Allison's American Way of Dog Training

By Frank M. Allison III

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Frank M. Allison III
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-5296-6

Contents

MEET THE TRAINER.........................................................IXINTRODUCTION.............................................................XIPART I: EQUIPMENT........................................................1-The Collar..............................................................5-The Leash...............................................................7-The Crate or Cage.......................................................9-The Muzzle..............................................................11-Shock Collars...........................................................13PART II: FASTING YOUR DOG................................................15PART III: DESENSITIZATION & INTENTION....................................21PART IV: THE DOG'S INTELLIGENCE/INTELLECT................................29PART V: TRAINING METHODS.................................................37-Induction and Compulsion—An example...............................41-Induction...............................................................43-Clicker Training Method.................................................45-Compulsion..............................................................46-Training Style Summary..................................................48PART VI: GETTING STARTED.................................................49-Picking Out Our Canine Companion........................................52-Bringing Your Puppy Home................................................54-ready to Train?.........................................................60*Pinch Collar............................................................60*Leash...................................................................61*Level of Physical Stimulation/Communication.............................62*Philosophy..............................................................63*Three Correction rule...................................................64*Body Posture............................................................65*Communication Summation.................................................66-Sit and Sit-Walk Around.................................................67-Down and Down Walk-Around...............................................70-Stand and Stand-Walk Around.............................................73-recall..................................................................76-Heel....................................................................81PART VII: ODDS AND ENDS OF DOG TRAINING..................................85-Barking.................................................................87-Training With obstacles—unexpected results........................89-Training "no" as a Positive Command.....................................91-Are outside encounters encouraging Aggression?..........................93-Contrast Training.......................................................95-ending the race to Answer the Doorbell..................................98-Counter Surfing.........................................................100-What to do with an Aggressive Dog.......................................102Frank Speaks Frankly ... an editorial on Aggression.....................104

Chapter One

PART I

Equipment

The Collar The Leash Crates/Cages Muzzles Shock Collars

Frank's Notes on Equipment ...

I know my training style has raised a few eyebrows in the past because of my use of a pinch collar. It's like I tell most people ... the pinch collar on a dog is like the bit in a horses mouth ... it's not the equipment that is harsh ... it's the handlers' use of the equipment. In the horse world it's called having "soft hands." In my world it's called "slack in the leash."

I have used small pinch collars on every size dog you can think of. The small pinch collar has seen me through smallish dogs (tiny ones get a special made mini collar) through Bull Mastiffs. Along with my six foot nylon cat leash some of the larger dogs are quite a picture!

I've gone to dog expos and I see people with dogs among the crowds with the huge pinch collars that I swear must weigh ten pounds and the dog is still pulling the handlers shoulder out of the socket while the large clip on the end of the leash is slapping the dog in the teeth every time he turns his head.

Not long ago I was attending a dog expo where my training kennel had a booth near an overhead door. The weather was beautiful so the door was open for additional outside activities. Picture what I saw ...

A dog on a huge pinch collar and leash dragging its handler first to the left until it was out of sight, and all of a sudden they would reappear going to the right until they disappeared. This back and forth "drag your handler" went on several times and I was beginning to think I was watching a cartoon.

Another good laugh was all the dogs with "leaders" on their heads. How would you like to be led around by the nose? ... or how about the dogs pulling on flat collars pressing against their windpipes? ... or harnesses bruising shoulders? Proper equipment is as important as use of that equipment. I hope you see the importance of this section of the book ... Frank

The Collar

Let's get the most controversial piece of equipment I use out of the way first. The collar I'm about to explain can be easily misunderstood—the pinch collar. I use a small pinch collar properly fitted on all sized dogs. In all the old training books, the proper wearing of the pinch collar says it should be placed at the base of the head to the top of the neck. The collar should be snug, giving it a rather severe appearance. This way, finesse and timing are required more than sheer brute strength.

When you look at why the pinch collar was even designed, you'll see that it was made to distribute the force of your correction evenly around the neck in a grasping type motion with dull pointed objects. The ends of a good brand of pinch collar will be blunted (rounded) and "double dipped" in chrome. However, they do grasp, similar to a dog grasping with its teeth. This is reminiscent of a mother dog training and disciplining its young. Try putting the pinch collar around your wrist and you'll see that it rests upon the points and evenly distributes spots of force around it.

The old standard choke collar that used to be applied for training constricts completely around the dog's neck, therefore increasing the possibility of physical problems and giving them the feeling in which the device is named ... choking. The popular flat nylon (or leather) collars may come in fashionable colors and designs, however you have no control over the dog's behavior, especially if you have a dog that likes to pull on the leash. Imagine the force exerted on the windpipe of a pulling dog with a flat collar.

I like to validate my position with the pinch collar by referring to a study anyone can find on the internet by Anne Marie Silverton, who is a nationally renowned professional dog obedience trainer. They put choke collars on 50 dogs and pinch collars on another 50 dogs. After the animals died, they did autopsies and found from the 50 dogs that had on the chokes, 47 of them had damage to the neck and trachea area, which was directly related to the blunt trauma of the collar. In direct contrast, 48 of the 50 dogs who wore a pinch collar had no damage at all. One of the two dogs damaged by the pinch collar was found to be abused, too.

regardless of its primitive appearance, the pinch collar is not used to inflict pain on a dog. When properly used, it is not painful and it is certainly safer for the dog.

The Leash

Simply put: I use a six foot nylon cat leash. I may get a few smirks when I tell this to people, but with my style of training that's all you need. In fact, something light and undetectable is necessary, and that's one of the mainstays of the "Allison Approach to Dog Training."

The light weight nylon cat leash allows you to maintain slack in the leash, and give the dog the idea he is loose and at his own liberty. What is crucial to the training is the slack given in the leash. When there is slack, the dog will not feel the weight of the leash. If you put the slack back in the leash fast enough after a correction, he really doesn't know you were responsible for his behavior modification.

Now I know a lot of people will say something like, "oh, the dog knows you corrected him." My comeback is, if you show them they're on the leash, they will learn they're on the leash, but I don't believe they actually know what a leash or pinch collar are actually used for. They don't recognize this equipment and formulate its uses in their mind by simply seeing it and saying to themselves, "here comes the training equipment."

A good example of that pertains to a study scientists did several years ago. They found that a mammal discovered how to use a tool to eat. It had them rethink how mammals learn. They found an ape that took a straw and put it in the hole of a rotten log so it could pull out maggots for food, an accidentally learned behavior, not a pre-thought out behavior. So with this big discovery, accepting that the dog naturally knows what a pinch collar and leash are used for is absurd ... it is a learned thing.

Eventually through association, the dog will learn that if he has this on (the collar and leash), he has to mind you, and if he doesn't have this on, he doesn't have to mind you. Now then, how do you break that association? one, the equipment is worn most of the time until the area around the neck is desensitized, and two, there is slack in the leash, so the dog thinks he is running free most of the time anyway. That way when you want to make a behavior modification, he doesn't fully understand how you can stop him.

The Crate Or Cage

I believe every person that owns a dog should have a crate or cage available for their canine. There are differences between a crate and a cage. The crates are generally made of a hard plastic material with lots of air slots and a metal gated door. These provide a closed-in secure feeling for the dog. The cage is simply an open metal grate type of unit. Both styles have their pros and cons. When choosing the one for your dog, consider the appropriate size you'll need.

Many people use crates/cages for their dogs, especially puppies, when the animals are being left alone. This will insure your canine will not create havoc in your house while you are gone and will remain safe from any hazards they can create. Also, consider the fact that a crated/caged dog in your vehicle is much safer for the occupants in your car, and for his own safety, in the event of an accident, so the crate/cage can act as your canine's "car seat."

One thing I must stress here is you should never, ever use a crate/cage for punishment. You just don't do it. The crate/cage needs to be a place of safety, not a place the dog is going to be put when he's in trouble. It should be a place he WANTS to go when he is in trouble, a refuge perhaps, not a place that you MAKE him go when he's misbehaving. It's his place of safety where he can get away from the world to relax and unwind.

It's worth repeating: NEVER intend to use your crate /cage as punishment, ALWAYS use them as a positive.

The Muzzle

Another piece of equipment people often ask about is muzzles. I don't like to use muzzles at all. Not even to go somewhere "special" (i.e. veterinarian, park, etc.). You do the dog a disservice by taking him out somewhere with a muzzle. The first thing people do is think the dog is mean. Their response to them is different and at times unnatural to the dog. I feel most dogs wearing muzzles are just socially inept.

When you take your dog out with a muzzle on, you get dependent on not only the muzzle, but the safety factor. As a handler, you become lazy and say to yourself, "this is good enough." Then you never finish your conditioning, or see anything through to the point where you no longer need the muzzle. Muzzles serve a purpose if you're a groomer who is unsure of the dog's behavior, or a veterinarian who has to perform a procedure on a dog they don't know and feel they can't trust. Muzzles should not become a lifelong crutch for behavior problems.

If I feel muzzle type equipment is necessary, I prefer to half hitch the leash across the jaw, similar to haltering a horse, which is the basis of the halters they have for dogs now. I make this half hitch out of my nylon lightweight leash in such a way the dog has no idea I've done it until I tighten it up with a tug. By then, any show of resistance is too late. The dog will never relate the control to the leash if done smoothly and properly. Some people have asked me if this won't make the dog shy of the leash, but my response is if it's done right the dog will never even know the leash is involved. Just like training with slack in the leash, if the dog doesn't know what you're doing he can't reason and understand what's happening unless you show it to him. You simply wrap the leash once around his nose. He can't see anything beneath his chin, so he doesn't know something is around his jaw. Any struggle he may attempt will be unsuccessful because you have the leash in place. He won't understand what got him into this position and you need to stay calm, let him struggle a little ... wait ... and then ... you win. The dog will not hold your success against you or even get mad. He will accept defeat.

When you take the leash away form the dog's nose, do not go through any process of making up with him. You won, now move on to something else.

Trainers sometimes use muzzles for aggression. I, however, am not one of them. The old style of working with aggressive dogs was to use a muzzle and put them in a situation where there were other dog aggressive or human aggressive dogs. This way you literally overpowered them, knowing you had safety of the muzzle. After gaining the behavior control that you were looking for, you conditioned him based off the idea that if you conditioned the dog enough, it would override aggression. That's not altogether bad, but in today's time very few people are ever going to follow through, as it is a lengthy process from beginning to end. It's not something that happens in three or four days. Besides, I find there are much more appropriate ways to deal humanely with aggression.

The only time I have ever used a muzzle is with protection dogs I train. Sometimes I check their bite work on non-padded targets. Other than that, I have little use for them.

Shock Collars

Shock collars are good, but like anything else there are pros and cons. You have to use them correctly. Again, the word "intent" comes to the surface.

First of all, don't set the shock deliverance up to the maximum. Start at the lowest level of stimulation, and as soon as you find the setting that shows the dog as been alerted, that's where the remote should be set. Years ago, the problems with shock collars were that they only had three levels of stimulation—and low was still pretty darn strong. There were only two other choices; medium and high. Low would hurt you, and high, well, we don't even want to go there. With micro technology and electronics as they are today, collars now come with 16 stimulation levels and two different delivery systems—momentary and continuous.

With the new shock collars, you can do what is called low stimulation training, which means that you actually interrupt the behavior of the dog with a stimulus so low he can't possibly register it, it just interrupts his behavior. It's an electrical stimulus sent into a bio-electrical machine, therefore deterring behavior and setting the dog up so when he stops a behavior, he doesn't even know why he stopped. You can then redirect his actions, sending him to do something you want him to do. This way you begin a constant game of being able to redirect him and at the same time, he doesn't know that you're doing it.

In the old days, trainers used throw chains for distance training. Now you can use the shock collar, however you should conventionally teach and train the dog to know what is expected of him on the leash first. Most people make the mistake of not training their dog totally on the leash and then they think the shock collar will be a quick fix for them.

Using a shock collar is like other equipment we have discussed. You don't show them the collar, don't show them the remote, don't show them the process of putting the collar on, and don't make a big deal out of it. You want it to be just like petting the dog. You're putting something on and then taking something off, putting something else on and taking something off, and ... see how it gets long and repetitious ... that's how the collar gets lost in his mind, going on and coming off, going on and coming off.

I keep the remote in my pocket or around my neck and I tilt my body away from the dog so he can't see it. Why? Because it's more effective that way, and being more effective means that the effect will last longer, which cuts the length of my training down. See how all these things tie one into the other to enhance the experience? That's the key.

A tip for buying a shock collar ... if possible, buy one collar more than you need. For example, if you have only one dog, buy the set of two collars and one remote. This way when one runs out and it needs charging, there is another one ready. This way your training can continue uninterrupted. Cheap collars are not durable and some are not weather proof. If you are going to invest in shock collars, you may as well get one that will last.

Chapter Two

PART II

Fasting Your Dog

Frank's Notes on Fasting Your Dog ...

Food. Small word, big subject. I've heard too many stories to recount about how a pet has to eat every day (sometimes twice a day) or they just can't survive ... not to mention the "sad eyes" look that requires a treat to stay in your dog's good graces. Wrong.

In my opinion 90% of the dog's desire to eat is habit. If you were to interrupt a dog during mealtime with their favorite activity ... such as a walk outside ... many dogs would leave their food ... and the "sad eyes" syndrome ... it's only in the eyes of the beholder.

I had a lady who was my client for several years first for training and then for special activities like lure coursing. Many times she would show up for my group obedience classes but I'm sure a lot of that was for socializing (her own) reasons. She usually took her dog on vacation with her and planned her driving hours around her pet's meal time explaining to me that if "rover" didn't eat on schedule he would "just simply collapse." She had an out of town family emergency and left "rover" with me for several days with exact feeding time instructions. now generally if someone left specific instructions with me I followed them even if I didn't necessarily agree with them ... after all ... it is their dog. However, on this occasion I just couldn't manage her feeding times which were twice a day at hours that just didn't come close to the other 30 or so dogs I had with me at the time. "Rover" got fed like everyone else, on my schedule, and he was just fine. He even lived through the one day a week fast my personal dogs go through. When my client returned to a happy, tail wagging dog ... she thanked me profusely for the care of her dog with a "now you understand" attitude ... her dog would have "just collapsed" if I hadn't followed its schedule ... Frank

(Continues...)

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