How to train your dog not to run away from you at the park!

Second to learning how to walk nicely on leash, new dog owners' second most requested call for help is a reliable recall while off leash.  In Toronto, the unfortunate thing is most dog owners are inadvertently training to teach their dogs to run away from them!  

What do knowledgeable dog owners do differently to train their dogs to stay nearby and come when called?

How do you safely take a toy or bone away from a dog?

Does your dog exhibit aggressive behavior when he has a bone or toy?  This issue is called Resource Guarding and if not addressed, can escalate into dangerous behaviors like biting.

From an evolutionary standpoint, dogs developed this behavior for obvious reasons.  If a dog didn't protect high value objects like meaty bones from theft, it would starve, pure and simple!

In practical terms, that toy, bone, or high valued object is rewarding to the dog, and having it taken away is an undesired outcome.

Forcing the dog physically to give up the toy will cause this problem to escalate, up to and including severe biting.  So how can we address it safely?

Your dog pulls because someone, somewhere
at some time, took a step when he put tension on the leash.

He continues to pull because it continues to be a rewarding experience. He pulls, and he gets to the car. He pulls and he gets to greet that other dog in class. He pulls and the neighbor lady across the street tells him how lovely he is, even though he is now not JUST pulling but is also climbing up the front of her with his muddy dog paws, to which she replies, "it's ok, I don't mind!"

This is what loose leash walking looks like!
Photo courtesy of Cathy Fox

Here is the elusive answer to the ever present question of HOW DO I TEACH MY DOG NOT TO PULL?? (Shhhhh - it's a secret!)

Many dog training and dog obedience schools in Toronto claim to be "humane" or "positive" but when you actually dig deeper, they're not at all!  Oftentimes, students will have already paid in full, and either stick with the program and reluctantly hurt their dogs, or, they quit and have lost their money.

One way to tell if a school is truly positive and science based is by the equipment used.  Effective science based training dictates you use an event marker or a clicker, because its scientifically proven to be more effective than using your voice.  They may also use tools like target sticks.  No special collars or leashes are required because you don't actually lay your hands on your dog.

Having attended classes at other schools, and heard second hand from friends and colleagues of schools in the area, here are some examples of training methods that are used at schools in Toronto that claim to be "positive" and "humane".

1. Physically manipulating a dog to position, no matter how gentle you are with them.  I witnessed a dog trainer try to force a dog into the heel/finish position and the dog just kept on popping up to a stand.  The harder the trainer placed the dog back, the more insistent the dog was to spring back up.  The entire class of 10 students watched for three minutes as dog bounced up, dog trainer pushed down, dog bounced up, repeat, and visible frustration began to appear on the dog trainers face.  Placing a dog through physical force, no matter how gentle, is a waste of time (no learning occurs here).
2. Jerking on the leash, regardless of collar type.  Some dog trainers in Toronto will tell you that a quick jerk on the leash when the dog is wearing a flat collar or a martingale is harmless to the dog and that only a choke or prong collar is harmful.  Wrong - all jerking on the leash can cause damage to a dog's neck and trachea.  These trainers will say that the jerk is to help the dog focus.  What the jerk really is is punishment for focusing on the wrong thing.  Why not just show the dog what he SHOULD be focusing on, not what he SHOULDN'T be focusing on?
3. Acting like a wolf or some sort of big alpha dog.  This is dog owners making deep grring noises or talking like they are manly lumberjack men. According to these dog trainers, somehow if you make your dog thing you are a big scary dog, suddenly your dog will know how to recall, sit, stay, come, down, and also finish an agility course.  After all, dogs all know how to fetch beers from the fridge or play dead - you just need to be alpha enough so they perform for you.  Yeah right.  Don't believe me when I say the concept of "alpha" is both incorrect and irrelevant?  Would you believe the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior? 
   
   • "Despite the fact that advances in behavior research have modified our understanding of social hierarchies in wolves, many animal trainers continue to base their training methods on outdated perceptions of dominance theory."
   • Full article and statement HERE.

So if these sorts of techniques get passed off as "humane", then what does truly humane and positive dog training look like?