Nearly 10 years ago, I wrote this small book for the adoption packets for my Australian Cattle Dog Rescue. We had a nearly 100% adoption retention rate (I called it 'sticking!') but this little extra serving of mindset-ology really helped a lot of dogs and their owners understand each other better and ascend to a greater level in their human-dog relationships. This book became very popular across the internet, leading to my allowing other rescues (of strong breeds) to use it, as well, so long as proper copyright is attached.
FIRM BUT FAIR: Training the ACD with Baggage (and Tough Love for ACD Owners)
15,000 years ago, the first dog was taken into its first human cave and given a place in the course of human existence.
Surely these first dogs and their owners found it challenging and difficult to compromise between what each thought were acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in their day to day living.
Nowadays, we would call the acceptable behaviours in dog-human relations ‘manners’ and the unacceptable behaviours ‘crimes.’
It is not impossible or scary to train your dog to have ‘manners,’ although in rescuing a breed such as the australian cattle dog, I have seen the result of behavioural leniency over and over again.
These results include (but are not limited to)
The 2 TOP BEHAVIOUR CRIMES OF HUMAN-DOG RELATIONS
(dogs that overtly display these behaviours with intent to harm humans in any way are not eligible for rescuing from responsible rescue groups because of the obvious legalities. People sue good-intentioned rescuers all the time for nondisclosure of information; most groups have the good sense to not become one of them)
Which are:
•grumbling (rrrrrrrrr) or growling (RRRRRRRR with or without teeth) at
human beings for ANY REASON (ANY!!!)
•mouthing or teeth (nipping or biting) on human flesh for ANY REASON
(ANY!!!) be it “fear biting” or any other excuse
(Note: the exception to fear biting is that which is a TRUE accident, such as if you were trying to break up a fight between two dogs and got bit by absolutely, positively mistake, in which case the dog would be royally “sucking up” to you afterwards and demonstrating to you that it was very, very sorry through its posture and behaviours)
and, of course, all the other stuff that is simply annoying and must be dealt with:
•jumping up on people
•using furniture as vaulting equipment
•begging
•whining
•scratching at doors
•chewing objects that are not theirs
•soiling in the house (ie. not housetrained)
•running in the house
•barking
•digging
•jumping fences
•etc (all the non-aggression related misdemeanors)
Most australian cattle dog owners know that the temperament of this breed is such that he or she would gladly ‘rule the roost’ if able to.
Most will test or ‘quiz’ you from time to time for rank and power within the family organization, known as a ‘pack’ when we are talking about just dogs. In the dog-human relations world there is no name for it other than ‘canine-human family dynamics.’
This is because little over 100 years ago, this breed was developed through crossings of smooth collie and wild dingoes (which have been wild in Australia for 10,000 years) to get the intelligent, strong, quiet, tough working dog we know today.
Humans are not dogs, nor can they be ‘alpha’ in a dog ‘pack.’ Human beings are to be treated pretty much as GODS in their dogs’ viewpoint, something much higher still than the ‘alpha’ in their own dog pack.
Therefore, as a god, it is your right and DUTY to make sure none of your dogs is violating any of the above top behavioural crimes, namely, any aggression or dominance behaviours of any kind toward humans.
They will maintain their own order within their dog pack and from time to time have a quarrel amongst their ranks. You should allow them to do this as long as there is no real blood being spilt. However, it is up to you, as god of the dogs, to maintain the order in the dog pack with equanimity and swiftness and to separate dogs that cannot get along no matter what or to use whatever powers you have (as a god) to work out a relationship between them and (aha!) to know the difference.
You need to know when to call it quits, (ie. re-home the instigator-but NOT if it is a biter of humans-or put it down humanely at your vet’s if it is) if need be.
This is what FIRM BUT FAIR means. With our breed you must use some corporal training (negative reinforcement or physical corrections) along with positive reinforcement to train them.
Almost all cattle dogs are going to need some physical correction at one time or on a regular basis. It is only natural for them to attempt to be the boss of the family but if you maintain a very obvious god standpoint in their eyes, they will always seek your approval, listen to you at all times and respect you and your wishes.
They will behave the best and be able to learn best if they see you as a god and not a pushover. Everyone will be happier and the dog will feel more confident of his place in the family dynamics (which, of course, will result in a happier dog with a very stable temperament).
Most of all, you must never, ever let a cattle dog win a dominance test.
What is a dominance test in the cattle dog’s eyes? It can be as simple as a grumble when you take a toy or treat away or as seemingly innocent as being allowed to win a game of tug of war.
Yes, that seemingly insignificant act has a potentially huge payoff in the cattle dog’s mind. This is the exact game that they use to win dominance with each other (with a toy or a piece of meat in the wild).
You must never be thought of as having the ranking of another dog.
Do not play tug of war with a cattle dog. It is beneath you, as a god.
Or else, be sure YOU win every single time without fail. Tug of war is the most significant test a cattle dog can do to you. Don’t fall for it! You are not a dog! Note: after your relationship with your cattle dog is solidified and rank is no longer a questionable issue up for debate, you could probably play tug with certain individuals with no threat of creating an atmosphere conducive to a potential uprising.
Always pet your cattle dog from the top, not the bottom (unless you are
absolutely 100% sure of his viewpoint of your godlike status in the family). Pet the top of the head or his back, lay your arm over his neck when he’s laying down and you are laying next to him, pick him up in your arms with his stomach facing up.
All of these actions will undoubtably demonstrate to your cattle dog that you are above him in rank and it is okay for him to be a lesser ranking creature in the family.
Praise your dog only when he really is being good, not just any old time. Don’t be too excited to see him or pet him when he wants you to. Push him off, saying “NO!” when he solicits for pets. Only pet him when you call him to you.
You make all the decisions on everything, not your dog.
Do not let your dog sit between you and another person or dog. This is an ownership behaviour, with the dog thinking dominant thoughts about his ‘ownership’ of you. Push him off, saying “NO!” Again, you make all the decisions about what the dog gets to do. Be firm and fair about it.
Do not pussyfoot around or make excuses about any of the dog’s bad behaviours. Just about all unwanted behaviours can be corrected through swift, firm and fair corrections.
There should be NO behaviours that you just have to step around or that make you think, “Oh, that’s just how he is...I have to learn to live with it.”
No, you don’t!
The only behaviours that are not correctable are true viciousness, with intent to harm a human being. Once a dog has broken human flesh, it is impossible to retract that behavioural memory or the effect it had on the human involved (to get the human to either do or not do what the DOG wanted....something that should never happen. The dog is not in charge).
The only ethical recourse for this is to have the dog humanely put down at your vet’s.
A conscientious rescue group makes every effort to correct bad behaviours to insure that your adoption experience is a good one. However, you must be sure to continue the dog’s training for the rest of its life.
It is expected that it will still occasionally test you or another person. Usually each new person it meets is going to be tested in some way almost immediately....you should tell your friends about the training of your dog and what you expect them to do if the dog tries to test them.
Do not be surprised when your dog attempts to play tug of war with your guest or jumps on them. Just tell your guest what to do, be it to turn around so that their back is facing the jumper, or to put their knee between them and the dog and say “OFF!” or just don’t play tug of war with him.
So, what makes for a good correction? First of all, make sure a real crime has been committed. What a real crime is depends entirely on you, using the above list as a starting point.
Remember how teacher said ‘All actions cause an equal reaction?’
It is the same for correction training in cattle dogs.
If a dog jumps on the couch, it is not as big a deal as nipping or growling.
A simple shove- swiftly and unceremoniously- down to the floor while saying “NO!” very loudly is enough (you may have to repeat this until the dog ‘gets it.’).
When the dog is being good, you can reward any way you choose. You’re the god! Pass out the hot dog bits, the kitty kat treats or the loving pats on the head along with some praise: “goooood boy”! Don’t overdo it or else the dog will think you want him to repeat the whole thing. NOTE: The word ‘yes’ should not be used to praise the Australian Cattle Dog. Like most unrefined primitive/natural breeds, it has an inborn aversion to venomous snakes and critters that make a hissing sound. Ethologically, the use of ‘yes’ as a praise word is actually a negative sound to these types of dogs, particularly with the drawn out ‘ssss’ at the end. ‘Yay’ or ‘Wee/Oui’ are much better choices as praise words since they end on ‘eee’ sounds that prey animals make when chased or caught. This instinctual association effects a quick and pleasurable reaction from these types of dogs.
Certainly, aggressive acts of any kind, even a suggestion of the mouth coming to your hand because he doesn’t want you to touch his toenails with that clipper, warrants an equivalent or slightly harsher correction. Whatever works or is just a bit harsher than what they intended is fine.
Yes, I am telling you it is okay to sometimes physically punish your cattle dog (actually a muzzle nip, like they would do to each other, does work the best—but as author Carol Lea Benjamin once said, most people do not want to pull dog hair out of their teeth!).
BUT:
NOT viciously, violently, unendingly, angry, no holds-barred, all-day grudgefests and NOT in front of crowds of hysterical soccer moms or ANYONE for that matter. It is a private occurrence between you and your dog and not something that anyone else need see or hear about later.
It is not and should not be abuse; it is correcting a dog in a very similar way that the mother dog or another dog would have.
It should be quick, fast, firm and FAIR. You need to know when to stop.
Here is a perfect guideline: it should not last longer than two seconds per INDIVIDUAL correction/crime and you need to choose your battles. The dog does not need a ‘10’ correction for a ‘1’ crime.
The following is for TOP CRIMES ONLY (ie. AGGRESSION towards humans).
In such extreme cases (ie. the dog has been getting away with it for awhile and you would like to make a fair attempt to assert your newly educated godlike status) you may have to physically restrain the dog.
This includes basically getting your body on top of the dog (like a wrestling match but without crushing him! Remember to be fair!) or lifting him from the ground by the scruff of his neck or (if you are afraid to be bitten) a leather leash and chain collar combo (put on properly....like the letter ‘p’ not ‘q’) to administer this seemingly harsh correction (all four feet just barely off the ground and far enough away to not bite you and only for a second or so, just to get the point across). This will not kill the dog!
The dog’s throat is designed to be able to take potentially dangerous bites from a fight with another dog and for corrections administered by the mother dog or others in the dog pack. The larynx is in the center of the neck, not near the front of the neck like a human’s. A correction like this, done fairly, is unlikely to hurt a dog the size or type of a cattle dog.
It is a time honored tough correction used by dog trainers the world over (who also train tough, brave breeds, which the acd is, like rottweilers and akitas) BUT- and I repeat-BUT ONLY in cases in which the dog has been getting away with being higher ranking than the human for awhile and is willing to fight with the human for the highest rank.
There must be no fear involved in this training, only confidence. No yelling. No words. You must EXUDE confidence. You must reek of confidence and make the dog promise to you that he will accept that your ideas really are the better choice.
You do this mostly through confidence of body posture, tone of voice and being (say it again!) FIRM but FAIR.
The more you use a light, girly, musical, flowery tone of voice with a dog, the more of a pushover that dog will think you are!
Please use that tone ONLY for rewarding a dog that has been good....never use it during corrections or when the dog is doing something you do not approve of or trying to get away with something he wants to do that you do not want him to do...such as growling at the UPS guy or not being willing to get in his crate or not going down stairways.
Clip a chain collar and leash on him and MAKE him promise you he will do as you ask!! Then tell him how good he was (“Yay! Good decision!”).
Now we can talk more about training collars....a dog in training must never be allowed to wear a flat collar as anything but a decoration. They offer no control or corrective properties.
When training a challenging, unruly or difficult dog I still recommend a thin to medium metal chain collar (depending on the fine tuning of the training-a more difficult dog will need a smaller chain, since it gives a firmer correction than the wide, milder chain), fitted properly (not too loose or tight) and put on correctly (the rings and chain should look like a ‘p’ not a ‘q’) and a 4-6 foot LEATHER 1/2-3/4 inch wide leash. Nylon leashes come in a lot of pretty colors but they will rip your skin if the dog pulls it from you. The skin-sticking quality of leather allows you to make a much FIRMER and FAIRER correction, when needed. Never use reel leashes. They have been proven over and over again to cause human injury and offer NO control, authority or learning opportunities for a dog in training or a difficult dog.
What about pinch collars? What a misnomer. It should just be called a neck scruff collar since it does NOT pinch, it merely gathers the loose skin quickly and effectually, like a common dog-dog correction.
Although they look like medieval torture devices, they are probably the best, most humane and favorite tool of every dog trainer that has to deal with difficult, spoiled dogs.
The effect is very no-nonsense and approximates the neck scruff correction the mother dog would give a subordinate, when used CORRECTLY.
How do you use it? You need only POP a scruff collar and never hold it tight. It will not remain tight around the neck of the dog like a chain collar can.
It is only effective when allowed to be resting on the dog’s neck with you on the other end of the leash, loosely.
When a correction is made-POP! And it releases itself. Fast. Firm. Fair. Message received, with a signal they use on each other…the neck scruff.
It is absolutely the very best, most humane (because it is SO swift) and fastest correctional piece of equipment available to humans to deal with difficult dogs. BUT it must be used correctly and never EVER in public, since most people have no idea that the scruff collar is far more humane than the chain collar (which doesn’t release as quickly).
AKC doesn’t even allow them to be used on their show grounds because of this common ignorance and misunderstanding. Some companies have started making neck scruff collars that are plastic and have the skin-gather device on the neck side and flat plastic appearance on the outside. It works about as good as the German metal one.
A dog must never be allowed to touch his own leash. It is a piece of training equipment that is to be treated with respect.
Do not let your dog mouth or bite his leash, either when it is on him or when you are carrying it. This, too, is a dominance game in the same vein as tug of war. Puppies? Well…this is an easy one to correct and the sooner you do it the better.
But we are talking about adult dogs that have invented bad habits already.
Please consult with your local, established obedience school for exact proper instructions (in person) for using a chain collar in conjunction with positive/negative reinforcement training. Please make sure it is a trainer experienced with difficult dogs that is open minded to all types of training.
We love positive training but when correcting bad habits or in training the cattle dog with baggage, Firm but Fair is a valuable component of the big picture. An experienced trainer (that has been around for more than just a few years with limited breed and behavior experience) will understand that.
FINALLY!
When your dog is pretty much bombproof and his behavioural crimes are pretty much all gone or a distant memory, you can then start to use operant conditioning (or ‘clicker training’) to maintain a positive relationship with your formerly difficult dog!
That’s when you really start to have fun.........never stop learning!
Author's note: Anyone can read a book, attend a class, train a dog and even call themselves a 'dog trainer' even with a limited range of skills or knowledge.
I believe the real trainers out there are the ones who develop their own style and viewpoint from their own experiences and from others of all walks of training.
This process takes years (at least 10) and hundreds of dogs. Good and bad experiences. Comedy and tragedy. Mistakes and triumphs. Accolades and failures. Balance. And they don't call themselves 'trainers' until they know they earned it.
Success with one or two special dogs does not bestow the magical golden thumbprint of 'trainer' status- lucky is more like it.
The real trainers are the ones with time-tested lumps and bumps and worn out shoes, from walking the miles and working in the trenches doing the hard labor of learning and developing their own unique, ethologically based style. And they don't idol worship any trainers.
That said, here are just a few of the sources I have drawn from for my own personal style of training...
Book List:
No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way by Barbara Woodhouse
Positively Obedient: Good Manners for the Family Dog by Barbara Handler
Second-Hand Dog: How to Turn Yours into a First-Rate Pet (Howell reference books) by Carol Lea Benjamin
Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin
Dog Problems (Howell reference books) by Carol Lea Benjamin
Positive Reinforcement: Training Dogs in the Real World by Brenda Aloff
A dog & a dolphin 2.0: An introduction to clicker training by Karen Pryor
Save That Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Adopting a Purebred Rescue Dog by Liz Palika
The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs by Jean Donaldson
Dog Language: An Encyclopedia of Canine Behavior by Roger Abrantes
Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide by Michele Welton (even if you don’t have a
puppy, she is a wealth of common sense dog knowledge!)
Behavior Problems in Dogsby William Campbell
The Dog Who Loved Too Much: Tales, Treatments and the Psychology of Dogs by Dr Nicholas Dodman
On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
Behavior Sampler by Gary Wilkes
The Evolution of Canine Social Behavior by Roger Abrantes
The Australian Cattle Dog: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet by Katherine Beutow
The Complete Australian Cattle Dog (Book of the Breed Series) by John and Mary Holmes
The Australian Cattle Dog by Kathy Christian
A New Owner's Guide to Australian Cattle Dogs (New Owner's Guide To...) by Narelle Robertson
The Good Looking Australian by Connie Redhead
The American Kennel Club Gazette magazine (subscribe at the AKC
website; tons of obedience training tips every month)
Dogs In Canada magazine (the official magazine for the Canadian
Kennel Club, also with tons of obedience related articles every month;
subscribe at the CKC website)
Websites to check out:
http://www.clickandtreat.com
http://www.karenpryor.com
http://www.dogwise.com (for all of the above books)
©2001 Mary M Dixon, Founder, The ACD Rescue of MI (1990)
