Dog Days

The love affair between dogs and humans has spawned a lucrative industry and some unusual conflicts. Sue de Groot gets involved. 'Gollum!" someone shouts and across the field other cries echo: "Bingo!" "Scotty!" "Chewbaca!" "Tinkerbell!"

No, this isn't a fantasy convention. It's a dog- training school, and the owners are being told to call their puppies to come to them. The puppies, busy sniffing and snuffling and gambolling and engaging in doggy endeavours, ignore this chorus. The humans redouble their efforts, making trilling sounds, slapping their knees and doing gymnastics.

The bond between dogs and humans is an old and mystical one. Dogs are brought into homes not just as burglar alarms, but to provide emotional security and a sense of identity. There are plenty of well-adjusted dogs happily co-existing with humans and even, in some cases, dancing with them.

In a nearby field, a standard poodle by the name of Tenor Saxophone Player is performing some smooth moves on his hind legs. This would have amazed Samuel Johnson, who once said: "A woman preaching is like a dog walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."

Tenor Sax's dance partner, Cody Hewitt, calls herself "a poodle snob", because she finds the breed so intelligent. Her trainer, a border collie man, snorts derisively at this. Humans compete in this arena just like they do everywhere else. Every owner will tell you that their dog is the cleverest and most advanced. But the conflict between breed fans is a mere skirmish compared with the war raging between proponents of divergent dog training methods

Vera Drummond, president of the Doberman and All-Breeds Club in Emmarentia, Joburg, has worked with dogs since 1979. She hasn't used a choke chain for 20 years, but says "some people are still stuck in the old suppression-domination methods".

At another school, Greg walks obediently next to Roland. Greg, a boerbul who must weigh 100kg, is wearing a choke chain. Roland tells me that he wouldn't be able to control Greg without it, and is astonished when I tell him some trainers refuse to use them.

This charged debate is not limited to SA. In the December 2009 issue of UK magazine Your Dog, trainer Charlie Clarricoates says: "Most dogs can be trained with food and treats, but a small number cannot. This moralistic attitude that you can only train dogs by loving them and being kind is ridiculous."

In the other corner is the British Centre of Applied Pet Ethology, which seeks to outlaw corrective devices such as choke chains, sticks and water sprays. The centre's Kirsty Peake says: "If children misbehave you don't physically abuse them, so why do this to dogs?"

Back in the puppy field, a short Labrador finally decides to leave its exploration of the nether end of a Jack Russell and wander up to its owner. She smiles as though it has brought her the keys to a new Mercedes. "Look how happy he is," she says, and the dog does appear to be grinning, although perhaps it is just hot. "He loves it here."

Kirsten has several dogs of various breeds as well as a husband and two children. Whenever she gets a new puppy, she integrates it into the family and society by inviting all her friends around for a "meet-the-puppy party". This isn't just something invented to amuse those tired of knitting lentil jerseys, it is recommended by trainers.

Drummond says that if dozens of different people are introduced to a puppy early on and they all reward it with a treat when it sits on approach, you won't have the problem of dogs leaping at your guests and knocking them over. "You create desired behaviour by using positive reinforcement whenever the dog offers this," she says, "and it soon becomes a habit. That's when you can start to introduce cues and commands associated with that behaviour."

Radio personality "Dr Platzhund", a veterinarian with 36 years of experience and a special interest in animal behaviourism, says although adult dogs should not be treated like humans, puppies are similar to children.

"You reward good behaviour and ignore bad behaviour," he says, "and you have to keep them stimulated. Problems arise when people aren't assertive or in control."

Drummond agrees: "Puppies are like babies, you can't presume they have the skills and knowledge to be left on their own. Destructive behaviour in dogs is often a sign of separation anxiety."

Author Dr Ian Dunbar says, in Before & After Getting Your Puppy: "Any puppy can become a marvellous companion if appropriately socialised and trained. And, no matter what its breed or breeding, any puppy can become a doggy delinquent if not properly socialised and trained."

The relationship between dog and human, like any intimate relationship, can go dangerously wrong - and this is where the field gets even muddier. How should "doggy delinquents" be treated and who should treat them?

Dogs have become an industry. Apart from training schools and day-care centres, there is also a sector devoted to curing destructive behaviour. The increase in people seeking advice on how to deal with their dogs parallels the increase in humans visiting therapists of all persuasions for advice on how to deal with their lives. In both areas, public ignorance allows charlatans to prosper.

My friend Sam consulted three so-called experts for advice when one of her dogs kept attacking another. The first told her, by telephone, that her dogs had turned feral. She should feed them more and stop taking them for walks. Rejecting this, Sam called another, who told her the first diagnosis was nonsense and the aggressive dog was acting out of sibling rivalry. The third concurred and gave her some practical tips.

In SA there is no qualification for such practitioners, nor is there a regulatory body mandated to monitor them, which makes it easy for rogue operators to collar unsuspecting clients.

Animal Behaviour Consultants of SA (ABC) was founded 16 years ago to try to establish requirements for those who work in the field. Platzhund says that while only a registered veterinary psychiatrist can prescribe psychotropic drugs for dogs suffering from schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks and the like, those claiming to be "dog psychologists" do not belong to a legitimate pack.

Going via the ABC (www.animal-behaviour.org.za) is one way to find help, but only 23 canine behaviourists in SA are accredited. Platzhund says there are some non-aligned practitioners who have the knowledge and experience to do good work, but there are also those who "work with a trainer for a few months, read a few books and watch a few videos, then start their own practice". Such lack of experience, he says, can be dangerous.

So before handing a bowl of cash to the first "dog whisperer" at your kennel, Platzhund recommends, ask for referrals. "To qualify as an animal behaviourist, you need to have mastered the theory. But unless you have extensive practical experience with all breeds in all areas, from puppy socialisation to advanced obedience techniques such as scenting, carting, sports dogs and 'schutzhund' (police work), you can't call yourself competent," he says.

People are vulnerable when seeking help for dogs they love. In an episode of the TV sitcom Frasier, Niles remarks that the advantage of being a dog psychologist is that you can see a patient for one hour and charge him for seven.

Fees do provide a guideline. Platzhund says most accredited behaviourists charge between R350 and R550 for a consultation. If you're being charged in the thousands, ask more questions.

Apart from the odd Pavlova's dog doing Swan Lake, not much has changed about canine behaviour. Dogs don't join Facebook or voluntarily wear berets. The same cannot be said for their owners, and our complicated lives have resulted in increased stress being put on our dogs. But whatever their disparate views, dog people appear to agree on one point: if you want your dog to be a happy member of the household, be prepared to spend a great deal of time and effort on it. Or get fish.