Beyond Obedienceis a revolutionary new training program for you and your dog from one of our country's foremost animal advocates and holistic practitioners. The idea that your canine companion is a fully emotional being and acutely sensitive to your changing feelings and moods is the foundation of April Frost's original and highly effective training program. One of the most difficult aspects of training a dog is clearly communicating your intentions.Beyond Obedienceis the first book to work on the way you communicate with your dog, providing you with the necessary tools to truly understand how your dog's mind works and, therefore, how you can create an effective and mutually satisfying relationship. Drawing on her extensive experiences as an animal behaviorist, Frost teaches you that training your dog should not be a tedious chore limited to exerting physical and psychological control over an animal's drives, but instead an enriching and spiritually fulfilling experience--gratifying for both human and animal. Frost discusses such essential concepts as mutual respect, unconditional love, mental and emotional discipline, and your expectations and priorities. She shows you how the insights gained from working with your dog can have positive, far-ranging effects on many areas of your life.Beyond Obedienceoffers valuable insight into the emotional bonds that enrich the lives of animals and their companions.

April Frost is an animal behaviorist and Reiki master. She has more than thirty-five years' experience working with dogs and horses, and her talent has earned her national recognition both as a trainer and as a handler at the highest levels of competition in the United States and Canada. Her many classes and workshops at her Hearthside Animal Center in Cornish, New Hampshire, are immensely popular. Rondi Lightmark is an animal lover and freelance writer who lives in Vermont.

Acknowledgments

ix

Preface

xi

Introduction

1

(10)

The Dog in Our World

11

(24)

Your Dog

35

(18)

Your Self

53

(16)

What Dogs Can Teach

69

(24)

Your Mind and the Energy Connection

93

(19)

The Heart Connection

112

(20)

The Physical Connection: Your Communication Tools

132

(16)

Putting it All Together: The Holistic Practice of Awareness Training

148

(18)

Building the Bond: Communication and Safety With Walk, Come, and Wait

166

(25)

Mutual Respect: Sit, Down, and Stay

191

(23)

Out in the World: Heel and Working With Distractions

214

(24)

Challenges and Inspirations: Behavioral Problems and Other Life Lessons

238

(19)

Caring for Your Dog: Nutrition and Supportive Holistic Healing Practices

257

(37)

Games and Good Times

294

(15)

The Special Needs of Puppies

309

(17)

Conclusion: The End Is Only the Beginning

326

(15)

Appendix

341

(10)

Index

351

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Chapter 1
THE DOG IN OUR WORLD

The key to a successful relationship with any living being, whether animal or human, is interest. The more curious you are to learn as much as possible about your dog, the greater the potential for a deep bond to develop between you, because after interest comes respect, commitment, and love.

To help create this bond, it is important to begin by examining the relationship between dogs and humans. In this chapter I will take a look at the issue of how people and their dogs find one another. Then we will look at a typical crisis in a dog-human relationship. I'll offer some general information about how dogs' experiences of the world differ from ours, and I will make some introductory comments about training. You will find this chapter especially helpful if you already have a dog. If you are thinking about getting a puppy, this chapter will provide some important guidance, and you will find additional information in Chapter 15.

There are many different ways that dogs end up with people. Some people grow up with dogs; others acquire them only when they are older. Although I was passionate about animals from early childhood, I was not allowed to have a dog until my freshman year in high school. My mother limited my choice to a toy or miniature poodle, partly
because they don't shed and partly because she liked the image of sophistication that the breed projected. Although I was disappointed not to have other options, I got a frisky little poodle I named Kisty (Kisty was short for Conquistador), and we became good friends.

A friend who lived nearby also had a poodle, and once we realized that it took all of our baby-sitting money just to pay for grooming, we saved our money, bought a pair of clippers, and learned to groom the dogs ourselves. We started attending training classes and showing our dogs in obedience competitions. Soon we were caring for other people's dogs while they were away. Before long we were also being asked to groom dogs, so my career with animals actually began while I was still a teenager. By the time I was in my twenties I had already made the commitment to helping animals in need. My house became a haven for them, I had horses in the backyard, and I was busy training, showing, and breeding Irish setters, a breed I had long admired.

My animal family is still very large by conventional standards. At this writing, Hearthside Animal Center, in Cornish, New Hampshire, contains a dog pack of assorted breeds that numbers nearly thirty, plus nine cats, two cockatiels, six ferrets, a rabbit, and a guinea pig. There are four Arabian and seven miniature horses as well as chickens, turkeys, and doves out in the barn. Most of these animals have been rescued, and I am fortunate to have George, who has worked for me for four years, primarily doing repairs, maintaining the grounds, running errands, and assisting with animal care. In addition to her, I have volunteers who believe in my work and who come and help with their care and training.

Rescuing a dog is one thing. Choosing one is another. And then there are those dogs who make the choice themselves. Red, a client's dog whose timing was impeccable, was one such dog.

I first met Red when an elderly man named Charlie brought her to training classes. Charlie was a gentle giant who always wore a fedora, a flannel shirt, and red suspenders. His hands were enormous and had been used hard and well over the course of his life; he had a warm, compassionate disposition and a charming sense of humor.
Charlie was born into a family of culture and wealth, but he was adventurous and loved being outdoors, so he went out west when he was a young man to work on different ranches. Now he was too old for that life and had come back into genteel society where the furniture was polished and clocks with brass pendulums ticked out the long minutes of each day.

Charlie was finding life pretty dull when Red just walked into his yard one day and made herself at home. It was as if she knew that Charlie was looking for a spunky dog like her to liven things up. It was news to him, but he soon saw that she had a serious relationship in mind, and she fit his temperament well. They became inseparable.

Red had a strange build and the straightest legs I had ever seen on an Irish setter, which gave her a strange walk, as if she were on stilts. Extra clumps of hair grew like an old rug on her shoulders and hips. She looked like she was wearing chaps; maybe that was why Charlie found her so appealing. Red also had a crazy way of sitting, sort of askew on her haunches. She would hold that position, and when she was intent on something, she would put one leg out straight in front of her, as if she was pointing.

Red had a bit of the devil in her, which Charlie adored. He would correct her, but he'd shake his head and smile instead of getting angry when she ignored him. One time he took me aside after class and said, "So, April, do you think Red's ever gonna be a nice old lady?" It got to be a joke between us over the years, as our mutual appreciation of Red's unique personality drew us into a close friendship. I always replied, "Charlie, Red will be an old lady, but she's never going to be a nice old lady!" He seemed to find this reassuring.

I was right about Red; she had real integrity, and you just had to respect her for it. Incorrigible to the last, she left her awkward body at the ripe old age of fifteen. Charlie went downhill fast and died not long after. It was as though he had lost some of his zest for life, or perhaps he lost his reason for getting out of bed in the morning.

Not long before he died, Charlie gave me a picture of Red. In the photo she is sitting in a rocker on his front porch, looking right at the camera, with his old fedora perched on the top of her bony head, and her long, silky ears hanging down. She looks as though she is saying, "What a life, huh?"

Red chose Charlie, or maybe you could say they recognized that they needed each other. But there is no question that she filled his final years with friendship and style.

There are many wonderful stories about dogs who have turned up at special times in people's lives, either as friends when friendship was needed or as powerful opportunities for growth and learning. Frequent and inspiring as these stories are, they are not the norm. It is more typical for people to choose their pets than the other way around, and it is important to remember that this can be a life-or-death question for the dog.

According to a 1994 American Humane Society survey, as many as 60 percent of the 8 to 12 million dogs entering shelters that year were put down, usually because the dog had become uncontrollable due to human ignorance or neglect. This amounts to an average of over six million dogs a year! I know of one European dog breeder who refuses to sell his animals to Americans because he says we are a throwaway culture. My many years of experience with rescue work have led me to draw the same sad conclusion: we live in a disposable society. When there are problems in the relationship, it has become more expedient for many people to say, "The dog no longer works for me; I'll just get a new one."

The number of dogs who are mentally unstable or physically unfit to be companions is small, however, compared to the number whose lives are held cheap. Our culture allows the indiscriminate breeding of millions of dogs. Those who don't make the grade, or who dont have homes because there are simply not enough people to adopt them, are killed. Even greater numbers die because of human ignorance: of the millions of dogs put down in the United States yearly, more are killed because of behavior problems than for any other reason. In one 1985 study, 10 percent had been euthanized for biting, 23 percent for aggression, 17 percent for house-soiling, 15 percent for barking, 15 percent for chewing, 7 percent for fearfulness, and 5 percent for digging. (These percentages include dogs who exhibited more than one undesirable behavior.) Tragically, most of these deaths could have been avoided through a combination of inspiration, education, and some kind of system that deals with the issue of accountability.

It saddens me when I hear of the loss of so much potential.

From the Hardcover edition.

Excerpted from Beyond Obedience: Training with Awareness for You and Your Dog by April Frost, Rondi Lightmark
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.