December 11, 2007 – Cold, cloudy, grey. Above, the fair and debonair Lenore in the snow. She is a love machine, a remarkably calm and easy going dog. I think one cannot look at her and not smile.
   I’ve been learning again about the importance of calming training, one of my big obsessions with dogs. Being calm is the one thing working dogs like Lenore and my border collies don’t naturally know how to do. You have to show them, help them, teach them that doing nothing is a good thing to be able to do. Otherwise, you see dogs bouncing off of people, jumping, stealing food and doing other things that causes them to be labeled “hyper” or worse. Dogs like Labs and border collies have been bred for centuries to be calm around people, to work with them. They ought not be hyper, and don’t need to be.
  For example, there is no playing in my house. No balls, wrestling, zooming around. We get to walk many times, toss balls, chase after each other run around in circles. But not inside.
   Any rambunctiousness, and into the crate. In fact, Lenore spends at least two hours a day in the crate anyway. Contemplation is as good for dogs as it is for people, and they have to be able to be alone and do nothing in the same way that we sometimes do.
  I do daily obedience drills..come, stay, lie down. Lenore is 100 reliable with a “come,” and about 80 per cent with stay and lie down. Repeating these exercises every day is important for calming. Calm behaviors ought to be reinforced. Don’t just praise the dog when he or she comes, but when they are doing nothing, being still, staying off of people.
  Lenore is the fifth Lab I’ve had the chance to train, and everyone of them has been calm and responsive, thanks to good breeding and, I think to calming training. It’s an elemental part of dog training, one that’s often overlooked. Dogs should be peaceful inside, and appropriate with people.
  Lenore is doing very well, and I’m proud of her and proud of me.