When it comes to dog training, there is a non-stop controversy over what is the best way to train a dog?
Should a dog work for treats or should we train a dog using force. Should punishment be inflicted on the dog or should we simply try to ignore bad behavior and then reward good behavior.
Spending almost the past two decades working with and training dogs, I have obviously developed my own theories and methods. I strongly believe in a reward-based training system, and that we should spend more time rewarding behavior than punishing behavior.
I have formed my opinions and methods through a lot of experimentation and observation.
AND...
By also becoming a student of dogs. Dogs really are incredible animals and truly are man's best friend. One perfect example is the story of a dog named Balto.
In 1925 at a time when the world was turning to machines for all of its answers, a team of huskies were the solution to saving a small town in Nome, Alaska from diphtheria out-break.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious disease that would quickly spread to all of the people in Nome. Without the anti-toxin to combat it, there was no telling how many people would die in Nome.
Nome is about 1000 miles away from Anchorage, and trains at the time could get to a town Nenana that was about 700 miles from Nome, still a considerable distance away.
The one plane in Nome was taken out of storage and the citizens tried to start it. The engine was frozen. The other plane in the area had been taken apart and stored for the winter. Shipping channels were frozen solid. The only way to cover the 700 miles was
to use a relay of dog teams.
Twenty sled dog teams came together to cover the distance and bring the anti-toxin to Nome. It was estimated that it would take the sled dog teams about 13 days to traverse
the terrain from Nenana to Nome. The sled dog teams fought fierce winds, strong
enough to knock over both the dogs and the sleds. They battled freezing temperatures,
sometimes as cold as 40 below.
On February 1, 1925, the anti-toxin was handed off for the last time to a team led by Gunnar Kassen in the village of Bluff, Alaska.
Kassen's sled dog team set off to cover the final leg to Nome.
The lead dog...
Balto.
Balto was a two year old Siberian husky born in Nome. Balto spent the early part of his life as part of a dog team that transported supplies to miners in the surrounding area. The funny thing about Balto is that he was considered a "scrub dog," meaning an inferior or slow-working dog.
Balto was far from being a "scrub dog" as you'll soon discover. You see, on the last leg of the trip to Nome, a blinding blizzard began, temperatures dropped to -50 degrees and generating wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Kassen found himself unable to navigate, and
almost gave up all hope of making it to Nome in time.
But Balto knew the trail well, and, following his instincts, led the team through the cold
and snow. Over the next 20 hours, Balto slowly led his sled dog team over the final 53 miles.
On February 2 at 5.30 AM, the team finally arrived in Nome. The dogs were too tired to even bark, Kassen went to the front of the sled team and fell to his knees petting Balto saying: "Damn fine dog, damn fine dog."
The serum had successfully been delivered - only seven days after leaving Anchorage, and just 127 1/2 hours after leaving Nenana.
Balto went on to become a big celebrity and even has a life-size statue in New York City's Central Park. The bronze sculpture is New York's City's only statue commemorating a dog. The statue includes a plaque with an inscription that reads:
"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed anti-toxin 600 miles
over treacherous waters, through arctic blizzards, from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the winter of 1925 - Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence."
I share that story because it really helps put things into perspective when we think about
training dogs. How can you read a story like Balto's and not realize what incredible animals dogs are and how closely linked we are to dogs.
When you think about it, there are thousands of Baltos walking around right now. Dogs leading blind people, dogs assisting deaf people, dogs helping people with disabilities, dogs finding lost people, dog sniffing out bombs, illegal drugs, protecting their owners, guarding, herding, hunting, and police dogs are just a few examples.
Dogs are now being trained to sniff out cancer, to detect when an epileptic person is about to have a seizure, the list goes on and on. It's one of the reasons why I am always preaching the benefits of positive reinforcement. How and WHY would we want to inflict pain on an animal that gives us so much?
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