If you want to learn to talk to your dog; shut your mouth.-Nelson Hodges
03/04/2025
WE ARE ENOUGH. Working with feral dogs has taught me a lot, but mostly that we are enough to connect with and form a cooperative relationship with dogs without relying on food, collars, and other tools.
Feral dogs have survived without significantly relying on humans. They see no value or need for our companionship. Once in the shelter system, the feral dogs must be rehabilitated, or loose their lives. If we can teach a dog that they are safer and will survive better with us, rehabilitation is easier for both parties. Initially, feral and fearful dogs usually won’t take food, don’t want to play, and wish I would go away altogether. The fact that I can become a trusted partner with a feral dog using only a leash tells me humans are underestimating the ability of dogs to form bonds with us. In fact, it seems the more elaborate and technological dog training methods become, the further we are removing ourselves from the nature of dogs and why we love them in the first place. Dogs connect us with nature, but how much are we connecting with our dogs if how we interact with them is completely unnatural?
Contemplating this subject raised some questions for me. How did our ancient ancestors cooperate with dogs without clickers, treats, electronic collars, automatic treat dispensers, and other modern gadgets? Why are trainers increasingly relying on these modern tools to live with and train our dogs? These questions led me to research how ancient civilizations worked with their dogs.
Ancient Greeks kept dogs around for companions, herding, farm work, and guarding purposes. The latter were often called Molossians. The Greeks wrote about how to train and care for dogs. Dogs’ behavior and gestures are commonly depicted in Greek art and literature. The most famous example is found in Homer’s Odyssey when Odysseus returns home after many years, his dog Argos recognizes him and greets him happily. (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/9/1/14 -arts-09-00014). Prior to the Greeks, dogs are depicted hunting on leashes with humans in rock art dating back more than 8000 years ago (https://www.mpg.de/11802436/oldest-ever-images-of-dogs-on-leashes), and in Egyptian art.
In the modern day, few people rely on dogs for survival, but there are a few examples remaining. The African Hadze people use groups of dogs to hunt without using any tools or leashes on their dogs, like they have for thousands of years. Hadze dogs travel with the hunters, alerting them to game. The Hadze then share their food with the dogs. (Ruhi Cenet) Basotho sheepherders in southern Africa use dogs for protection for sheep and themselves. (Discovery UK). In both these cases, the dogs are partners with the humans for survival and accompany them without any training tools. Because of the dogs’ importance for the humans’ survival, I have a feeling that primitive people understand dogs, and many other animals, quite well. Modern day advances about how dogs learn shouldn’t be discounted, but enhanced by some knowledge from the past.
Figure 1Hadze hunter with dogs. Photo credit Mike Corey
Intuitive understanding isn’t limited to people living as our ancestors did. When I was in Florence, Italy, I saw a man riding his bicycle with four happy, white fluffy dogs in the bicycle’s basket. The next day, I was lucky enough to walk by this man’s house as he was loading his dogs in the basket. I stopped and watched how he interacted with his dogs, while trying not to look weird. He did not have leashes on the dogs, nor was he using any treats to get the dogs to wait on his porch while he readied his bike. He simply asked the dogs to wait by using body language, and the dogs naturally understood. The dogs were waiting because they understood the man but also because they had a mutual reward for doing so. They all got to go on a bike ride. When he had the bicycle ready, he then told the dogs to jump in the basket, and they did.
Homeless people often seem to live in harmony with their dogs. I see many homeless people standing alongside the road while their dog waits patiently in amedian with cars zooming by. These dogs may have a leash on them, but they generally seem very willing to follow their human’s lead on the activity at hand. Homeless people and their dogs form a “reciprocal dependency.” (Gordon) The dogs and humans depend on eachotehr for survival and navigating the streets safely. I have been approached by more than one do-gooder asking me to “rescue” a homeless person’s dog. (We have adoption event near a popular panhandling corner.). I told those people there is no way I would take the only thing that the homeless person has. I also explained that the dog seemed healthy and content, probably living a much more fulfilling life than on someone’s sofa.
In an effort to help feral dogs, I investigated how to develop a deeper connection with dogs where our survival and well-being is intertwined. Survival is the ultimate reward to dogs, especially surviving better than the day before. Dogs understand this concept at their core. Dogs’ close relatives, wolves, also understand how to work together to survive better. Surviving, negotiating, and cooperating with a pro-social group comprised of humans and/or dogs, is written into our dogs’ DNA.
Yet we fail to utilize pro-social survival programming in our training because few of us actually understand survival the way our dogs do. It is a good thing that we are not constantly afraid of being attacked by neighboring tribes or wild animals. But our dogs still yearn for the reassurance from us that we are a team in survival. Our dogs still want that pro-social group that will protect them and understand them. No training tools can communicate this like being attuned and aware of your dog can. I have come to understand this need from feral dogs because they accentuate it. Tipton will whine, look in the direction of the concerning thing, which may be a hot air balloon or a wild horse, and then look at me. He wants me to be aware and know the object is there. After I signal to him that I see what he sees or smells, he relaxes. If I put myself between said concerning object and Tipton, he relaxes more. If you can tell your dog that you are aware of what they are concerned about, and that you will take care of it, it will go a long way in forming a tight bond. If you are trying to connect with or train a dog, and you overlook this essential need of safety and partnership, you are falling short in the dog’s eyes.
I see advice given on social media daily about how to train fearful and feral dogs using clickers, treats and e-collars. Almost all of it disregards the bond between human and dog on a deep level. If I comment, I sometimes get the “I know how to train fearful dogs,” reply. I can guarantee to everyone but one person that taught me (you know who you are), that you likely do not know how to rehab/train fearful dogs like I do. Maybe this sounds conceited, but I find this to be true.
One person suggested using an e-collar on a feral dog to limit the dog running away from the handler. In short, the dog was stimulated (punishment) by the e-collar whenever the dog wanted to retreat, making the person’s space the only place the dog didn’t get stimmed by the collar. Honestly, my jaw dropped in dismay when I read this. This coercive method won’t cause trust in the handler, it will just cause the dog to not move away from the handler. E-collars are not interactive. In fact they are best used when the dog doesn’t know the stim is because the handler presses the button and controls the collar. It teaches the dog nothing about the value of interacting with people. Why wouldn’t we just try to become a person the dog wants to be around instead of run away from? Why is the dog running away in the first place? Let’s start there and fix that first, then select some training tools to supplement the foundation we put in place.
On the other end of the spectrum, I see people trying to convince a dog of their value by using food. But dogs are not this naïve or gullible. They know if they can gain food by performing behaviors. Even wild animals like Limpy the coyote in Yellowstone National Park will perform behaviors for food. He exaggerates his limp for tourists and is now even teaching other coyotes how to get a snack by limping. But this behavior doesn’t mean Limpy trusts the food-dispensing humans. I read a lot about teaching fearful dogs targeting so then the dog will do things while touching a target. This is a much longer process than is needed. If the dog trusts the handler, the dog will be successful in doing things based on that trust. Dogs do not give other dogs food to earn their trust. Why do we struggle to earn the trust of dogs? Why do we feel we are not enough for our dogs and supplement ourselves with copious amounts of treats? Dogs are honest with their feedback, and if you are not enough for your dog, figure out why.
Time cannot be used as a reason for using tools and treats because things move faster using my methods. I can generally achieve trust with a feral dog to the point where the dog will follow me, and not be afraid of me, outside on walks in TWO 45-minute sessions. During the third session, the dog and I usually go for a walk in the field outside the shelter grounds. Usually, the dog has enough leash skills and a relationship with me that I could take a feral dog home after three sessions. In a week at my house, the dog will go on walks, investigate things with me, and start participating in the household. A feral dog will trust me completely, seek affection, want to be around me, and come when called after 2-3 months. Then, I start to take the dog to parks, hikes, stores, and on road trips. Some have said that I must be forcing or flooding the dog. These critics simply do not know what is possible because they can’t do what I do. If your methods are taking longer to achieve these results, or you are not achieving these results at all, something is missing.
If we stop trying to use fancy training methods, and just start to “BE” with dogs, we will become valuable in their survival. We will learn about how dogs really think and what they are really about. If we keep an awareness about our environment, check out what the dog is concerned about, act in a trustworthy manner, be empathetic, guide the dog to become brave, and try to understand the dog’s point of view, miracles can happen. If we stay entranced by fancy training techniques that are removed from nature, we will stay disconnected from our dogs.
Let me be clear - traditional training methods and tools are not bad. There are many positive, effective ways training tools can enhance training results. But, where community and closeness to others is increasingly hard to find due to technology, we are creating distance between us and our dogs by relying on tools. Instead of using training tools as a supplement to training, many are making the tools the ENTIRE training. Instead of taking time to enter the dog’s world and consider what is important to the dog, we teach dogs human-contrived training methods that help us achieve what we want from the dog behavior-wise. We are missing a huge opportunity to achieve what most people want and need, which is a deep connection with another living being. Once a deep connection is achieved with a dog, all formal training is so much easier because the trust is already there.
Some may say that deeply connecting with a dog is too hard or out of reach for our clients. I assure you it is easier for clients to learn than the timing needed for e-collars, clickers, and treats. It is also easier to fit into our hectic daily lives because it is a way of being instead of the chore our clients see as “training.” Connecting with a dog also allows us to connect with ourselves. It causes us to become still and not be so busy pushing buttons and dispensing treats. It opens us to listen to what the dog is telling us. We cannot hear the dog if we are always busy with our own agendas. Learning the dog’s agenda will teach us what we need to know to help that dog. Connection allows us to live in peace with our dogs without having e-collars, place boards, or treats on us all the time. When we get in touch with this side of ourselves and become what dogs need to feel safe and trust us, then we become enough for dogs and ourselves.
If you want to learn more about how to connect with dogs that most people struggle with, don’t hesitate to contact me. There is no need to guess or struggle with a dog. I am pretty sure I can help even experienced trainers and dog owners have faster and better success than trying to go it alone.
for more photos go to my blog www.hart2heartcanine.com/blog
References
(https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/9/1/14 -arts-09-00014)
(https://www.mpg.de/11802436/oldest-ever-images-of-dogs-on-leashes)
Hunt to Survive | Hadza Tribe (Unchanged for 50,000 years), Ruhi Cenet https://youtu.be/QwbK1GUWN30?si=-Z5r0iPosvJ_DYsY
The South African Tribe That Still Uses Dogs To Hunt Meat! | Dogs: The Untold Story, Discovery UK: https://youtu.be/W-J7Xs-sp_U?si=CuXYIg10fiX0DW-W
Catching Baboons with the Hadze People, Mike Corey: https://youtu.be/U2Szbfq9IA4?si=-bKC2WUlB1CEiLMz
Gordon, Ruth https://www.theravive.com/today/post/the-bond-between-the-homeless-and-their-dogs-0004687.aspx
