2016©Tanya Raab; GSD "Pagos" with stick
Photographer Tanya Raab captured the innocence and wonder of her German Shepherd “Pagos” as he gazes at the most amazing stick in his world!
“Poking Around”, a lost but necessary part of dog training
by Cheryl Carlson | August 24, 2016 | ©Cher Car Kennels
In today’s heavily scheduled and task orientated world, we humans don’t take the time to “poke around”, let alone allow our dogs to do so. What I’m talking about is just being in our environment… looking, smelling, investigating, inspecting. Exploring is a very necessary skill. Dogs are born with curiosity. They start to investigate their surroundings as soon as they are able. The acquisition of information is paramount to the development of their social skills, environmental soundness, and ability to focus when novel distraction is present.
So BEFORE you start your super star pup on bitework, or nosework, or any other “work” we want to do, make sure he is allowed to “poke around” in new places. Let him explore and sniff, touch or lick what he finds in new places. Don’t make him heel, or sit, or do any passive behaviors. Let him LEAD YOU where he wants to go, and watch without interfering as he learns. You will be able to learn about him as you are doing this. How long is his focus? Does he use one sense more than others? What does he do when he is startled? How long does it take him to recover?
All these things will be valuable when you DO ask him to learn something you want him to learn. While you are at it, take some time for yourself... how does the wind change his focus? What do you smell? Did you even know that little toad was there? Focusing on what he is focusing on will make you more aware as well.
When I am working with an adult dog in any form of training, the WORST student is passive, sullen, unwilling to offer behaviors. I believe that dogs become that way because of early stifling of “poking around”. The dog has been conditioned that seeking out information is punished. Of course, we need to interfere when the dog sticks his nose in our crotch, or knocks a child down while smelling his breath, but a dog that is consistently punished for “not behaving” in novel situations without allowing some seeking/gathering behavior will become introverted, and will shut its self off from the outside world.
A good example of this happened recently when a person brought me a young German Shepherd, five months old or so, for an evaluation for an upcoming class. As we sat in my kennel office (clearly a “dog place” full of doggie smells) I asked them to remove his leash to let him "be free". The interior door leading from my office to the bathroom and grooming room is just about always open, as that is where the air conditioning unit is located. The dog went through the open door and the owners immediately became agitated, scolded their dog and insisted he come back to them, and then commanded him to do something boring like sit or lie down. When I ask the owners “Why do you do that?”, they become confused and acted as if the dog did something wrong. It’s that idea that when a dog is exploring, he is not “listening”. What is wrong with him not “listening” at that moment? I would be tickled if my upcoming personal prospect pup was bold enough to do that in such an intriguing place. I’m not as happy if my pup lays quietly at my feet, not willing or able to go poking around. At this age, the outgoing, inquisitive, bold pup is what is proper.
So, next time you have a little time to “work” with your pup, go somewhere and “poke” around. Spend more time with him doing this when he is young. There will be plenty of time to train, to teach, to control him. But, if he’s allowed to learn to WANT TO LEARN, and know that we encourage it, our job will be so much easier!