Model Employees

Pono and Bodhi work it at A Pet Perspective

BY JOHN HARMON | PHOTOS BY KELLI BULLOCK HERGERT

Working with Sean Riley and his wife/partner Kaimana to help one of our dogs offered the realization that he was teaching on a deeper level than other trainers I have worked with. Arthur wasn’t a bad dog really, he just didn’t always listen to “come” or “sit,” and he was often insecure and fearful. With Sean’s guidance, Arthur is a much more confident and well behaved dog! Actually, it’s because I learned to communicate with my dog more clearly and consistently. I found it enlightening to ask Sean some questions…

John: When did you first become interested in dogs and their psychology?

Sean: When I was at the University of Georgia I got my first dog, a Doberman Pinscher named Folsom who was handed off from home to home for his first three years. I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, studying psychology, and I realized that there had to be a bridge between human and dog psychology. So I took my human psychology degree and funneled that more into animal psychology to understand the behaviors and mental state of dogs.

I studied ethology and applied animal behavior studies and found a whole field of behavioral science when it comes to dogs. It’s an ongoing education process that includes seminars, classes, groups and ongoing study and understanding of the current research.

John: How does your training differ from most others?

Sean: The difference is that we take a holistic view of the dog’s entire life—its past, its experiences. We look at where the dog came from and the root of where those behaviors started so we can create a customized training plan that is directed toward the specific needs of that dog. This is very different from your typical training, which is a cookie cutter application that is applied to all dogs who come through.

I am also the only one that I know of who specializes in aggression, as many trainers don’t look at that as something that fits into their one size fits all training methods. And that’s what gives me the ability to treat these aggression cases so effectively.

John: How do your dogs fit into all this?

Sean: My two dogs, Bodhi and Pono, are my two primary employees at this point! My other dogs, Valkyrie and Whiskey are still “interns.” Bodhi and Pono help me with other dogs that are reactive by having that calm, solid energy. They also help train our humans by modeling how to effectively handle a dog, because this is human as well as dog training. So our already well-trained pack helps humans experience how they will be behaving with their dogs.

John: What are some examples for aggression and reactivity?

Sean: Often the client dog encounters other dogs behind fences and in close quarters, and they get very reactive. In Bodhi or Pono, we have a dog who is solid and non-reactive, allowing and teaching that dog to approach with a calm energy. This helps them to learn the art of dog-to-dog meetings with another dog that already knows the appropriate etiquette.

John: How did you train your dogs to be calm?

Sean: That’s a really good question. That behavior of being calm around other dogs comes from years and years of repetitive exposure, training and daily work with other dogs. And really treating it like a job.

John: And do you work with a largely treat-based reward system?

Sean: It’s more positive reinforcement based. We use many, many methods, but none of them include any aversive or pain tools. We are called LIMA trainers—Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive. So we do not use any prong, E-, or shock collars. But the thing is, yes, we use treats as in the case of your dog, Arthur. But in many cases we don’t use treats. We can employ lots of other forms of positive and functional reinforcement.

John: What about modeling?

Sean: In training people, there are many high-end behaviors such as a “Heel!” where a lot of handler training needs to be in place: leash handling, cue delivery, reward delivery and functional movement. We don’t want those people to work on those techniques with their own dogs, who have not yet learned the behavior. Here’s where we will use one of our dogs. For example, we will model a heel with Bodhi, and I’ll show the client how that’s done. Then we will put the client into the handler position with Bodhi and coach them through all the nuances of the handler’s learning and training with our dog. Then we can walk them through the education process with their dog. With the handler already knowing how and what to do ahead of time, it makes the learning process for their dog a lot clearer.

If you need help with your dog, contact Sean Riley at A Pet Perspective: (808) 202-0897/sean@apetperspective.com.