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SIT

I enjoyed this article on training dogs Train in Vain in Slate. This guy pretty well nails it.

Anyone who reads this knows that we have an Airedale; a unique animal that has its own independent personality. They are bred to work alone hunting and killing rats and otters. The Airedale has an inherent understanding that his own opinion is superior to any human who may have wandered into the scene.

We were told about this and accept it. We have a kind of contract with Franklin. He gets a vote. We each get two votes. Most days, decisions are made collegially. For example, in this photo we may have asked him to sit and he decided to lie down. Typical joint decision. He is still, just not in the prescribed position.

Yet, there are boundaries and we know that he is a dog and he has to learn some basics. Because of their proved independence of spirit, Airedales are difficult to train. In fact, many professional trainers will not work with them. They will not do tricks. They do not respond to 'treat' or reward training and we do not support that if it worked.

Our life with Franklin is second to none. He is abundantly friendly and more than willing to please. We have used his good nature to learn to work with him. He was crate trained and has a large understanding of the human vocabulary. He is pretty good at letting us know what he needs.

He is a clown and a rascal and will trot across the boundaries for fun and games. Getting him to come in on a cold morning when he wants a game of tag can be a bit trying.

He has never chewed anything up. Well, there was one small carpet piece and yesterday he had John's sandal for awhile. That is it. He does not always 'obey' but he does if the cards are down and our lives depend on it. He has to think things over.

There is a lot of horseshit out there about training dogs. We found some of it useful, just as some horseshit, aged and cured, can be used for fertilizer. But it comes down to a basic understanding between the dog and the man; or, in this case, men.