A Personal Case

~Time is the rarest and most valuable of commodities~

Dogs have been a part of my professional and personal life for almost two decades. Young and old, I’ve seen dogs ship out to all corners of the globe to work various jobs. Military dogs leaving for distant overseas posts, Government/Police dogs moving from one handler to another after personnel changes, personal companion dogs growing old and passing, and everything in between. I’ve even unfortunately been to a few working dog funerals. In this industry dogs come and go; it’s just part of the business. 

It’s fair to assume that it’s easy to become dispassionate or overly calculated about the revolving door of dogs, the continuous cycling in and out of canines. But…interestingly enough, that hasn’t happened. I remember the name of every dog that I’ve worked with for any length of time. Even though, by now they probably number in the thousands. Time will never be fair. It does not respect our schedules, our wishes, desires, or regrets. It’s immune to both our dog and human relationships.

When I was asked a couple of years ago whether I had the time/room in my house for a 120-pound German Shepherd the answer was unequivocally, absolutely, unquestionably no. My last working dog had retired, and I had plans to buy and train a nice hunting dog for myself. As the fates would have it this Shepherd was also highly reactive to other dogs, could not ride in a car without drugs, and just plain huge. Why would anyone entertain something like this?

God’s time does not work like ours. When I was young and starting my career, I had an Uncle who took me under his wing. He was a busy person, but I’ll always remember him for taking the time out of his schedule to meet with me and help me along in my pursuits. As you may have already put together, this Shepherd belonged to this Uncle of mine. He had fallen ill and was no longer able to care for him. I’m told that when the idea of my family taking Murphy was pitched to him he was comfortable (and I hope relieved). I knew I didn’t really have a choice in the matter and that the dog would be eventually coming to live with me. It was time to repay kindness with kindness. The icing on the cake was that my lovely wife is a Shepherd fanatic and our house had a vacancy since the passing of our last Shep. So we piled in a van and made the 14 hour one way trek from Texas to Florida to bring this dog home. 

As previously stated, he couldn’t ride in the car. He was a nervous wreck. I’d had the wherewithal to bring a crate that would accommodate him. Possibly, because I’d dealt with a few crazy working dogs in my vehicles over the years. Nonetheless, we made it home and began the process of acclimating our new family member to his environment. 

I conducted no formal training for approximately 2 weeks. I wanted him to become comfortable and to trust his new environment. There is a break in period when working with any new dog. You must create a predictable environment in which the dog can learn to trust you and the routine. All activities were designed around structure, order, and assertive leadership. Food, exercise, and sleep schedules are scripted so that they become habitual. There comes a certain point in this process when you see the dog begin to relax. They know what is going to happen next and realize that they no longer have to make decisions. They come to the realization that you are in charge and will provide for their needs. At this point we can begin to teach and train. Because the animal trusts you, you can begin to teach the proper way to conduct tasks and activities. When dealing with large, intelligent breeds it’s imperative to maintain that trust. 

Over the next several months we progressed through walking loosely at the heel, performing basic commands on and off-leash, and gradually improved his socialization. I soon realized that Murphy possessed some of the strongest protective instincts that I’d seen in a dog. He is appropriately protective over the house and my family. Seeing this, we worked on his ability to turn that capability on and off. He can now be called in and out of a protective state on command. It’s been over two years since we first brought Murphy to Texas. To date he hasn’t taken any medications, goes for regular walks at the heel, and spends his free time playing ball with my kids. He loves to explore the neighborhood in his Shepherdly way, wrestle with my retired dog, and practice his obedience exercises. Most importantly, he filled the void in my house and has clearly become a companion dog for my wife. 

I share this story to address and emphasize the unrealistic time expectations that we sometimes place on training and relationships. As the saying goes, “It takes a long time to make an old friend.” Training and relationships are not static. Rather, they are evolutionary. The issues that you are dealing with in the present are different from those that you will face in the future. Committing the energy, time, and finances to this mission is not always a light endeavor. Some of my most rewarding moments of working with dogs and people have come from clients that contact me months or even years later and share their success stories. I hope this encourages and lifts you up. In both your human and canine relationships keep up the good fight. Stay committed and live for those little cracks of success, those good moments, rare as they may come. Some issues with Murphy I was able to fix very quickly, others took months, and some we continue to work on. As I mentioned, the process is not static but evolutionary. What issues the future holds, only time will tell.

Very Respectfully,

Scott

Canine Training Research Group