Scott Linden Outdoors

Keep it on the Q.T. and he won’t hold it against you.

I like to maintain a positive relationship with my wife, friends, co-workers, and my dogs. Like the rest of them, my guys don’t appreciate “constructive criticism” from me. So I let them think it’s coming from somewhere else.

Sure, some times the “master” has to assert himself over the dog. But most times, you simply want him to do – or not do – certain things at certain times. Why not let your training tools take the blame?

The leash keeps Buddy at heel, not my constant haranguing. A checkcord becomes the bad guy when Buddy doesn’t “whoa.” With both, avoid eye contact as you yank for an extra dose of depersonalizing.

When he’s distracted, the tone feature on the electric collar breaks his train of thought and I’m not the party pooper. And in rare cases, the e-collar’s stimulation comes from out of nowhere, not from me! I even try to hide my hand while holding the e-collar transmitter.

With this strategy, at the end of the day we’re still friends, and plenty of learning has taken place. Isn’t that what counts?