A few days ago, I watched a lady call her dog. I watched her call her dog again. I watched her call her dog again and again. 

A few days ago, I watched a lady holler at her dog.

A few days ago, I watched a lady tell her dog to leave the cat alone. I watched her tell her dog to leave the cat alone again.  I watched her tell her dog to leave the cat again and then again.

A few days ago, I watched a lady holler at her dog.

There's a pattern here.  The lady is letting the dog go into business for himself by ignoring her.  He's learned that he doesn't have to respond on the first command.  He knows that he will be given many, many commands before anything is done about his failure to comply.

The dog probably also knows than when he finally does respond to the come command, he's going to be reprimanded or worse. 

From the dog's point of view, he's being chastised for coming when called.  From the lady's point of view the dog is being punished for not coming when called the first time.

Which one makes sense to the dog?  Wanna bet the dog doesn't see it from the lady's point of view?

A dog's trust and confidence in a handler is paramount. Why in Heaven's Name would a dog trust a handler and come happily to her only to be scolded or worse after responding to a command to come?

Something really important to remember is  - if a dog has been called and then spanked or scolded when he responded to the handler's command to come (no matter how long it took), the biggest mistake in dog training has been committed.

If a dog can trust his handler to be consistent and fair, the dog will be much more willing to try.

In a recent column, you might recall my talking about our dogs breaking off a chase and returning to me when they were called.  It was an example of obedience in its purest form.  It was also an example of the results of applying the principles of Zero Tolerance to dog training. 

"Zero Tolerance". Pretty scary sounding stuff. Images of life as we know it ceasing to exist spring to mind.

In reality, zero tolerance can make things a lot nicer.

Each of us, I believe, wants to live harmoniously with our dogs.

Remember the 3 basic drives which control a dog's behaviour – pack, prey and defense?  

If a dog is in pack drive, he is much easier to handle.  The dogs who returned to me when called shifted from prey drive to pack  drive when they heard my command.  They also knew that I would come get them if they didn't respond on the first command.  They had the knowledge that I would insist on compliance after the first command.

That means walking to the dog.  We humans tend to be lazy.  We'd often rather try to browbeat the dog into doing our bidding by repeating commands and hollering.

I know, I know, it's easier to call again than walk over to the dog.

The handler keeps calling. The dog continues to send calming signals and keeps his distance.  

Zero tolerance principles dictate that instead of calling the dog again, the handler walks to the dog.  If the dog plays "catch me if you can", the handler keeps at it until the dog has been walked down and the handler has hold of the collar.  During the entire attempt to reach and take control of the dog, the handler doesn't repeat "come" or anything resembling that command.  Eye contact is not established.  Nothing that can be construed as coaxing is used.

If the dog is really being a brat and won't come near, the handler can try turning her back and to the dog and walking slowly away.  Most dogs will follow the handler and ultimately come in close to see what's going on. 

When the handler takes hold of the collar, she should look the dog straight in the eye and say something to the effect of "Where's your come?".  The dog is then walked back to the point of call.  No praise, no cookie.

The entire exercise is then repeated only this time the dog is on a long line. By "long" I mean a line that's 30' or so.  A long piece of cotton rope works very well and it's cheap.  Don't use the yellow water skiing rope.  It's too hard to work with.  Get either cotton or nylon.

SUPER IMPORTANT:  A dog should never be left alone with a line attached to his collar.

Now we're ready to begin training.   The long line is attached to the ring of the dog's collar.  Now when  he's running or trotting away, slow steady pressure on the line can be applied  until he is brought to a stop.  Gloves should be worn.  The line running through hands can cut.  It's important to remember that the dog is not jerked to a stop.  The stopping is slow and steady.

The long line allows a handler to walk straight to her dog when a command has been refused – any command. Long line work isn't just used for the dog who fails to come – it can be used whenever reinforcement becomes necessary.

The dog stays on the long line until there hasn't been a refusal in the last 30 commands. Then the line is cut to about 10 feet.  That way there's still something a handler can take hold of in the event the dog turns into an "artful dodger". 

The goal is to reach a point that when the dog hears a command he immediately responds by obliging.

When that happens, there's all kinds of praise, a jackpot of cookies and a good time is had by all.

The fact that the handler gives the command once and follows through with training is an example of zero tolerance.  It's saying clearly to the dog, "You get one command and one only". 

Here's an example of applying Zero Tolerance principles when a long line isn't handy.

Buddy Boxerdawg has gotten into the habit of running ahead of me when we come back from a walk. He runs down the driveway and waits by the door of the house.

The other day, he rushed on ahead and I decided I wanted him to walk politely beside me.  I said "With me" and he kept on going!

I thought, "okay – no line, but he still has to do it".

I walked to the house, took hold of his collar and walked him back to where I'd said "With me".  I let go of the collar and he did it again!  Right back to the door!  Again, I walked up to him, took his collar and marched him back to where I'd said with me.  I then let go of his collar and again said, "With me".  He took off again. I responded the same as I had the other times. After 4 times of being marched back up the driveway, Bud walked politely beside me to the door.

The next day, I tried it again.  Bud started to run toward the house.  I said "Buddy, with me".  He stopped, trotted back to me and fell in beside me.  Cookies!  Lots of them! And hugs and pats and lavish praise followed.

Zero tolerance.   No jerking.  No yelling.  No pain.  Just consistent, patient training. Pretty cool stuff. 

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