Once upon a time there were two sisters, Molly and Polly, chatting about what to give their daughters for Christmas. The notion of puppies came up, and they both agreed it would be a wonderful way to foster responsibility.

 

Sarah began training her puppy with patience. She filled her pockets with dog treats each morning, intending to find every trace of good behavior to reward. One day she was trying to teach her spaniel, Priscilla, to wait at the door while she walked up the sidewalk, and when she whistled, to come running to her side. They began with copious hugs and slobbery licks. Then Sarah gently told Priscilla to stay as she walked away, and quickly rewarded her for any brief success. Being young, Priscilla did get distracted easily, and Sarah had to smile and clap to get her attention back. Gradually, as she wanted so much to please Sarah, and enjoyed the dog biscuits she offered, Priscilla learned the behaviors Sarah wanted. Within a few weeks they mastered more tricks, with very little attention given to her mistakes. They both enjoyed their time together, often taking a break from training to simply romp and roll.

 

Tara began training her collie with an emphasis on discipline. Lucy, she determined, was going to obey her at all times. She began with trying to teach her to stay, but she expected her to sit still for a full minute before rewarding her. Lucy would eagerly look at Tara for a few seconds, but then she would leap off to chase a bird, or sniff an invisible trail. Tara was resolute in her expectations, and refused to reward her for anything less. She scolded Lucy repeatedly, shouting and waving a stick over her head. Eventually Lucy grew tired, put her head on her paws and sat for sixty seconds, mostly to avoid the threatening branch. Tara was surprised at this semi obedience, and shouted praises over her shoulder as she ran back into the house to climb up and find the dog treats in the cupboard.

 

"Good dog!" she called from the kitchen. By the time she returned Lucy had trotted off to the back yard. Tara was unsure of whether to still reward her, as she was now digging in the garden, so she broke the biscuit in half and gave her a small piece. She was not sure whether to keep working on sitting, or to focus on not digging up her mother's rose bushes. She screamed at Lucy when she started chewing on the gardening gloves left on a wicker chair. Her temper started to flare up, especially since her next door neighbor was watching.

 

Tara did not enjoy owning a dog as much as she expected she would.

 

Molly and Polly were shopping together when they talked about how the puppy adventure was going. Molly reached up for two boxes of dog treats to put in her cart.

 

"Sarah goes through a box every few days. She calls her dog Precious and she really is! They are so cute together. Priscilla follows her everywhere, and looks really sad when Sarah is gone. I am so glad we got her! Need some dog biscuits too?" Molly asked her sister.

 

Polly sighed. "I think we are still on the first box of treats. Tara is not having much luck. She hardly spends time with Lucy at all anymore. I guess collies are harder to train than spaniels. Lucy still chews all of our shoes, and barks at every car that drives by. Tara calls her Loser, and I guess she is. She breaks things, races through the house and scares little kids."

 

"Sorry to hear that!" Molly sympathized.

 

The end.

 

I have never trained an animal to do anything. But I have managed to modify my family's behavior on occasion. I notice that the scolding was less effective than the encouragement. There is a book called What Shamu Taught Me about Marriage, in which the author looks at the techniques trainers use to get parrots to ride motorcycles and dolphins to clear thirty foot hoops.

 

I would tell you about it but I see my husband holding a frying pan and smiling at me in a way that makes me want to both salivate and go start supper. 

 

 

Photo by Jenny Stein

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