Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell - Terrier-Centric Dog Training: From Tenacious to Tremendous

To my terrier muses Lizzie B., Jinx, and Glitch,
for the motivation

To my students, for the inspiration

And to Jeff, for everything else.

A book is never an accomplishment achieved alone. Although my name is on the cover, many, many people helped me get it there. I owe you all, named and unnamed, a huge thank you. I would particularly like to thank everyone at Dogwise Publishing for their willingness to take a chance on my idea and guiding me on my journey.

Thank you to my family and Cam for supporting me and having patience while I lost myself in this project.

Thank you to all the BonaFide Dog Academy students and their dogs who graciously posed for book pictures. Your patience with my artistic vision was truly a gift and your terriers were all superstars.

Thank you to everyone who bravely waded through my drafts to help me write less like a lawyer and more like a dog trainer, and especially to Cam and Nate, for reminding me less is more, particularly when it comes to sentence length. And yes, that was one single sentence.

This book builds on the works of many respected scientists, trainers, animal behaviorists and dog breeders. Many of the exercises and games in this book are adaptations of ideas from well-known trainers such as Karen Pryor, Susan Garrett, Emma Parsons, Patricia McConnell, Rachel Sanders, Deb Jones, Leslie McDevitt, Angelica Steinker, Turid Rugaas and Sylvia Bishop, as well as lesser-known, but equally talented, trainers and terrier fanciers such as Eddie Chapman, Jan Nijboer and many others. Thank you to all who have taken the time over the years to share your knowledge and expertise with others for the benefit of our dogs.

The biggest debt of gratitude I owe is to the generations of terrier breeders who created, adapted, protected, and passed down these wonderful dog to us. Our lives are definitely richer for their efforts.

Terrier-Centric Dog Training
From Tenacious to Tremendous
Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell

Dogwise Publishing
A Division of Direct Book Service, Inc.
403 South Mission Street, Wenatchee, Washington 98801
509-663-9115, 1-800-776-2665
www.dogwisepublishing.com / info@dogwisepublishing.com

2013 Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell

Graphic design: Lindsay Peternell
Interior photographs: Sandy Antoniak, Cam Bexten and Sprout (Brussels Griffon), Deb Doane and Romeo (Bedlington Terrier), Lisa Ellerbeck and Barron (Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier), Bill Heavey and Cooper (Cairn Terrier), Regan Hulbert and Elliot (Skye Terrier), Steffi Jesseau and Rigby (Miniature Schnauzer), Adam Kersteil and Mac (Airedale Terrier), Jeff Mitchell and Glitch (Parson (Jack) Russell Terrier), Jinx (Parson (Jack) Russell Terrier) and Lizzie B. (Parson (Jack) Russell Terrier), Ro Simpson and Suki (West Highland White Terrier), Kathy Trudell and Harriett (Rat Terrier), Ida Seals and Woody (Manchester Terrier), and Larry Voller and Idgie (Wire-Haired Fox Terrier).

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty:
The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the instructions and suggestions contained in this book.

ISBN 978-161781-077-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Antoniak-Mitchell, Dawn, 1966

Terrier-centric dog training : from tenacious to tremendous / Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-61781-077-0

1. Terriers Training. 2. Dogs Training. I. Title.

SF429.T3A58 2012

636.755dc23

2012022973

Printed in the U.S.A.

The terrier is querulous, fretful, and irascible, high spirited and alert when brought into action; if he has not un-subdued perseverance like the bulldog, he has rapidity of attack, managed with art and sustained with spirit; it is not what he will bear, but what he will inflict. His action protects himself, and his bite carries death to his opponents; he dashes into the hole of the fox, drives him from his recesses, or tears him to pieces in his stronghold; and he forces the reluctant, stubborn badger into light. As his courage is great, so is his genius extensive; he will trace with the foxhounds, hunt with the beagle, find for the greyhound, or beat with the spaniel. Of wild cats, martens, polecats, weasels, and rats, he is the vigilant and determined enemy; he drives the otter from the rocky clefts on the backs of the rivers, nor declines the combat in a new element.

Sydenham Edwards, author Cynographia Britannica, 1800

Dogs and humans have lived together for thousands of years. Although scientists continue to argue over exactly how and why domestic dogs first came into existence, they all agree that soon after dogs were domesticated, humans began to develop different types of dogs to hunt, guard, herd, draft and perform other specialized tasks to help man survive and thrive throughout the world. The dogs we own today still possess the carefully selected physical traits and instincts of their ancestors. These traits and instincts impact their behavior whether or not the dogs actually still perform their ancestral breed jobs. Understanding the behavioral traits and instincts that are likely to appear in terriers is the first step toward developing a terrier-centric training program that will help train our dogs in a positive, effective, fun way for us and our dogs.

Terrier history in a nutshell

Derived from the Latin word for earth (terra), the name terrier was originally applied to any dog which pursued fox, badger, rat, otter or other vermin above or below ground, regardless of the dogs physical appearance. Some breed historians suggest that the earliest terriers evolved from crosses between ancient Egyptian house dogs, which resembled modern dachshunds, and Maltese terrier-like guard dogs. When ancient cargo ships sailed from Phoenicia into the ports of Egypt, Spain and Greece, the early terriers the mariners took with them to control vermin on the ships mated with native dogs, spreading the influence of these early terriers to other parts of the world. As the Celts and Romans invaded Britain and Ireland, they brought their rough-haired terriers and corgi-like terriers along. These dogs then interbred with native dogs and created the cradle for the modern terrier breeds in the United Kingdom.

Although there are terrier breeds which originated in other parts of the world, most terriers today in Europe and America were either intentionally developed from British stock or were developed in former colonies or areas known to have strong historic trade relations with the British. Terriers were recognized as a distinct type of dog as early as 1486 in The Book of St. Albans by Dame Juliana Berners. By the sixteenth century, terriers began to be loosely grouped into two different types. In a 1760 English Field Sports article, an unknown author wrote There are two sorts of terriers, the one rough, short-legged, long-backedthe other is smooth-haired and beautifully formed.Both these sorts are the determined foe of all the vermin kindand a thoroughbred, well-trained terrier, often proves more than a match for his opponent. Although physical appearance was used to broadly identify two different types of terriers, a dog was identified as a terrier based primarily on the type of work he performed.