Teaching Kids, Teaching Dogs

I haven't decided which one is harder. I mean, on some level, you can reason with a kid. You can't reason with a dog. But, training a puppy is good practice for managing kids, because training a dog is behavior modification at its most basic. Reward the good, discourage the bad. Teach replacement behaviors. Maintain consistency. Be calm. Be clear. Be assertive.

Sounds easy, huh? You can guess from previous comments that it's not. On one level, it wears you out. It seems like already a thousand times the dog has gnawed on my shirt, I've said "NO," I've given him his bone immediately afterward, and I've said "Good boy," as he chewed on it. I know that that consistency will pay off with a dog that won't chew for long, and will know (I hope) what he can and can't chew on (which will deny me the joy of guest posting on PUPPY CHOWED but, I can deal with that), but for the love of Pete, I am getting damn sick and tired of saying it every two minutes.

On the other hand, Parker is quickly getting the hang of the "sit" command, and he clearly recognizes his name now (Ripken recognizes Parker's name, too). However, after he sits, he springs up like a baby kangaroo to snatch the treat from your fingers. So, it goes something like this: sit-good boy-NO-sit-good boy-NO-sit-good boy-shove treat up his nose before he can jump. Wins and losses. We try to be consistent and spend a few minutes each day on a particular skill--obviously, teaching the skill set known as walking sometimes devolves into a comic CF involving a ten year-old dog wrapping a leash around a woman trying to drag a ten week-old dog up out of the gutter while he (the ten week-old) gloriously gnaws on the leash while alternately snapping at the fetters of the ten year-old dog. But, it will be hit or miss until after the first week of June when both of us are around a lot more. That's when the real fun will start.

So, as I turn the key in the door after a long day of practicing behaviors with students, I sometimes wish I didn't have to continue the same with the dogs. But, in both cases, it is a long-term rewarding activity, filled with short-term disasters and medium-range triumphs and smiles and grimaces in between. It's only life...but, damn, can it wear a brother (and a sister) out.