Doggie ways
It started out like a game in the same vein as “I can name that tune in three notes.” In this case, it was dog trainer extraordinaire and animal shelter employee Lisa Lucas who claimed she could teach a dog to sit in three minutes. The challenge was on. The dog chosen as the guinea pig was a Newfoundland-Australian shepherd mix that had been living at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service for several days. Judging by his appearance, the mangy animal had spent most of his approximate three years of life outdoors before landing at the pound.
With doggie treats in hand, the trainer lived up to her words. Within three minutes, maybe less, Lucas had the dog sitting on command as well as obediently waiting at the door before it was opened. Impressive at best, but more intriguing was Lucas’ next claim.
“I can teach anybody to teach a dog to sit in that amount of time,” Lucas said one afternoon while working her part-time shift at the shelter in the Spokane Valley. Her technique is to hold the food at a level where a dog has to sit to reach it.
Through SCRAPS and Volunteers Offering Intermediate Care and Enrichment, Lucas’ services are being offered the first Saturday of every month at SCRAPS, 2521 N. Flora Road.
Pet owners can schedule appointments between 1 and 4:30 p.m. The classes are private and free. Classes are scheduled for 30 minutes, but for more complicated problems, they could go as long as an hour. Lucas, a certified pet dog trainer and owner of Northern Tails Dog Training, said similar classes at private schools could run as much as $50 a session.
During the April Doggie Dos and Don’ts day – the second time it was offered – Lucas was ready to help an owner with a dog who nips at people and another owner who has a dog that pulls on the leash when being walked. The owners, however, were no-shows, which prompted SCRAPS personnel to wonder if the fact that the class is free gave people the chance to back out without feeling irresponsible.
SCRAPS also offers a free group session the first and third Saturday of every month. It is designed for people who have adopted a dog from SCRAPS – but other owners can call the shelter and may be able to get in based on availability. The class runs from 11 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. at the SCRAPS office.
Owners whose pets have more advanced problems should consider the private class. For information on classes, call 477-2532.
Why is the nonprofit agency so giving with its time? The reason is as simple: To save dogs’ lives.
“Our aim is to prevent animals from coming to the shelter in the first place,” said Patricia Simonet, SCRAPS development and volunteer coordinator. Simonet said on some occasions, people show up at the shelter with a pet and say they are moving and they can’t take the dog.
“They’re not telling the whole story. What they really have is a behavior problem,” Simonet said. “And we can help fix it.”
Added Lucas: “We get dogs dumped here 8, 9, 10, 11 years old. They are just starting to mellow out, but people just don’t want them anymore. A lot of them have been left outside (here). Other times people fill out a form.”
But by teaching a dog proper behavior, perhaps owners wouldn’t feel the local pound is the last resort.
Suppose, for example, a dog barks all the time. Lucas and her aides have their ways.
“You’ve got to know why he is barking,” Lucas said.
She explained it is one of three reasons – boredom, to alert that someone is coming, or as an attention getter. Once the reason is understood, there are ways to fix the problem. For example, give a bored dog something to play with.
Naturally, the older the dog, the longer it will take to teach him new tricks.
And to stop a dog from barking, Lucas said, “will take more than three minutes.”