Marc Goldberg - The Art of Training Your Dog

From a spiritual perspective there is no limit to the change, growth, and maturity that a human being can undergo; the wonder is that, in its own way, the same is true of the dog. Dogs can always grow in learning and responsiveness, in attentiveness and bonding, significantly broadening the parameters of what most of us think is possible from a relationship.

THE MONKS OF NEW SKETE, Bless the Dogs

A s longtime professional dog trainers, we continue to be thrilled and a bit awed by the transformation that takes place in a dog, and by extension its owner, during the training process. The way a dogs behavior moves from chaotic and random to alert and attentive is rewarding on many levels. It can mean security and safety as well as joy and pleasure. A well-behaved dog has a positive effect on the health and well-being of her owner. Similar results are crystal clear for the dog as well. A well-trained dog wears her confidence all over her body, from the way she is now included in her owners life to the fact that her vital needs are being met. Its inspiring to watch the dynamic potential in the human/dog relationship begin to unlock. Training is a fulfilling process that stretches the inherent possibilities in the human/dog relationship.

Like all other professions, dog training is a dynamic field. There are many theories of training, some that directly contradict others. Perhaps there is no right or wrong way, but training now is different from the way it was done 100, 50, or even 25 years ago. Certainly, the trainers themselves change as they learn. The more time you put into a vocation, the more skills you attain. Both of us have evolved in our work with dogs. Over the decades, we have improved and refined our methods into a modern and compassionate approach that allows people and their dogs to live together happily and with greater understanding. Our daily experience with dogs over many years has led the way. Both of us cut our teeth on traditional methods of training, always with a view to helping dogs and their owners live more harmoniously with each other. Dogs are loving and intuitive beings. For both of us, obedience training was as much a spiritual discipline as it was an artful use of technique. Training dogs meant guiding them to understand obedience commands and then holding them accountable to obey them. It was a balanced approach, blending plenty of motivational praise and positive reinforcement with appropriate corrections when necessary. Our training was always meant to serve the relationship and be reliable in everyday life.

The more we worked with dogs, the more they taught us, both about their nature and our own. As we tried to figure out what seemed to be working and what wasnt, we saw that listening to what dogs really need and want would be a lifelong, ever-changing process. Precisely for this reason, we are always on the lookout for new ways to make our training both gentler and more effective. In recent years, we have also witnessed the introduction of new tools into the training process: everything from new styles of dog collars, head halters, and leashes to clickers and electronic collars (e-collars).

About 15 years ago, the Monks of New Skete began to incorporate the modern e-collar into their training, using a method developed by nationally respected dog trainer Marc Goldberg. Yes, this transformationaland controversialtool, once derided as a shock collar, is now an integral part of daily training activities for Brother Christopher and Marc. The reason is simple yet surprising: dogs learn faster, with more enjoyment and far less stress, with an enlightened program of e-collar training. Our method allows for gentle training of a dog to previously unrealized levels of freedom. What so many owners dream aboutfrom off-leash reliability in the woods to pleasant, drama-free walks around the neighborhoodbecomes a possibility once a dog is trained properly with an e-collar. This makes for a happier dog, one who can be exercised more safely and enjoy her place in our modern world. Yet in saying this, we do so with open eyes, aware that such training must be done with compassion, intelligence, and insight, with the benefit of a method that can be clearly and easily communicated to both owner and dog. You may wonder if you can do the training program in this book without an e-collar. In fact, if youre just not ready to commit to the idea of an e-collar, youll still get a lot of benefit from working through the lessons. Its unlikely your training will advance to full off-leash control as easily as if you use an e-collar according to our program. Still, there is no such thing as bad progress, and you will make progress either way.