Dog Training 101

Although I have owned Siberian Huskies for 12 years, and dogs in general pretty much most of my life, I never really felt the need to take any of them to obedience class…until Scarlet. Earlier this year I decided I wanted to become involved in the show ring, and set out to find the perfect show puppy.  I had long admired the dogs from Ravenwood Kennel, decided to get in touch with the owner, Mary Alice.  Mary Alice informed me she had one little red/white female available.  So I made the 3 hour drive to Mary Alice’s home, and after watching her run and play in the kennel, I decided that she was the one for me.  Mary Alice casually informed me that the puppy was very ornery and spoiled.  We got her home and decided that we would name her Scarlet, and her registered name became Ravenwood’s Gone With The Arctic Wind.  After only about a week of her being home, we began to see how ornery she was.  As she grew, she liked to shove and knock our Jack Russells around, even going so far as to sit on them.  She tried to make herself “taller” than us by standing on our laps when we were sitting on the couch and looking down at us.  She would jump up on the couch just as I was about to sit down and take my seat.  After doing some research, we learned that these are all signs of dominant, or “alpha” behavior.  Siberian Huskies by nature are very intelligent dogs, but also very stubborn.  I knew we needed to get some help, and quick, or she would never make it in the show ring with the attitude and bad habits she was developing.  I contacted the Upper Ohio Valley Obedience Training Club in Bellaire, Ohio.  Scarlet and I signed up for basic obedience classes which take place once a week in the evenings.  I leave work on Tuesdays at 5 p.m., drive part way back to Cameron to meet my husband or son with Scarlet, then turn around and head to Bellaire for class at 6 p.m.  Sounds like a crazy hassle, I know, but we have enjoyed our one hour class every Tuesday evening and I am simply amazed at how much she has learned and how far she has come in a very short time.  She now knows “sit”, “stand”, “come” and “down”—some of these without even giving verbal commands.  She is doing very well with “heel” and loose lead walking.  We are working on “stay” right now and our homework for next week is to teach her a trick.  She is developing good manners, has a better attitude with our other dogs, and things have improved a lot at home.  Patience, repetition, and good eye contact is the key to successful training and, oh yes, lots of praise and treats!

Some of the benefits of dog training are:

·      It provides owners with the skills and knowledge to deal with common, normal dog behaviors, such as housetraining or chewing.

·      It teaches basic good manners for your dog—from politely greeting guests when they arrive to walking nicely on a leash.

·      It provides socialization which is critical to the psychological health of adult dogs.

·      It has been shown to be the single more important thing that keeps a dog in its “forever” home.

·      It builds a mutual bond and enriches the relationship you have with your dog.

Scarlet will “graduate” next Tuesday from Basic Obedience, and our trainer, Gary, has recommended that we go on to more advanced training, so we will be enrolling in Basic Obedience II.   I’m confident that once she completes that training we will be ready for handling and conformation classes so that we can eventually get her in the show ring.  If you have a “problem” dog, or just want to have fun with your dog and see how much they (and you) can learn, I would encourage you to enroll in obedience classes, whether it is with the Upper Ohio Valley Obedience Training Club (www.uovotc.org) or with another trainer.  If Scarlet can learn, any dog can learn.

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