Love and Loyalty in Training Dogs

Much has been written about Positive and Negative reinforcement in dog training, so I mean to speak only of my experiences.I took a number of puppies through basic Novice obedience courses. It is the owner who must take his or her own dog through these trials, and it is the owner who must be trained. Of course the puppies (and dogs) learn along the way.What I did come across in obedience training was negative reinforcement. For example, I had to pinch my dog's ear, causing her pain, before she would take the dumbell. It truly disturbed me. Our Sheltie club joined with a sister club to invite a special dog trainer as a visiting speaker. He trained dogs for police work, bomb, and drug sniffing, etc. What startled me was his statement that he could train a dog for sixteen hours, (my memory is a bit vague here) without treats, and the dog wanted to go on. My eyes were opened. I never again used negative reinforcement.It is pleasant to see a dog walking beside its owner with no leash, ignoring everyone around it but its owner. It is true some dogs are more easily trained than others, but it is a joy to see such a responsible dog and owner knowing the work behind it.I imagine many are aware that to take a dog through trials, it must be registered, in Canada by the Canadian Kennel Club, and in the U.S. by the American Kennel Club. Some clubs offer a basic obedience class for mixed breeds. The Novice classes include Basic obedience and Companion Dog (CD), the Open class, Companion Dog Excellent, (CDX), and the Utility class (UD). The latter dogs are used in movies and television, for instance. There are many other specialized degrees and training.A wonderful poet named Anonymous wrote, "You can't buy loyalty, they say. I bought it, though the other day. You can't buy friendship tried and true. Well, just the same, I bought that too..." The poem is used by most dog breeders, so you can find the rest of it on any breeder's site. Some may think the words trite, but I have found them certainly true. The reason I mention this poem is because of the following.I took a favorite female dog through her CD degree. At the time, I belonged to a local woman's group who looked for interesting items for their meetings. I was asked to talk on my dog since they knew I bred dogs, and because we met in a hall and not a restaurant, I was able to bring my 'girl' along. I had her sitting on a small table, high enough so that all of the one hundred plus women could see her. I was in the midst of quoting the above poem, when unconsciously I put out my hand and touched her head. She looked up at me with adoring eyes, and the whole room let out a collective sigh. I promptly forgot the words to the poem, and had to think hard to get back on track. I will never forget that incident, or my darling Katya, although I took her to other gatherings, putting her through her paces.My favorite dog quote is by H. L. Mencken. "Living with a dog is easy, like living with an idealist." You are the most important person in their world. It is humbling. May we be worthy of their charge