Gemma - An introduction to dog behavior modification
I purchased my first Giant Schnauzer in 1967. I had been raised in a home that had Beagles and Fox Terriers. The Beagles were raised by my father who hunted with them, and the Fox Terriers were the K-9 of choice by my mother. As you can well guess, the two breeds were never together. My father did some field trial work with the Beagles, but my mother was never interested in entering any of the Fox Terriers in a Dog Show, so they were basically house pets.
After marriage, my father gave my wife a Boxer as an anniversary gift and we got involved in both Obedience and Conformation Dog Shows. Years later, after the Boxer became ill and the veterinarian advised us she was not going to live much longer, we decided to obtain a Giant Schnauzer. We named her Gemma. This arrogant BITCH was the beginning of my serious education in animal behavior.
After marriage, my father gave my wife a Boxer as an anniversary gift and we got involved in both Obedience and Conformation Dog Shows. Years later, after the Boxer became ill and the veterinarian advised us she was not going to live much longer, we decided to obtain a Giant Schnauzer. We named her Gemma. This arrogant BITCH was the beginning of my serious education in animal behavior.
It was more like "learn or give in" to tell the truth. She is the subject of many, many of my dog stories. Gemma had what I was to learn is a typical Giant attitude. "Someone has to be the boss, so it might as well be me.” She also had the attitude that "no one could get away with hurting her.” I found this out when I took her to an obedience seminar and the well-known instructor conducting the seminar decided to use Gemma for a demonstration.
As we were heeling, Gemma started to lag and I was instructed to give her a “GOOD” correction. In those days that meant a sharp, quick jerk on the lead, causing the choke collar to quickly tighten around the dog’s neck and obviously cause pain! Well! Gemma was not going to take this abuse from me or anyone else. Her immediate response was to take my left leg in her mouth and give me the most severe pinch-bite I have ever experienced. She did so without ever breaking the skin. I had the largest black and blue mark on my thigh for weeks.
Needless to tell you, we were remanded to the rear of the class for the remainder of the seminar. In fact, we had a lot of room to work because other members of the class were giving us as much space as they possibly could.
This experience caused me to search for methods of training that did not involve any aversion techniques. I can't say at this time whether it was my concern for Gemma's well being or my sense of self preservation. But learn I did.
This experience caused me to search for methods of training that did not involve any aversion techniques. I can't say at this time whether it was my concern for Gemma's well being or my sense of self preservation. But learn I did.
Gemma never competed in Obedience competition but instead became a Champion in the Breed Ring. I had a lot of fun teaching her protection work and she loved the training sessions because she could bite without getting into trouble with me. I always felt it was better to teach my Giants to bite on command. That way, I knew they were not going to bite unless I told them to do so.
When I became involved in Carting, she was my prize Cart Dog. Oh! Did I mention that I became aware in 1972 that Gemma was blind? This was shortly after she became a Champion. We had been in the 1972 Agnus flood and our home had fourteen feet of water in it. As we were repairing the damage, I noticed that Gemma was bumping into things. After all, everything had been changed and the newness of her environment did not permit her to move about from memory. She did not know where anything was and had to learn all over. Her blindness did not stop me from training her, in fact, it made my efforts to learn how to train more important.
When I became involved in Carting, she was my prize Cart Dog. Oh! Did I mention that I became aware in 1972 that Gemma was blind? This was shortly after she became a Champion. We had been in the 1972 Agnus flood and our home had fourteen feet of water in it. As we were repairing the damage, I noticed that Gemma was bumping into things. After all, everything had been changed and the newness of her environment did not permit her to move about from memory. She did not know where anything was and had to learn all over. Her blindness did not stop me from training her, in fact, it made my efforts to learn how to train more important.
Gemma won first place at the Carting Competition sponsored by the Giant Schnauzer Club of America at the Westchester KC show in the mid 70's. At the awards presentation, the judge commented that she should do very well in advanced Carting ( off lead). I told the judge that she couldn't work off lead because she was blind and needed the lead for security.
The judge exclaimed "you mean I gave a blind dog first place!”
Blindness was just an inconvenience for Gemma, not a disability. She responded to working with a flat collar and a lead to guide her and lots of treats to reward her. I even taught her to jump on the grooming table by slapping the table with my hand and she would jump to the sound. Of course she knew how to jump on the table prior to her blindness. She had complete trust in me and I in her. How could you put a choke collar on a blind dog and jerk it around? Not me!
Source: Modifying Dog's Behavior published by Harry Russ Jr.
