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Ohio's very own 'Dog Whisperer' tutors Rosey
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Rosey gets tutored!
Roger George of Englewood knows a thing or two about boxers. He owns three, including Darla, the American Kennel Club's 2004 No. 1 boxer bitch in the country.
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I met Roger a few years ago through a friend. He successfully trained my friend's Greyhound mix, a dog so energetic and scatterbrained it was expelled from a local dog training school.
When Roger read my post last week on Rosey's hyperactive behavior, he gave me a call and invited us to his home. We met Tuesday evening, April 29.
I shared the story about Rosey coming from a rotten home in Butler County, how she was left outside to starve to death and so on, but Roger didn't want to hear it.
"Have you ever met a con artist?" Roger asked.
"I'm pretty sure I have," I replied.
"Well, con artists play on your sympathies to get what they want," Roger continued. "Dogs are the perfect con artists. They'll use you as long as you let them. So if you want to get control of your dog, you have to earn that control.
"You have to be the con artist."
Huh?
"No longer refer to her as a rescue dog," Roger continued. "No longer tell people how she was reared. It's not concerned about what happened yesterday. The dog didn't come with a suitcase full of excess baggage so there's no reason to keep that around.
"The dog lives for the future. It's concerned about what happens next. Forget about the past and where it came from. Don't dwell on that anymore."
I'm dealing with Ohio's version of the Dog Whisperer, I thought. But it made sense. Dogs feed off their owner's energy, as Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer himself, often proclaims.
Roger seemed impressed with Rosey.
"She's a little skittish, but she's very well-behaved," he said.
There's hope for Rosey, I thought. She's gonna be just fine.
Roger gave me some other tips to get started:
• Lose the pronged collar, the kind that pinches the dog's neck when they pull during walks. A simple nylon choker lead properly positioned high on Rosey's neck just behind the ears will do the trick. If she continues to pull or meander off path, shorten the lead.
"You only give the dog as much lead as it earns," Roger explained.
• Start crate training. In time, like Rufus, she'll come to love her crate as a comforting, happy place. The crate will also spare my living room and its contents from Rosey's spontaneous bursts of destruction when we're gone, as seen in our video, "Cyclone Rosey."
Roger took exception with that video, by the way, particularly when my wife asked Rosey if she'd been a "bad girl."
"She wasn't being bad," Roger said. "The dog was simply entertaining itself."
My wife and I were the "bad" ones, he explained, because we left Rosey uncrated and to her own devices for fun and activity.
• Use treats as rewards during training, but don't overdo it. She'll come to expect it every time. Dole the treats out randomly, he said.
Also, "it's not how big the treats are, it's how much (often) you give them," Roger said. "Your goal isn't to feed the dog, it's to reward the dog for the performance you've asked."
Roger also took Rosey to his basement for a shave (she had a few long, wiry whiskers on her face), a pedicure and brushing. She was perfect throughout, no biting, nipping, growling or anything. I'm so proud.
"Good girl," Roger repeatedly told Rosey. "Good girrrllll."
"See that?" he said. "We try to make everything a happy occasion."
See Roger and Rosey in action in my latest video, "Rosey Gets Tutored!"
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7408 or agottschlich@DaytonDailyNews.com.
