Peter A. Wood

Four dogs, that’s a lot for one couple. When it comes to the walk, she walks all four, but he only two at a time. “But there are still some problems with pulling.”

I asked why the pack is always divided when time come for the walk. “I just want to get it over with,” was his answer. She tells me, “hope for the best, expect the worst.” That made me cringe.

You can predict what will happen, or you can create what you want. Either way, you made it happen. How? Simple. Remenber the Body Language report? That’s how. Every thought you think about your scenario is broadcast through your body language and transmitted through the leash. “Why does he keep pulling on the leash?” That skinny girl asking me about her powerful, large breed dog was creating the pulling by holding the leash as tightly as she was.

The truth is, you are what you believe, how you think in your heart, you will be. So, by the same principle, how bad you think things will be, that’s how bad they will get unless you change the way you think.

Even I still have trouble with this. But, I have found it to be true. As I think, “oh crap, this is going to be a bad day at work,” sure enough, bad things happen.

You can hope for the best, but hope does you no good when your expectations contradict. So, again I ask, “What do you want?” Always, I ask my clients. What do you want? You want the best? Expect the best. Expect bad things and bad things will happen.

The next question I have for you is: What will you accept? Another way to put this overused statement is, “I want the best but I will settle for the worst.”

“I want the dogs to stop pulling, but I will settle for the hassle.”  But if you change your thinking to, “I want the dogs to stop pulling and that is what I am going to get,” then let your body language, which is now thinking “peace” instead of “war,” be reflected in how

you control the leash. Lighten-up on the reins. If the dog should tug and pull, then and only then do you seize control of the dog through the leash. The point is: If you expect a peaceful, non-strenuous walk, let the peace you expect translate to the dog through the leash and the manner of your walk. Watch what happens.

“Expect the best, accept no less.”

Just how does a dog always seem to know how to piss you off? Simple . . . body language. When you think, I want to go left, even before you turn, your body projects that thought through certain leanings, eye movements and hand gestures. Even if you think your move was unannounced, it was previously broadcasted to the world of those who can read your body. So, when you want to move this way or that, and your dog beats you to the punch, consider what he saw.

“Why does he keep pulling on the leash?” I was asked this by a young lady who, despite the ensuing demonstration, would grip the leash tightly and with tremendous tension. The truth is simple. By gripping the leash in such a way, she was saying, “pull and pull hard, I am ready for it.” And, of course, Sasha (an 80-pound male German Shepherd), eager to please, pulled her 90-pound frame across the parking lot. I wish I had my camera.

The truth is, you can predict what will happen, or you can create what you want. The question is: What do you want? Either way, you will create it yourself with your body language and signals sent through the leash. Signals you won’t even know you are sending.

One day, as I walked through the Kay Mills Mall, I noticed that most of my body was relaxed but the fingers in my left hand were stiff and turned inward. A long time it took me, but I did eventually walk until all tension had completely left my body and all of its points. My point is that I did not even notice it until I had been walking for more than thirty minutes. In like manner, you can have the same experience.

As you walk, observe your body. Learn to always keep an internal eye on yourself to see what is creating the scenario you are facing. Then adapt. Adapt your ways to create what it is that you want. In doing so, you will then communicate your wishes without speaking a word. The final result, domination of the circumstances you face.

Peter A. Wood is the owner and operator of Master Plan Canine Rehab in Houston, Texas servicing Houston and the surrounding area. He has had more than eight years experience in working with various animals from cattle to dogs and small animals. His work has earned him the title of Animal Behavior Specialist. He refers to himself as a specialist in animal/human relations.

Master Plan Canine Rehab
Patience, Observation, Adaptation, Communication
832-729-7257
MasterPlanCR@hotmail.com

My family was a typical family of four . . . or more if you count the animals. One father, one mother, one older brother (or “older bother”) and me, five birds, three cats, three dogs, and two little girls for babysitting. Okay, maybe not “typical.” I grew up around pets, some two-legged with feathers, some four-legged with fur and some with pig tails causing quite a stir. I moved out when I was seventeen and began living with family friends who always had dogs, cats or other animals.

So, I learned over time to observe them and see how they interact. Dogs with dogs, cats with cats and, sometimes, dogs with cats. I was always fascinated with how they seemed to know just what the other was thinking . . . and, sometimes, what I was thinking.

Before too long, I worked on a ranch with cattle where, unbeknownst to me, I learned to communicate on a level that they would understand almost without error. My favorite time was once every two weeks when time came to vaccinate the cows. Where my brother and boss would try to round them up for the chute in a wrangling manner, I would take a more observant/adaptive approach. I would get into the pen with them and, before she could act, be matching any cow of choice move for move and eventually straight into the chute, past the backing gate to the head gate for the waiting needle.

For six years I worked with that man’s cattle and dogs. I loved every minute of it. He did say, though, “You may be slower around the cows, but we do get this done a lot faster than I have ever seen.” When I left his house and lived on my own, I began running into people with dog problems. Great Danes, German Shepherds, Black Labs, Golden Retrievers, “Pit Bulls,” … I just ended up talking with people whose lives were run by their dogs. I showed these people how they could regain control. Several told me to start a business. I ignored them. Now I wish I hadn’t. I have been working with animals now since 2000 and have come to this conclusion: All animals act appropriately to the information they receive. That’s what “instinct” is all about. If you want to change the response, change the input.

In this blog series, I will be presenting cases wherein I have worked with “problem” dogs and their owners. The names will be different, but the stories are all true. Here I will show you some tips you can use on your pooch to see some results and judge for yourself whether you should call me.

I love what I do; you will, too.