What a Breeder Must Know About Training

by Americo dos Santos Cardoso
(“O Fila” - Year I, #7 June, 1979)

 
     CAFIB has received numerous letters inquiring about training for a Fila. Many have asked: should the Fila be trained or not; is it true that a good Fila does not need training; is it better that the owner himself trains or is it preferable to hand it over to a professional; at which age should training begin; and how to begin training a dog?
     It seems to us that the most important clarification is in respect to the need to train. When we affirm that the Fila should not be trained, we are referring to the temperament tests done in shows. The reason these tests are done is to allow the judge to make an evaluation of certain mental attributes belonging to the dogs.  Amongst the attributes to be evaluated are the stability of the nervous system, courage, determination, fear, apathy, etc. For this to happen, someone must provoke the animal with an object (stick, towel, broom and etc.) while the judge analyzes the dog’s reaction. (impetuous attack, hesitant attack, fleeing and etc.)
For the evaluation of the nervous system, a judge will fire a blank at certain distance from the dog and will observe the dog’s reaction.   The excellent dog will be the one that remains unaltered by the sound of the shot. The purpose of these tests is not an evaluation of training; the purpose is not to evaluate the level of obedience a trainer can get out of the dog by giving it instruction. These temperament tests are used to evaluate the spontaneous reaction of the animal, in the face of a stimulus that it had not been previously trained to react toward.
    Evidently, we are against training for these tests. If the dog is good, it will be absolutely unnecessary to teach it to react aggressively in face of a stranger that provokes him with a stick, and to remain indifferent to the sound of a blank being fired, because this will be its natural reaction. If the dog has week temperament and nervous system, training would be an attempt to mask these faults and fool a judge, in the same way that unfortunately, some exhibitors use dyes, powders, fake teeth, to hide physical defects. In passing, it must be said that an attentively observing, experienced judge, most always will be able to distinguish a dog that attacks willingly from the one that represents a travesty.

THE WRONG ARGUMENT

However, one might argue:  what does it matter if the dog attacks spontaneously or as a result of training, as long as it attacks? The consequences will be the same. That is a mistake. Everything that is a result of instruction and training, to be well developed, demands continuous and constant repetitions because it is likely to be forgotten. Whomever has already trained a dog knows that commands must be constantly exercised in order to be impeccably well executed and the execution will be less perfect depending on the length of intervals between sessions.

It is logical that the dog displaying the most confidence as an effective guard dog is the one whose reactions were instinctive. This dog shows spontaneous reflex of its unlimited courage, its natural ill will towards strangers and its unshakable firmness of nerves. As opposed to the one whose “toughness” was instructed and demands constant training, so that the way it should behave when faced with danger, is retained in its memory.

From the point of view of a breeder, these aspects are even more relevant. A dog that attacks following an innate impulse and not through conditioning, should produce offspring the that reacts likewise to the same stimulus. The offspring of dogs that attack as a result of instruction, will only attack if submitted to the same process of instruction. What is trained is not inherited, but courage, character and a stable nervous system are transmitted genetically to descendants.

It is fundamental that Fila breeding values mainly the functional characteristics of the breed. It should maintain and perfect the qualities that keep the the breed notable. That is only possible if the choices of sire and dam and the direction of the mating is based on the evaluation of authentic, spontaneous, innate qualities because only these will be hereditary. The capability of the trainer to get a naturally fearful dog to show more confidence and attack in certain circumstances, will not be noticed in the puppy it produces. Although they also might receive training, they will always be naturally fearful due to the genetic inheritance of their fathers true character.

OBEDIENCE AND DISCIPLINE

Having made this preamble, we must conclude by clarifying that we only view training as an inconvenience when it is done to try to hide the true character of the dog. That does not mean that we are of the opinion the that the Fila should not receive any basic obedience training. ON THE CONTRARY, A WELL TRAINED TO DOG PRESENTS NUMEROUS ADVANTAGES OVER THE DISOBEDIENT AND UNDISCIPLINED DOG. It is not practical or pleasant to have the dog that doesn't come when it is called and when taken for a walk, drags us or has to be dragged. Or the one that jumps over furniture knocking down chairs as it enters the house. A dog that has to be chased after for bath, ear cleaning or an injection; does its necessities on the rug and has to be dragged off the couch. It is much more practical to own a dog that has at least a basic notion of obedience and discipline, without the need of being a champion of (k-9) attack training.

Just like we seek to to develop the physical aspects of the dog, by feeding it well, taking it along side the car or the bicycle for a jog; giving it an ample area to run around and play in, exercising its muscles; it's mental faculties can and should be developed.

A dog that lives with its owner and that comes inside the house, must have a certain notion of obedience, otherwise it would be very disruptive. The dog whose owner has never bothered to give it the most basic notion of obedience, will fatally become confined to its kennel or to the yard. Living with this dog will be a constant source of headaches. It is proven that children which receive intellectual stimulation at a young age will develop a higher IQ. As with humans, and in keeping with proper proportion, we believe that to be true also with the dog, if relegated to lead boring life, always locked in a kennel away from the familiarity of its owners, it will become brutalized and gradually stifle some of its mental qualities due to the power of tedium and the lack of any sort of stimulus.

COEXISTENCE IS NECESSARY

Every day coexistence tightens the bonds that unite the dog and its owner. Unfortunately, it is frequently heard of people who fear their own dogs or that had been attacked by them (this does not apply to the Fila only). These are people that buy a dog to guard their property and think they are acquiring a robot, without emotions and feelings. They cannot understand why, after having paid a certain amount of money, they cannot convince the dog to love and protect just anyone.

To own a dog is mainly to conquer its heart, talk to it, let it live in our company. That way it will be devoted to us and will protect us instinctively and as such, it will be much easier to train. A dog that loves its owner, feels an immense desire to please and if we know how to take advantage of this, we shall get from it whatever we want. This will always be the reason that brings a dog to obey: the desire to please its master. Nothing deeper in its spirit rewards it more than the effusive manifestations of a master is that is satisfied.

It is unnecessary to say, that a professional trainer with whom the dog has had no contact with, cannot use these resources. Specially when the Fila is at about eight months old (the age when training begins). That Fila has already made a bond with its owner and has already started to manifest its ill will towards strangers. Nevertheless, it is possible for a stranger with a lot of patience and ability, to conquer the pupil, but it is evident that the most indicated person to train the dog is its owner. That is whom the dog obeys naturally and with more motivation.

It is important to to point out that compliments and rewards are more effective than hitting and punishment. Naturally, there will be occasion in which the animal will need to be corrected. Good results will be noticed when an adequate dose of tenderness and energy are applied. It is necessary to consider certain aspects in order to apply a correction. Patience is necessary in order to teach. We should not be exasperated with the dog, if it doesn't understand immediately what we want from it. It should only be corrected after it had already learned and refused to execute a command either for laziness or rebelliousness. Another important consideration, is that it must always understand why it is being corrected. We should always put ourselves in the dogs shoes then try imagine how it sees our actions.

Although this seems to be a matter of common sense, in real life, it is commonplace that people do exactly the opposite. They act like the dog should be the one to think like us. That it is an unreasonable and always condemnable anthropomorphism. As an example: - we call him and he doesn't come, we insist and he still doesn't come. This is increasingly irritating, until at some point, he comes running towards us. Now, we are exasperated by the dog not having come immediately. When he reaches us we reprimand him and to correct him. A child cannot understand why it is being punished if it takes a while to obey. A dog will associate the act of attending to the call of the owner with a negative impression and one of repression and punishment. Maybe next time he is called, he will think twice before coming, because it has instinctively kept the unpleasant memory of his previous experience.

PSYCHOLOGY OF THE DOG

Dogs should find that the best place in the world is along side its owner. The way to make this happen is to always manifest joy to have it around when it comes to us. As such, he will always come around close to us, confident and without hesitation. We should never call on a dog to reprimand it for any wrongdoing. The dog will come willingly to call when it can it can be associated to a pleasant impression. It is also recommended not to reprimand using its name. One should use a word the dog knows. A word the dog knows is applied when he misbehaves and a word that expresses our discontent. This reprimand can be a simple "no" or the traditional "shush"*, that has a more striking sound and is more agreeable to most trainers. What is important, is that there remains no doubt in the dogs mind about your discontentment with him for his bad behavior.

We shouldn't forget that the dog does not have the same capability as we do to associate cause with effect. It will only understand the reason it was corrected if he is caught "in flagrante delicto" (on the spot). If we get home and find all the clothes that were on the close line torn to pieces, our admonishment will be too late to and will only be good for the purpose of unloading our anger. The dog will feel intimidated, it will not understand the actions of the owner or the reason for his reprimand. This will lead to a diminished trust in the owner and to a perception of inconsistency, unreasonable reactions and unfounded reprimand.

It must be said the that correcting the dog does not mean to hit or to use brutality. Most of the time, an energetic "No!" Will suffice to show him he has behaved incorrectly. The intensity of the punishment and the way it is applied will be determined by the gravity of the fault and mainly by the animals "way of being". There is great variety in dispositions even among individuals of the same breed. The formula is not the same for all dogs and the perception of the owner should determine the procedures and norms of each particular case. While for a particular dog a harsh word will be enough, for another, a slight but energetic shaking of the scruff or a tap with a roll of newspaper will work. In any case, we reiterate, that hitting and violence in no circumstances are justified.

As to particular differences between individuals regarding their temperament and to the their "way of being", we must remember that the personality of each one, should be the basis for the decision of when to start training. Normally, the first lessons  will start at around eight months, but there can be some variation according to more or less mental maturity of the puppy. It is counterproductive to try to teach something to a dog that can only think of playing, he will not have the capacity to concentrate on what we are trying to instill, therefore we will only be achieving intimidation.

GOOD MANNERS

To avoid any misunderstanding, we should  make a distinction between proper Basic Training and Basic Education. The first, refers to determined spoken commands we teach the dog to understand and obey. We teach those commands patiently, in exercises or lessons; such as: sit, lie down, fetch, play dead and etc.. Basic education, is regarding the behavior and good manners of the animal in its daily coexistence with the owner and the people of the house; to do his necessities in the right spot, not to chew on chair legs, curtains and rugs, not to jump on the table to steal food while the owners are eating and etc. Basic education must begin as soon as the puppy comes home.

In order to educate it is necessary to always be coherent and once again, to imagine ourselves in the place of the animal and like him, try to understand our attitudes. It is recommended never to allow the puppy to do what we would never allow an adult dog do. Example: the new puppy starts playing with a shoe she finds, we think its cute,  even stimulate it and have fun at watching her clumsy way of playing. Weeks later, she finds the same shoe and playfully ruins it. At this stage, the development of the puppy it is very quick and she must have strong teeth and be quite bigger. So now we are furious, we reprimand her severely.

The dog cannot understand the value of objects, it can only follow impulses dictated by a its  instincts. It’s above the dogs capacity to sit and speculate about the reasons behind the different reactions its owner has about the same thing (from his point of view). Its confidence in its owner will being disturbed. Its owner will be perceived as volatile, unstable, capable of having opposite reactions in face of the same thing, as far as it’s concerned. The less trust a dog deposits on its owner, the fewer will be the results the owner will obtain from trying to train.

When a command is given, it must be obeyed. A master does not ask - he commands. We must not repeat the same command in the hopes of convincing the dog to obey. Execution to a command and must be prompt. We should avoid, as much as possible, that the dog even conceives of the possibility of not obeying us. As such, we should not give it commands that cannot be executed. For example: if the dog escapes from the leash to follow a cat, or to confront another dog, the instincts that make him do so are deep-rooted and hard to be controlled by man. Consequently, it will be most probable in the these circumstances, that he will not come when called. Therefore, in these cases it is better not even to call him. Because he will not attend to the call. The ideal is that he never has the memory of ever ignoring our commands.

When training begins, it is always useful to organize program in which, evidently, we will teach first simpler and easier lessons and only afterwards the more complex ones. We should not be hasty and should only go on to the next exercise after the dog that has completely learned the previous one. It is also good form to start the first lessons in tranquil places so the dog can concentrate better without distractions. The lessons should be daily, if possible. They should not take longer than 15 minutes and in maximum of twenty. Consistency is necessary, better results will be seen if intervals between lessons are short. We should always finish a lesson with an exercise the dog masters so its last impression will be of perfect execution.

Each action must always have the same corresponding command and should be represented preferably, by the single most shortest word, in order to facilitate memorization. These words must not be similar so they do not confuse the animal and must always be emitted with the same inflection of voice, firm and low toned (never yelled). The dog does not understand the significance of the words, but learns how to differentiate them by the manner and tone in which they are pronounced.

THE SPIRIT OF PACK

We must remember that the dog, in its natural state, was a gregarious(social) animal, that is, it lived in groups, large or small. Certain animals can live isolated like the great felines, which join together only in times of mating. Others, like the wolf, wild horses and etc., have their survival guaranteed only in virtue of the order, attribution, functions and meaning of the hierarchy of the groups they live in.

This spirit of pack, despite centuries of coexistence with man, is still present today amongst all domesticated dogs. So are other instincts, deep rooted or not, that frequently remind us of the wild ancestors and the rules that regulated their packs in the fight for daily survival.

 In these groups there was always one individual that stood out because it possessed special qualities like, raw strength, agility, spite, prudence or any as such that imposed its leadership over others and submitted others to its authority. The survival of this group depended on the ability of this leader in avoiding dangers or guiding them to where there would be abundant game and etc.. Surely this leader would have some privileges, such as, picking the females to mate with and in that way making its sovereignty prevail. For that is how nature, always wise, was caring for the optimizing of the species; the leader of the group, the most perfect individual and the one who produced the larger number of offspring.

Nonetheless, there were times when the instinct of leadership was awaken in other members of the pack. Mainly at the time of complete development, the apex of physical form in the young wolf or wild dog. Furious combat would follow. Either the old leader would confirm its position in the pack or it would concede to the young defiant. If the reason was because old age prevented the leader from performing its duties or if the winner was in fact superior, whatever the result, the order of things would be reestablished and the fight for survival would follow its course.

The domestic dog makes a sort of an analogy between the old ‘pack’ which it was part of and its owner's house, the people and other animals that coexist therein. Presently, there remains alive the sense of hierarchy which permits it to classify all these beings as superior or inferior. Therefore, we observe, mainly in dogs with strong character, occasional manifestations of rebelliousness or reluctance when seeking to defy the leadership of its owner.

From all the explanations above, we can better understand apparently unexplainable actions of animals that had always been submissive to our authority. The animal will put the supremacy of the man that has less discipline and strong pulse in its relationship with him, in check.

It is also important to observe that it is in the individuals of firm temperament and leadership instincts that we will encounter the best dogs. If we have ability and patience to submit them not as slaves, but a calm submission like that of a pure and irrational creature that sees in man its God, we will have won the battle.