. Necessity leads the way for invention. The key to many things is controlling all the variables that are under your influence. You have to limit the dogs options when it comes to where they walk with you. They need to in what we call the heel box. Basically I want their front right shoulder even with your left knee. This puts them in the perfect position to look up at your face in response to any thing your encounter together. A trained dog on a loose lead will look to the handler for input, an untrained dog will react on their own. When they react on their own, a gentle pop and relax on the lead brings their focus back on you. This is the basis of our Focus Based Canine training. Once the dog focuses on you instead of distractions their is nothing you can’t do together.
When you couple daily routine, silent loose lead walks, and Focus Drills, both supported and non supported you will see a huge change in your dogs.
Our appointments are an hour. We train all breeds from 16 weeks to 16 years old ( I say that because that is the oldest dog we have worked with). We get every dog to walk on a leash in under five minutes.
The video below of 16 week old English Mastiff Daisy Mae performing and unsupported Focus Drill 30 minutes into the the appointment. These results are typical.
If you are ready to accept your role as pack leader contact us today and lets do this.