WORKING SERVICE DOGS

"I want the ultimate dog." I receive this request several times a week. I suppose it is legitimate in its asking. Yet what is the ULTIMATE DOG? To answer we only have to look at the nature of the two creatures involved. Man and the Dog. Man is a creature that strives for perfection in all other creatures but himself. He relies on opinion to give credibility as to its achievement. The fact that those judging him are cut from the same cloth seems not to make him question their praises. In fact he all too often settles for a ribbon or title ignoring the many reasons that they have no validity. The dog on the other hand will never go further than his handler’s capabilities. Perhaps then the search should be to become the Ultimate Handler. This I am afraid is like trying to catch the biggest fish ever. You can proudly boast your picture with fish, rod, and tales, until a bigger one is caught. This is usually done in a day or so. Last week I had someone come to train for three days. He brought his young son with him. His son asked if he could work with one of our young pups. His father asked me and off we went. Soon the boy was doing what boys do. They explore. The pup was doing what they do following, naturally, interested and free in the world of youth. Could this have been a clear picture of the Ultimate Dog and Handler? I think so. They were together going over things, in high grass, around the water. They were not competing, they were communicating naturally. There are no ribbons, no awards or titles for being natural. The dog is not wrapped around the handler’s leg. They move together, for the simple reason they are learning about their enviroment. This is the foundation upon which a dog is built. Each day is but a step to the next. Constant movement, constant free movement. It takes a good handler to handle a good dog, the dog will not show, where the handler won’t go. The attitude of the boy was to just do, and to do with desire. The dog showed the same have never heard of an Officer being assisted by a ribbon or title on the street. In the same fashion I have never seen a child call to a ribbon or paper to come and explore. Vanity is the destroyer of many a good dog. It is also the false veil of many a good handler. You will never find the Ultimate Dog on groomed fields; he will be in the rough country. Training in the environment people gets lost in. First however the Ultimate Handler has to put down his sandwich and pick up his lead.
©Mike McConnery-Baden K-9 March 11, 2003

CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone Number: 905-562-3095
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Niagara Falls, NewYork
14302-0013

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Wellandport, ON, Canada
LOR 2J0