Effective Training
Training any animal has its challenges at the best of times, but luckily, these animals train fairly easily, although the language barrier can pose some problems. So, when training your human, you must use body language and eye contact to overcome this. Rewards are useful to instil the required behaviour, and if you don’t have a cheese bit or cookie handy, a good lick will generally do the trick.
The first lesson to master is the come on command. Some humans balk at this command, and I’ve found that the female of the species is generally easier to train. A short sharp yap will generally guarantee their attention – a must if you hope to train them to do anything – however, this will not guarantee they will come to your side. A whiney sort of yap, accompanied by an expression using wide eyes, droopy mouth and hanging ears, MAY accomplish the goal. See? I told you body language was important.
Another technique, we call the ‘burglar alert’ technique involves racing outside and around to the front fence where you are required to emit several deep, loud barks. Done correctly, this method may bring all your humans to your side. However, use this as a last resort – we’ve noticed they don’t like this technique as well as the other methods. A good time to train them is when you are taking them for a walk. They use a strange sound, like HEEL (it’s a peculiar bark used only by humans). It you stand very still and don’t move, they will eventually come right up to your side, and repeat the bark obediently. They never use this bark among themselves.
Some humans have sloppy housekeeping habits, and if you want a clean environment, you will need to take immediate steps to house-train them. Take for instance, the dining table. Unlike us, humans use many flat bowls and strange shaped containers to eat from, and after they have eaten they will often leave these objects on the table for a few minutes before taking them away. Messy! Messy! Messy! Moreover, the appropriate place for leftovers is in our own bowls. Your human will soon get the message after you have licked their plates clean, and if you knock over the glass cylinders and lick up the contents before it drips on the floor, not only will you enjoy a nice drink, but you will ensure your humans don’t make this mistake twice. (Hint: the tastiest morsels can always be found in the centre of the table. We realise this won’t help other breeds but fellow wolfhounds will be able to reach these easily. Enjoy!)
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