Dog offers second try to be mom 

By Kate Fratti
Bucks County Courier Times
Reprinted with Permission

July 28, 2005

There's good news for mankind, but I'm not sure how the dog's going to take it. I've hired a certified professional to help me train her. 

I know it's the smart thing to do, but I still have some doubts about the method that's been proposed. 

Melinda Berger of Dream Dogs says she can teach my little pit bull pal to be a better doggie citizen through kindness. I'm still scratching my head. 

Good cheer, patience and compassion didn't work when it came to child rearing, Melinda. On the contrary offspring never did anything I wanted them to do. Still don't. 

I've been good to this dog, too, but still she follows in the kids' tradition. And I mean I've been really good. I grill lamb for her. I let her sit on the couch and sleep under the covers in my bed. I take her for walks in the woods on Saturdays and then give her a warm bath in the kids' hall bathroom when we get back. 

I stopped buying chocolate ice cream because the vet says cocoa is toxic to you-know-who. I had to run interference for the pooch when husband found out. 

Strawberry? I don't like strawberry. YOU don't like strawberry. Who in this house eats strawberry? Oh, don't tell me. Don't tell me! 

All this, and still the beast will not refrain from jumping on visitors no matter how I plead. Nor will she stop dragging me along behind her when we walk. 

"My money's on the dog," hollers a smart aleck neighbor whenever he sees me running to keep up. 

Dog will not come when called, let me clip her nails or piddle outdoors when it's raining unless I come along. I know ungrateful when I see it. 

Berger sees it another way. The dog is a dog, not an extortionist. You can't lazily trade overindulgence for good behavior. (Drats!) Nor should you intimidate your pet into submission. (Pheew. I didn't have the stomach for that.) 

Berger espouses "positive training." The philosophy says dogs crave the good stuff, and so a smart owner will calmly ignore or redirect a dog's mistakes and then celebrate successes like crazy. 

Treats! Games! Attention, attention, attention! In my kids' defense, I wasn't so good at the calm ignoring, redirecting thing. Maybe that was my mistake. It takes a whole lot of "atta' girls" and "atta' boys" to make up for just one tyrannical rant. 

In the kids' defense again, they never knocked my mother over or added injury by licking her face. This is not so for the dog. And it's the primary reason I sought Berger's help. 

The trainer explains there are two ways to communicate to creatures in our care how we'd like them to behave - the carrot and the stick. 

"Stick is code word for punish, intimidate, coerce - yell, hit, snap or yank leash, spray with water, throw a shake can [a noise mechanism used to startle]," Berger says. 

"Granted, [the stick] will most likely stop the behavior in its tracks. But at what cost?" 

She concedes carrot-won results take longer but adds the powerful emotions the dog develops with the training process and the strong positive association the dog forms with you are worth the time. You end up with a dog that chooses to happily follow your instructions, instead of one who has been intimidated into obedient submission. 

I'm going to see what she can teach me. It's too late for cheerfully obedient children. Maybe there's hope for the dog. 

Kate Fratti, whose opinion column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, will keep you posted.