I love my dog almost as much as my other family members. He’s an Airedale Terrier named Reggie who was so shy and sweet as a puppy that we almost named him Rambo as a joke. He was the runt of the litter, and the breeder’s “defect” puppy, since he has a pink nose (not the standard black), is small, and has crooked teeth. Reggie got to spend more time with his mama since no one wanted him, and I think that’s part of why he’s so sweet.
Once, when he was not yet fully grown, I made the mistake to take him to the DMV with me when I went to renew my driver’s license, and I let him out to pee. He was so scared by all the traffic noise that he hid all the way under the carriage of the car. I had to crawl under it, six-months-pregnant, and drag him out. Another time, I took him to the dog park, and a couple of pit bulls came running toward him, he literally leapt into my arms, even though he weighed almost 55 pounds! Reggie is so furry that the little girls who live in our neighborhood refer to him as “the hairy one” or the “teddy bear dog.”
When we have him clipped occasionally, he appears to be about half of his usual size. We got him when I was newly pregnant, and I knew we had less than nine months to get him in line before we’d have new demands in our household, so I set about training him like it was my primary goal in life. It was clear to me from the start that he was a sensitive soul, and wouldn’t respond well to negative feedback, so we focused all of our efforts on reinforcing good behavior, socializing him, and making him feel safe. As usual, one day I was cruising Bookmans for texts about my latest hobby, and found Cesar Millan’s "The Dog Whisperer."
It seemed to work wonders for Reggie. We walked him at least an hour a day, sometimes two, and made him walk next to or behind us. We also never fed him until after we were fed, and didn’t tolerate dominant behavior from him (like pawing, mouthing). We also treated him like a hero whenever he did what he was told. He got lots of affection, but only for good, calm behavior. Now, our toddler can set a chicken nugget down in front of his nose and he won’t eat it unless he gets the okay.
You can tell him to “load-up” in the car, or “go in your condo” if we want him to go in his crate during dinner time. He comes when he’s called 99% of the time, even when playing with the neighbor’s dog, and can walk off-leash almost anywhere. As soon as Maxine was home from the hospital, we made it clear to Reggie that she was dominant in the pack, even if she did weigh only 5.9 pounds, and he has respected her authority ever since. Since her dad works nights, Reggie protects Max whenever we are home alone at night, parking himself right outside her bedroom door. You can ask him “where’s the baby?” and he’ll go check on her. I think my most useful advise after this experience dog training is that it’s best to always be kind (never violent) but not to give up your place in the pack! I think this might also be a useful metaphor for child-rearing, but I haven’t had a chance to test that theory yet. We’ll have to give it twenty years or so before I can say for sure!