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| Their Voice |
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| Written by Augusta Farley / Elizabette Guecamburu | |
| Saturday, 02 February 2008 | |
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Augusta Farley - A Dog's Life Elizabette Guecamburu - Hometown Girl A great rocket recall is all in the teaching “BUSTER, COME!” Buster’s owner shouts firmly.  Augusta Farley He sees his owner stomping toward him, reads “still mad,” and goes under the car to hide. Does this sound familiar? Instead, wouldn’t it be great if Buster spun around on the word “come,” rocketed straight to you, skidded in front and looked adoringly into your eyes? If you have a Buster and “come” is not in his vocabulary, here’s how to start training an enviable rocket recall. An awesome recall is all about building a relationship through leadership and clear communication. Dogs aren’t born knowing the meaning of “come.” Great trainers are generous by assuming nonperformance of a behavior means the dog does not understand. Unsuccessful trainers believe first that a dog understands but is being defiant. Next, it helps to know that you are sending subtle and not-so-subtle messages with your voice and body. You can use your voice and body in a way that naturally attracts your dog or sabotages your efforts. Read on to learn more. Using a consistent training sequence makes it easier for Buster to learn and you to teach. Try this one: Visualize the 3 R’s: Request, Response, Reply. As leader, I determine what behavior I want from Buster, communicate it to him and then give him timely feedback. Visualize Before I call Buster, I have to visualize what he has to do to satisfy my ideal of a rocket recall. Buster must turn toward me a nanosecond after I say “come.” He will run to me straight and fast. Because Buster is a youngster working on a rocket response, I only want him to hold himself in front for a short time until I reward him. Eventually, I will ask him to sit in front and look into my eyes for the finale. Request “Come” requests the action. Because I want Buster to associate the word “come” with my visualized behaviors, I am careful to say the word consistently and to mean what I say. I make sure that “come” sounds inviting. Forget advice to be loud and firm. Be exciting! Be fun! Smile with your face, voice and heart. Even if you get mad, fake happy. Response Because Buster is new to training, I increase the odds of a great response by immediately adding prompts or helping cues. For the recall, these are the universal sounds and motions all animal trainers use to elicit action and attraction. After I say “come,” I whistle, make kissy noises, clap or call “pup, pup, pup” repeatedly. If I see any hesitation, I will turn and walk or run away. Now, my body language becomes the deal breaker. I don’t step, lean or stomp toward him, as this will cause Buster to stop or turn away. Moving toward animals often pressures them to move away. Some dogs notice our body actions more than others, but all are affected. By the way, I am also careful not to set up Buster for failure by making the distance or distraction level too hard. How do I know I have it about right? My puppy comes. Reply When Buster comes, you reply. Buster comes happily and quickly this time because he remembers something great happened last time. I reward him with my voice and petting, cookies or play. If I make him happy, I increase the odds he will come next time as well. I make coming to me more fun than what he was doing. I am not stingy; I reward a lot. How do you know you have rewarded enough? Your puppy comes. Getting a reliable rocket recall takes time. Every interaction with Buster is an opportunity to practice even a small part of the final behavior. He makes eye contact? Make sure he knows you love it. Later, when Buster decides not to come — and he will — the strong early recall habit will make the correction for not coming easier. Now you know the secret behind a stupendous recall. Be a leader. Communicate your vision to your dog, make it easy for the dog to respond and then reward like crazy.
When sniffles and sneezes turn sinister The chorusing sounds of coughs and sniffles seem to be everywhere nowadays.  Elizabette Guecamburu / Hometown Girl I hate getting sick. So, during the holidays, I usually take assorted vitamins and herbal supplements to try to fend off holiday cooties. This year was no exception. I thought I was doing well — fending off the blasted germs like Zorro with a sharp rapier. In fact, so boastful was I in my ability to defer sickness, I was even ready to do an infomercial about the benefits of my miracle herbal supplements. But, then — It all started with a scratchy throat. And it soon developed into the worst chest cold I’d had in five years. I was coughing so hard that I’m surprised I didn’t expel the remnants of the Bazooka bubble gum I accidentally swallowed in the sixth grade. I won’t bore you with the disgusting details, but if my germs weren’t enough to keep people at bay, my crankiness sure was. There were moments when my cat couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with me. I was a miserable ball of congested misery. I took over-the-counter cold relief medications, but after two nights on NyQuil, I began to have dreams that made me wonder if I was on a 1970s acid trip. Once, I dreamed that I had been kidnapped and was being held ransom with Harry Potter and flying yellow bunny rabbits. When I woke up in a cold sweat, I was sublimely glad that I hadn’t been alive in the 1970s — I don’t think I could have handled it if the rabid bunnies had been psychedelic, too. More than two weeks later, I was still fighting off the last remaining cooties, which were too stubborn to pack up and go back where they came from. I haven’t been able to work, and sedentary rocks are more productive than I’ve been lately. I hope you don’t catch this wicked virus — in fact, if you see me coming your way, you might want to keep a 3-foot radius between us. I’d hate to be blamed for spreading the plague to anyone else. Those yellow bunnies can be brutal.
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