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   From: Anne (annek@bigfoot.com)   
   Subject: Jerry Howe's Free Training Manual   
   Date: 2002-05-17 12:59:05 PST   
      
   I adopted my little shepherd mix pup, Ginger about   
   a month ago and enrolled us in obedience school   
   so she could learn to be a good house dog.   
      
    I love the classes and she is doing  very, very well,   
   but a few of  the techniques the trainer is teaching   
   us make me a little uncomfortable.   
      
   In the instances where I tried to use them exactly,   
   poor Ginger ended up cowering away from me and   
   looking sad and scared, and that bothered me.   
      
   Our trainer's main theory seems to be contained in   
   what he told us:  Your dog has to fear your wrath more   
   than he looks forward to any pleasure gained by   
   disobeying you, whether it be to steal food or chase   
   a rabbit or just ignore a command.   
      
   I dont want Ginger to fear my wrath, or be intimidated   
   by me,  but I also want her to listen!  A few times, I   
   ignored the training method we were taught in school,   
   and tried just gently correcting her and showing her   
   again how to do what I wanted, along with lots and lots   
   of encouraging praise and she seemed to learn more   
   quickly that way than when I was yelling NO at the top   
   of my voice.   
      
   I downloaded Jerry Howe's Wits End manual and   
   read through it, and so much of it rang true to what   
   my own experience with Ginger has been. She learns   
   if I yell and yank her leash, but she is also unhappy   
   and frightened.  She learns if I correct her gently and   
   encourage her, and she actually enjoys our training   
   sessions then.   
      
   So even though I havent used Mr. Howe's techniques   
   exactly yet, it seems like they would work very well for   
   me and Ginger!   
      
   I especially was interested in the part about submission   
   and rolling your dog over, as that is exactly what the trainer   
   told us to do, even if the dog was scared and snapped when   
   you did it!   
      
   According to Mr. Howe's manual, thats a terrible thing to do to   
   your dog, and after seeing a cowering little pup in class used as   
   an example in front of 15 other dogs,  I have to agree with him!   
   My Ginger rolls over all the time, to have her tummy rubbed, and   
   Im glad I never had to try to force her like the trainer advised,   
   as now I see I might have harmed her psychologically by doing   
   that!   
      
   I just wanted to say that I was very happy to get the information   
   Mr. Howe provided,  since a lot of it just validated my own doubts   
   about our trainer's methods and I feel better now about ignoring   
   some of them.  Im going to read through the Wits End manual again   
   and try out some of the methods there.   
      
   I dont care if Ginger becomes a superdog...I just want   
   her to be a happy house dog that comes when I call   
   without fail, and doesnt jump on people or furniture or   
   steal food -- the usual good house dog behaviors.   
      
   Im much more comfortable with Mr. Howe's methods   
   for achieving this.   
      
   Has anyone else used this manual?   Any feedback   
   from other users would really be appreciated.   
      
   Anne   
      
   From: Marisa (marisab@hotmail.com)   
   Subject: Re: Jerry Howe's Free Training Manual   
   Date: 2002-05-17 13:10:26 PST   
      
   Hello-   
      
   I agree with you!   
      
   I didn't want to scare my dog, or hurt her, or pull on her leash,   
   or any of that. I wanted her to want to work with me, and do   
   things with me the right way on her own. Or else I don't have a   
   dog, I would have a robot dog with a sad face a broken spirit.   
      
   I have had a German Shepherd pup. And a couple mixes.   
   They can be challanging. But let me tell you, the reward   
   you get from having a trained, happy German Shep far out   
   weighs the weeks or months or training.   
      
   And you DON'T have to hurt them to get them to listen. :)   
      
   I am now reading Jerrys manual and working with   
   it for my second day. My roomates, my boyfriend,   
   and me have already noticed that I have more "control"   
   without actually working harder to get it with her.   
      
   I really enjoy Jerrys "distraction" methods of sort,   
   the really are working fast for my Jack Russell.   
      
   Stick with it! and hey the worst that can happen   
   is you instill a good feeling with your dog, who   
   won't be afriad of you throwing her on her back,   
   or jerking her leash and possibly creating a   
   spinal injury :)   
      
   marisa   
      
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