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COMMON SENSE,
OBEDIENCE TRAINING CAN SAVE YOUR DOG'S LIFE!
Original article published at the
DAILY JOURNAL ONLINE
http://www.dailyjournalonline.com/articles/2005/06/13/community/news1.txt
By PAULA BARR (Daily Journal Staff Writer)
 Paula
Barr / Daily Journal -- Members of Chuck Ringering's
Wednesday night basic obedience class learn how to make
their dogs heel.
Sydney didn't like the flashing light coming from the
hands of a woman crouched in the corner. Enzo wasn't
fond of the funny harness he had to wear. And Tillie
couldn't believe she wasn't supposed to eat the treat
the teacher offered. Still, hanging out with pals and
plenty of time for recess made it all worthwhile.
School can be a lot of fun when you're a puppy.
Once a week in a small room on Jackson Street in
downtown Farmington, five puppies and their owners
gather together to learn basic obedience from trainer
Chuck Ringering. Wednesday night was their third class,
and owners said they had noticed a big improvement in
the puppies' behavior.
"When I got her, she was a very hyper dog and had no
manners," Nancy Carver said of her 7-month old German
shepherd, Bear. "She's doing good! She can't wait to get
in there. She loves it!"
Ringering, a member of the Spirit of the Heartland
kennel club, is a dog "handler." That means he takes
other people's dogs to shows and handles them in the
show ring. The dog shows he attends rate dogs on their
conformation, rather than obedience skills. Ringering
has shown dogs for about 20 years, and began training in
obedience about 10 years ago when he joined the
Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
"Through them I have taken lots of classes on how to
teach dog classes, work with dogs, and work with problem
dogs such as those with aggression problems," Ringering
said. "It's very rewarding."
He offers basic obedience classes throughout the year to
dogs of all ages. Many of his clients are referred to
him by local veterinarians or find him in the phone
book. During classes, Ringering teaches owners how to
teach their dogs basic commands including sit, stay, lie
down and heel. On Wednesday, he taught them "Leave It!",
one of the two commands he considers most essential:
Leave it and come.
"These are the two commands that can save your dog's
life," he explained. "If you spill heart medicine,
Advil, sinus medication or other things that can kill
your dog, you don't want to have to fight your puppy to
pick it up."
A well-trained dog also should stop, turn, and return to
the owner at the command "Come!", which could save the
dog's life if it was headed toward traffic or other
impending danger, Ringering added.
Puppies on leashes came charging into class Wednesday
night, tails wagging, noses sniffing as they happily
greeted their new friends. There was Tillie, the
towering 10-month-old mastiff and Dizzy, the 13-week-old
Great Dane. Their size, or anticipated size, made it
clear why they were there.
"I figured if the dog was going to be as tall as me and
as heavy as my husband, I'd better get some obedience
training," said Dizzy's owner, Lori Smith.
For such a huge dog, Tillie was very timid when she
started the class, said owner Rhonda Bales.
"Last week, I couldn't even get her in the building,"
Bales said. "This week, she came right in. The best tip
I've learned is how to keep her attention with food."
This week's bag of treats for Tillie contained goldfish
crackers. Tillie received one every time she did
something good. That could mean paying attention,
sitting on command, or playing nice with the other pups.
Enzo, a 5-month-old chocolate Labrador retriever,
fidgeted while Ringering fitted him with a Gentle
Handler nylon harness. The contraption applies gentle
pressure when Enzo tries to lunge forward to help teach
him to walk quietly next to owner Jen Miller.
"A dog has to point his nose forward to pull," Ringering
explained. "The Gentle Handler has a strap across the
nose so when he tries to pull forward, gentle pressure
on the side of his nose turns his head."
Enzo tried to lunge forward, and sure enough, his nose
turned slightly and he stopped.
"Bummer!" his expression clearly said.
"It's making a big difference," Miller said. "He doesn't
try to pull as much and he stays closer to me instead of
trying to go after the other dogs."
This was the first time Sydney had seen a camera flash,
and it was scary. While the other dogs were learning how
to refuse food, Sydney was barking at the dangerous
person in the corner who was making lightening happen
inside.
Ringering showed owner Jenny Lewis how to handle her
puppy's fear. He enticed her close to the camera with
food and encouraging sweet talk. The puppy eased over,
sniffed the camera and soon was happily licking the
offending human. Sydney had a few more barks for the
camera flashes, but no longer acted fearful.
Working with puppies requires patience, but much of
their mischievous behavior disappears once they mature.
Sometimes, the key to training is to use your common
sense, Ringering explained.
"A woman once called me complaining that her puppy was
destroying her shoes by chewing the heels off,"
Ringering recalled. "I told her I hadn't had a puppy
destroy shoes in many years and she asked me how I
managed that.
"I explained to her that I simply put the shoes up where
the puppy couldn't get to them."
Updated on Monday, Jun 13, 2005 - 12:00:10 pm CDT
©2005 Daily Journal, Park Hills, MO
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