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      My friend called today with a dog training problem. His sweet, happy, boxer loves to run. She gets loose and she won’t come. He wants to know how to hard train her to come no matter what.  I told him I’d teach him how to hard train or soft train and he could pick his method.  These two methods are also in the horse world, both methods are used by backyard owners to top riders.  

      Hard training involves force and pain. The good side is you may achieve quick results. The badside is this can crush the spirit, and ruin want - to attitude and drive.  Soft training involves conditioned - response. You set up a place where you can get yes answers. For the horse it may be a round pen. For the dog, it may be a leash.  I was raised in a military family with hard training. I learned how to crush spirits in horses and dogs and men. Then someone taught me how to train soft.  

      I own 2 intelligent, strong willed, tough, sweet, soft Catahoula Leopard dogs. They are used in the south to gather cows and work hogs. The man I got my dogs from told me only teach your dogs two things go and come. To teach come use a shock collar. I have not needed the shock collar yet. This guy has owned Catahoulas 20 - 30 years, he knows Catahoulas. If ever there was a shock collar breed of dog- this is it.  

       My Catahoulas stay close to me when I ride. They were bred to wander. After a winter off my doggies had a drifting problem as they went hog wild. My first thought is get the shock collar- since this is how I was raised. But then I thought about conditioned response. When the horse does not obey, go back a step in training. If I went back a step in training with my dog I would go back to the leash, back to obedience school; back to come on the leash. This I did. My problem fixed. It took time.  

       Andy trains dogs for the military. He only uses a shock collar if its the last gasp effort before the death camber for the dog. He told me my intillegent high  energy dogs needed a job. Build them an agility course. This has got to be an excellent answer for exerciseing the body and mind of  a German Shephard on a military base in Germany, or a dog in a limited environment like the city. I could run my dogs more, I get my 4- wheeler or pick - up and they race ahead, wind in their face- happy in their heart - for this breed loves to run. Meeting the needs of the breed,  exercise can problem solve. But it takes time.   

      The shock collar is fast and easy. What is your goal?  Come no matter what? I have lost more dogs in Central Idaho than anywhere I have ever lived. If my dog is not with me he is dead. He better come no matter what. My dogs sorta kinda listen and obey. If I put more time in them they would be better. Or I could get the shock collar.  I could get a leash. They are always 100% ok on leash. Off lead obdience without the shock collar takes time.  You get to choose.  

      When the horse is corrected or trained with pain he stiffens up, he gasps, he may loose the light in his eye over time. Top preformance is lost.  John Lyons recommends instead of correct- direct the energy whenever you can in training. I try to apply this and I see a free, loose, not stiff horse and a happy dog. My dogs loves his job. He works hard with a waggin tail. Back in my shock collar days, I lost that joy.  I’m always looking for  a softer way to train.

      My dog had 2 weeks of training in him. We had a problem to solve. Could he find the sheriff on an 8 hour old partly flagged trail? Our first corner was not marked. Other turns werent’ marked. The trail would take a half hour to walk, with no mistakes. We were there in 15 minutes. Dogs with happy hearts can do more. I love soft training. The head of the SAR team was agahast! You have to work a half hour trail, and you must put a shock collar on that dog for a least a year; for after all he is a hound.  Thats not what I wanted in my training journey. We never went back.  I made a choice.

Ps. We teach disobedience when we ask for a yes answer and do not follow through. If you call the dog, he must come.  My dog just ran out the gate and he is running like a banshie- I am not going to call him because I am 99% shure he will not come. Or case B Jeb is in my fenced yard and I call him to come in the house and he refuses. I step on the porch and he comes. He knows the next step is I go to him, and he comes. He knows I followup. I have to teach this concept to my husband. Do not ask the horse, Can I catch you, and then not follow up, or you teach the horse he can win, or run away. I dont want my horse to realise that he can win.  I do not want to teach resist- I want to teach obedience.  

      I went to a reiners barn. I looked at the stalled horses- every one- every single horse had lost the light or spirit in their eye. They were gone- but they were here. What happened to these horses?

       Some say not to look a horse in the eye. I do. Its part of reading my horse. How do you feel? I have owned Mac for 15 years- raised him, trained him- another cowboy put 2 weeks on him when he was 3- otherwise its just Mac and me.  He never has learned to trust. He does not say it in his behavior- he say it in his eye. He could come undone- he never has but it is there- I know-its in his eye. Mac is a difficult horse- but he does not have a difficult story- because he has always said yes.

     Yes I will cross the creek, yes I will load in the trailer- yes I will stop-  He gives a willing want - to attitude because I never pushed him over the edge. Doug Millholland said if you train a colt right- you will never have problems to fix. This works best on a colt with a good brain.  I trained Mac without a fight. We learned step by step how to dance. He is not an anybodys horse and he never will be- because he can come undone.  I see it in his eye.    

      One day I went to pick up a backfoot. Faster then lightening he kicked his belly. ” I could kick you, you know” - he said. Yes, I see that, and if you kick me I would never be fast enough to get away. I dont need to pick up your foot. I could if I wanted to. I could put a scotch hobble on him and tie that foot up- throw him on the ground if I wanted to- I could be boss- I know how to do all those things. But I wanted Mac’s trust, and you dont gain trust by force.  

       I have to go to the house and think. This is what I do when I am stuck. What happened? Oh- Johnny the cowboy ropes feet- Ray Hunt style. Mac got his feet roped. He does not want me around his feet no more. He remembers. Fast forward- I can pick Mac’s feet up today. I didn not re- train him or fix the problem, or work on the problem. I worked on building trust. And then one day, I could pick up his feet again- like when we were young in the days before Johnny.

     Control the feet- the foot placement the direction of travel- and you control the mind.

      Training without force builds trust. I want to learn how to do that. I want to learn how to do that better.  I never want the light to go out in my horses eye. That’s my goal.   

      Hank rode Mac on a search last spring. Us Search and Rescue folks was lookng for a suicide victum. Hank could not catch his horse in the spring; so he rode mine. Mac was a good boy. He took care of Hank. I believe if you take care of your horse, chances are they will take care of you too.

     I need to learn to post pictures. Until then Mac has a sub album in my photobucket album- sub albums are to the left. Photobucket link is in my first post.  You can tell in my Mac photo album, my dressage stinks, LOL>           

I have studied hard to learn the foundation or basics of horse training. It is different strokes for different folks, what one says to do another says not to do. I guess we all have to find our own way on the journey. Les says to start with lateral flex and exercises; also master picking up and releasing your rein. I can release my rein, but picking it up with grace can be a struggle. Is my hand in my nose in that picture, oh no! Maybe if I video me and watch me ride that might help?

Ginger -Grace a Morgan mare tosses her head and resist the bit. We walk in a small circle and practice lateral flex. I may ask the nose to come one inch or less over ( spot one give) or I may want her nose more into her shoulder, where the leg meets the shoulder; ( spot 6 give. ) See this give in Les Vogt Cowhorse U foundation. Maybe Les has another name for it, or no name?

If she does not give me her nose, (spot one give) I may correct her by taking her head ( to spot 6) and moving the hindquarters ( turn on forehand) for a correction. I want the nose to move softly as I pick up the rein. This exercise works on horses who rear also, the head goes up before the feet come up, its hard to rear when your nose is in your shoulder.

Walking in a small circle asking for spot one gives softened Boonie on the bridle after a 4- H kid got done riding him. She put more pressure on the reins than I did which taught him not to respond. I got my light snaffle bit horse back with those foundation exercises. Foundation exercises fix the broken places in our horses. They also get our colts started right. Doug Milholland said if you train with no mistakes, then you have nothing to fix. That is good advice, but most folks dont start a horse from the beginning.