Best Way to Dress Your Dog for Work

Now there are head halters, no-pull harnesses, extendible leads and shock collars. So many choices cause concern. After all, the wrong equipment may be ineffective or, worse, inhumane. Lots of these devices come with the guarantee that they will make the job easier, practically no work at all.

When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Caveat emptor. Experience has shown me that as heavier or more complicated equipment is used—the prong collar and head halter, for example—the tenden­cy is to rely on the gear for help rather than to work on the rela­tionship. Yet what I’ve seen in my train­ing work is that the relationship is precisely what needs fixing. This is accomplished best and most quickly through improv­ing the communication between master and dog, not by adding more paraphernalia.

Preparation

When professional trainers or pet owners rely on more equip­ment and more complicated equipment, they simply do not get the job done. Instead of winning the dog’s attention and respect, instead of improving the quality of communication, equipment—much of which is meant to be used temporarily—is used permanently. In other words, the owner is relying on stuff rather than finding ways to engage the dog’s mind.

My own belief is that the dog should understand everything that is happening to him, just as he did when his mother taught him the basic lessons of puppyhood. Therefore, in order to correct my dog, I never throw anything at him but my voice. I never zap a dog with electricity or stun him with noise. I don’t use devices to get a dog’s attention or keep him off my furniture.

Like any dog’s first teacher, his mother, my most important training aids are confidence, affection, a willingness to set limits and the habit of concentrating fully on the task at hand. Because the dog himself is old-fashioned, understanding his world and behaving much in the way that dogs always have, I am content with old-fashioned equipment—basically, a collar and leash. By choos­ing a minimum of equipment, I keep the dog’s focus, and my own, on our relationship.

In addition, the proper equipment should increase the possibil­ity of good communication, should never leave the dog confused as to the source of praise and correction, should augment under­standing between owner and dog and should help decrease, never increase, stress in the dog.

So when yet another new device comes on the market, I ask myself, how much stuff should I need in order to get my dog to pay attention to me and obey a few simple commands? This said, here is all you need to train your dog:

A basic buckle collar, with ID, should be worn by your dog when he is loose in the house and you are home, as well as anytime he is out­side. A dog without a collar is dif­ficult to correct, should a correc­tion be necessary. But even for the near perfect dog, the feel and weight of a collar are a reminder of a dog’s secure, loved position as an appropriately subordinate pack member.

A nylon slip collar is ideal for training all dogs, big and small, with the excep­tion of toy breeds and any dog with a diagnosed medical condi­tion that precludes even the slightest pressure on his neck. The nylon collar, slipped high on the neck, allows for the smallest of corrections to be highly effective.

A four- or six-foot leather leash is handsome, durable and easy on the hands. For all but advanced training situations, it is preferable to have the dog close rather than far away.