| I was sitting in the waiting room of my local HMO | | | | recognized that the word, ' What's ' could be the cue |
| with a sinus infection and happened to pick up the | | | | to start barking. I thought the signal to stop might be |
| recent issue of Outdoor Life magazine. Actually, it | | | | Evans withdrawing his hand from his pocket with a |
| was the only thing to read, but that didn't bother me | | | | kibble reward. But it didn't correlate, so I asked Evans |
| as most hunting publications usually include at least | | | | if I could rig something to tell us the approximate |
| one article on dog training. | | | | location of the cue, if there was one." |
| I was lucky, as this month's dog training article was | | | | To make a long story longer, Mueller found that |
| interesting enough for me to tie into this week's | | | | when the dog could not see Evans, he stopped |
| e-zine issue. | | | | getting the answers right! After further study, Mueller |
| On page 36, sandwiched between the 'Professional | | | | noted, "I noticed an almost imperceptible twitch-- a |
| Bass Tournament'article and the "His camo-painted | | | | reflex action like a blink occurring without conscious |
| truck and 'Kiss My Bass' bumper sticker are the only | | | | thought... I asked Evans to stand motionless. He |
| endorsements you'll ever need" advertisement, I | | | | found it difficult, and [his] dog's barks in answer to his |
| found a story by veteran dog man, Larry Mueller. | | | | questions [became] random." When Evans wasn't |
| Mueller recants meeting 82 year-old James Evans, of | | | | allowed to subconsciously cue the dog, the dog was |
| Naruna, Va. who owned an 11 year-old | | | | no longer able to come up with the correct answers. |
| Lab-weimaraner cross that could allegedly multiply | | | | In sum, the dog was relying on his owner for the |
| numbers!!! | | | | answers. Which, in and of itself is a pretty impressive |
| Mueller states that, "Evans decided to teach [his] dog | | | | feat, even if it isn't comparable to knowing your |
| to count to 10... 'What's the first number?' One bark. | | | | multiplication tables! |
| 'What comes after one?' Two barks. And so on. [His] | | | | Here's two examples that probably apply to your |
| dog counted backward, too, in addition to correctly | | | | daily training: |
| answering what comes before or after any number | | | | 1.) Many owners tend to start bending over before |
| not exceeding 10." | | | | telling their dog the, "Down" command. Because of |
| As a professional dog trainer, I hear amazing stories | | | | this, the dog starts to cue off the owner's body |
| like this all the time. The only problems is that upon | | | | language (just as Evan's dog did) and lays down |
| further investigation... they NEVER turn out to be | | | | anytime the owner bends over... but not if the owner |
| true. | | | | stands up straight and issues the command! |
| Mueller writes, "Evans began to suspect that [the] | | | | Solution: Always give the command FIRST, before |
| dog was reading his mind." | | | | bending over and making the dog do it. This way, the |
| However, anyone who has studied the dog's mind | | | | dog will link the behavior with the command, rather |
| (and canine behavior in general) knows that: | | | | than with your body language. |
| 1.) Dogs can't read our mind. They read our body | | | | 2.) Amateur handlers tend to tell their dog "Heel," and |
| language. | | | | then walk with their shoulders angled back towards |
| 2.) Dogs can't do math. Especially multiplication. | | | | their dog, so that they can look at their dog while |
| Mueller must have come to the same conclusion as I | | | | they're walking. |
| did, because he decided to review several video | | | | The problem with this is that the dog reads your |
| tapes of Evans and his dog performing their | | | | body language and attempts to align himself with |
| multiplication trick. But it wasn't until he actually met | | | | your shoulders, thus lagging behind the owner, rather |
| with Evans that he was able to ascertain how the | | | | than walking in the heel position (aligned with your |
| dog was figuring out the math problems. | | | | left heal.) |
| "All I knew for sure was that James Evans was no | | | | Solution: Keep both shoulders straight forward as you |
| trickster trying to deceive the public for gain," and | | | | walk. If you need to look at your dog (you should)... |
| that the old man had wanted to know how the dog | | | | cock your head, without angling your shoulders. This |
| did it, as much as anyone. | | | | will keep your dog lined up right alongside you. |
| Mueller continues, "I studied the video tape and | | | | That's all for now, folks! |