I have many weaknesses as a human being and a dog trainer – I am not a dog trainer, to be honest, I am a writer who trains my dogs  – and the biggest weakness is that I often settle for what I call the “Good Enough” dog. If a dog comes, sits, stays, keeps away from the road and doesn’t try to kill the chickens, I sometimes move on, get distracted, don’t finish.

They are good dogs, more than good enough, but not as good as it is my responsibility to help them be.

Fate is an amazing dog, we are so happy to have her. But she is a handful, as is obvious. Red is a dog who is eager to please, he will do anything he is asked to do instantly, I can’t even recall a time when he irritated me. I can recall about a dozen times a day that Fate has irritated, challenged or thwarted me.

Her recall is good unless she finds some chicken poop or revolting thing in the woods. Then she simply doesn’t hear me. She gets so excited when she meets people that she leaps  up on them, sometimes reaching all the way to their face. She has knocked people over, frightened kids with her enthusiasm.

Recall is important to me, it is not negotiable or a multiple choice proposition – “I’ll come when I feel like it, in my own good time.” That is essential to preserving harmony and often, the life of a dog. We walk on country roads and in the woods and I say “come,” “stay” or “lie down,” it has to happen right away, and it has to hold.  If she goes out on the ice and it is deep, she must come when I tell her to come. Seconds sometimes count.

Often with Fate, that is a struggle. She has enormous will and instinct, and more once, she just looks me in the eye and blows me right off.  Maria is not naturally inclined to focus on training, her mind is usually elsewhere.  Fate is a dog that needs to be trained, and thoroughly. She is about a year old, so it is time to get her to the next phase, she is too powerful and curious to be a “good enough” dog, she needs to be a good dog.

I am fairly loose with my dogs, I want them to follow their natures.  I don’t need robots or automatons. But I will  not tolerate or own a dog that hurts people or other dogs, and I will not put up with a dog that jumps on people. A lot of our friends think this is cute, which is why she still does it in part. “It’s just her nature,” said one, but that is folly in dog training. The nature of a smart working dog is to live in harmony with her humans and obey them when commanded.  I just need to focus and stop it, and for good, before it becomes a life-long problem. I should have done it sooner.

That does not mean being nasty, it means being stubborn and focused and vigilant.

So last week I bought a German made throw chain, 1 by 1 by 1 inch, 3.2 oz. I actually bought three of them, since I know from experience that some will end up buried in manure, lost in the brush, vanished in the tall grass. So far, the results have been spectacular.

Our chickens run free, and Fate got into the habit of hunting and scouring for chicken droppings and eating them, blowing off commands to come or stay.

She was just ignoring us. It’s a mistake to give commands a dog won’t obey, you are just teaching them to disobey and reinforcing it. So yelling wasn’t working, it hardly ever does. A throw chain would work.

With a throw chain, I don’t throw it at the dog, I throw it over their heads. Dogs hate things flying out of the sky down on them and I generally toss it a few feet over their heads, not directly at them. The dog is startled, it turns to the human – me – and I say, positively, “come” and the dog will run towards me and get praised or even a treat. I’m sure there are some people who don’t care for this training method, that is their choice and their business.

It isn’t eating the droppings I mind so much as her learning to disregard commands. That is dangerous for me and for her.

I only had to throw the chain twice and the chicken droppings issue has already gone away.

Now, when Fate turns to look for chicken leavings, I just shake the chain in my pocket. She hears the sound and turns away. This morning, we went out and she didn’t even look at the droppings, I realized later I didn’t even have the chain with me. This is how it ought to work, after a few times, you don’t need to do it any longer. If the behavior returns, you can use it again. But with dogs, so much is tradition. If they are used to a behavior, they’ll repeat it. If they stop, they often forget it.

The jumping up on people will take longer. A friend came over and Fate began leaping up on her. This time, I threw the chain at her, she was ignoring my commands to “get off.” The chain hit her legs, she didn’t seem to notice it. She was dangerously excited.  She heard the once chain, then jumped again, higher. She heard the second chain, and jumped again. I shook the third chain, and she sat when told and stayed calm. In a moment or two, she calmed and was appropriate.

It was my first three-chain event, and I imagine, it will be the last.

I will be taking her out to train her in town, at the bookstore, at the hardware store.  I’ll ask her to lie down around people and wait for a release to sit up and get pats. The chains have already been dramatically effective, out in the woods this morning she began to wolf down some coyote droppings – they are often riddled with parasites and worms – and I shook the chain and said “leave it,” and she turned away and didn’t look back.

It is important not to traumatize the dog or overuse the chain. When she listens, she is rewarded with praise and sometimes, treats. She is getting that. Fate is a very strong and willful dog, she is one of those dogs that loves to test the limits. She is also smart and learns quickly.  It is  critical in the life of a dog that the animal – and yes, they are animals – learns to live safely in our world. There will be a lot less yelling and tension around Fate after a week or so with the choke chains.

She will not just be a “good enough dog,” but a dog who lives in harmony with us, and who is safe. People who love and greet her will be safe also.

If I do my job, the chains will all be lost or forgotten in a few weeks. She will understand soon that it is not cute or acceptable to jump up on people and frighten them. Elderly people on walkers or people in wheelchairs and small children don’t think it’s cute when a dog jumps on them or chuckle that it’s just the way they are.

It’s not the way Fate will be. If I mean it, she will get it. And that, to me, is about the most loving thing I can do for her.