"Who has been throwing things for this dog?"
My gundog trainer friend knew, immediately. Cringing with embarassment I stammered something about lots of visitors over Christmas but I knew exactly what had happened. It had taken one weekend, one walk by the seaside to ruin my dog's training.
Fergus's retrieves, dodgy as a a puppy flatcoat's at the best of times, were now non- existent. Yes, he went and fetched the dummies, the ball, this morning but he then dropped them on the spot, and I could not persuade him with my voice or with treats to return and deliver them as a gundog should.
I had known when my weekend guests picked up pieces of flotsom on the sandy North Norfolk beach and yeeted them into the little inlet that had formed there. I should have said something then. We don't throw sticks for dogs anymore, do we? Anyone who knows anything about dogs should know that. The trouble is that the Dunning Kruger in many dog-friendly people is strong. There are far too many people who think they know about dogs but simply don't. Result: dogs with accidents and anxiety and behavioural problems. It's not usually the dogs' fault. It's us humans. We are effing dogkind up good and proper.
I should have said something. I thought at the time about being a good advocate for my dog and his needs. But I didn't want to embarrass my guests. So I was not brave. I'd already watched them grab a ball from Fergus's jaws without a respectful cue. I'd tried to explain Swap not Steal, and "Sit and Down are two separate cues," but what do you do when new-fangled (yet well-researched) ideas seem ridiculous to those who don't bear the consequences? How do you put across your philosophy that sentient, intelligent canine companions should be offered leadership and treated with respect and love, and not CONTROLLED by Man who has dominion over all things? How can you persuade people who aren't receptive to learning something that, ultimately, is just a bit of fun for them?
What I should have said was "Please don't throw sticks for my dog." And "I'm trying to train him to retrieve and deliver properly and that isn't helping his progress." I didn't and Fergus, who is a clever boi and cheeky with it, learned immediately that he'd get praise for not doing very much. As my husband said, "It's like lending a Stradivarius to a metal band."
So it took me two hours this morning to start to untrain this new bad habit, all the while ruefully considering how I never throw things for my doggy friends' dogs and they never throw things for mine, unless they have specifically made it clear that they are training.
I should have spoken up. Next time, I will. Or perhaps there should not be a next time.
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