Wednesday 3 July 2013

Build a House, have a plan; Go to war, have a plan; train a dog? wing it....???

The welfare of numerous animals is at stake.

A lot of people set out plans for their life.  They set out plans for a home before they build it (or leave it to the architect and the contractor).  Governments (usually) set out grand objectives for the military, which sets out realistic, day to day plans and strategies for a war.  We plan a LOT.  We practice a LOT.  I don't know of any one nuclear scientist ever found in a reactor that doesn't know the difference between a proton and a neutron (ok, save your jibes, Homer Simpson doesn't count!).  Lawyers make plans and contracts for clients.  Carpenters follow plans to build houses.  Sports teams have plans; nearly everyone who works as a professional has some sort of plan.  We have plans either before we get into a career (education) or after we get into a career (mostly more education).  To make a car, a company needs a plan.  To make a cake, you need a plan! (a recipe).  Yes, you can make a cake or other food after you've had some practice (ah... there we go practice!).  So, why do we assume that we can train a dog, without a plan?

A lot of people do, and they get by.  But (in Canada) at least 40 000 animals a year would disagree that those plans work; mostly because they've paid the ultimate price.  Not always right away, but perhaps after some time.  What do our future companions deserve?  Are they disposable, or potentially disposable?  I don't think so, and a lot of other people wouldn't think so either.   They cost more than an iPhone if they come from a reputable breeder (sometimes even if they don't come from one!).  We can replace a mechanical or electronic device if we screw it up or drop it on the floor and cause it to cease functioning in the way we like.  What happens when we the same happens to an animal?  They get returned or some worse sentence.

What can we do?  We can plan.  I would suggest planning everything well in advance.  What will the dog/cat/gerbil/hamster/pig/sloth/boyfriend need?  Physical requirements; mental requirements; medical requirements etc.  Where will the animal get these requirements?  Who will provide them, and when?  Who will pay for them, and how?  What behaviours do the dog/cat/etc come with that we might want to enhance; and what do they come with that we will not find appealing?  All these things should be thought out before hand.  Once you know what you need, you can work on, you guessed it, the plan!

The plan should be easy for you to follow.  Break it down into steps.  When we learn algebra in school, we are not provided an equation the first day of kindergarten and told to solve it!  We need to learn the basics, and we need to learn them well.  If we can't add simple numbers together, we won't be able to add variables together either.  Throw in Trigonometry and you have a whole new kettle of fish.  Other than acronyms, can you remember what Sin, Cosine and Tangent mean?  We can't go from 1+1 to solve the rate of speed of an object falling from a building of height X given a rate of acceleration of 9.8m/s/s over night.  Break it into small steps, make it easy.

Small steps mean that you and the dog (I'll use dog from now on) can accomplish goals and landmarks.  If the goal is to hard, you break it into smaller chunks so that it's manageable and you progress to the point you want to get to.  Ah, the goal!  The end behaviour.  With small steps, you achieve small goals toward the end - the goal.  Broken up into tiny pieces, things become easier for everyone to understand; learning happens faster (and probably bonding).  Both you and the dog get a flood of happy feelings.  As you get more skilled, you try more difficult things; perhaps your goal changes, what then?

If an athlete says they want to compete in a marathon, they run every day, maybe twice a day.  They run long distances, they partake in a half marathon when they're ready, maybe two or three.  Once they're ready, they tackle the end goal.  Mission accomplished... now however, they want to beat their own best time.  So they train harder, get help, perhaps a coach.  They manage their goal.   Now they want to be in the top 10!  Even more training, a diet regime, more coaches etc.  But each time they don't just wing it; they set out a goal.  Some maybe set the goal in their head, but the fastest most productive people will put the goal down on paper and try to figure out what steps they need to accomplish it.

Encourage everyone who wants an animal to understand what it entails to have an animal.  What needs an animal has, and what things that the animal will require (food, training etc).  The welfare (and possible survival) of the animal is at stake.