Owners Often The Cause Of Problem Pets

It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. The tough part is training the owner, said Christine Hanley, a local Bark Busters Home Dog Training franchisee.

Hanley goes to homes all over the Las Vegas area to help owners direct dogs' habits -- anything from housebreaking to barking to jumping up -- in their familiar home environments.

At Michelle Caldwell's Anthem home, her 10-year-old schnauzer, Conrad, barks loud and long at just about everything.

"If a leaf blows by on the sidewalk, he barks," Caldwell said.

He gets especially vocal when anyone comes to the door. On a recent weekday morning, she invited Hanley over to start the process of getting Conrad to stop barking.

Hanley gives a presentation to all owners before working with, or even acknowledging, the dog in the home.

As Hanley gave the presentation, Conrad waited quietly at Caldwell's feet, with one loud barking outburst as there was a knock at the front door and another extended episode when he was put in a separate room.

Meeting a dog's basic needs is the very first thing Hanley reviews with owners. Dogs need food, safety, shelter and entertainment. When one of those needs is not being met, or being met only in part, bad behavior is the result.

What humans consider bad behavior is logical behavior to a dog when basic needs are not being met.

"The way they think is canine, not human," Hanley said.

Dogs are used to pack mentality. There simply must be a leader in every pack in a dog's mind, or they feel unsafe. There must be a pecking order and dogs are constantly evaluating where they stand, Hanley said. When Conrad does not see a strong leader for the pack, he becomes one. He shows his leadership by becoming very territorial and barking a great deal.

"He thinks he's in charge and he's doing the right thing by the pack," Hanley said.

Caldwell said Conrad's behavior is better with her husband.

"A lot of times, the person with the loudest voice and the tallest body wins," Hanley said.

Dogs view that person as the leader, sometimes only on a temporary basis.

Correction for any misbehavior must occur promptly and must be exclusive to the incident, Hanley said.

"About 20 seconds after the mistake, they don't remember it anymore. You think, 'One more time and I'm going to strangle this dog,' but for him, it's the first time," Hanley said.

Hanley said she never hits a dog in training. Bark Busters trainers do not use treats, either. They use vocal tones and other sounds, as well as body language, to mold a dog's behavior.

In Conrad's case, he's trying to train the humans in his life to respond to his way of thinking, she said.

"We have to trick them into understanding who is in charge, even when we want to relax," Hanley said.

For Hanley, involvement with Bark Busters is the culmination of a lifelong desire to work with animals. She was an office manager for 13 years in California before moving to Las Vegas. She volunteered at shelters through the years, but she always wanted to work with animals full-time. Now she does.

"My love of animals came from way back," Hanley said.

When she was 15, her family was forced to take her pet dog back to the pound due to bad behavior. She had to isolate a dog she got in college much of the time due to its aggressive behavior. She was heartbroken. She said she's had many other wonderful pets since then and wonders what might have happened if she had known the Bark Busters methods with all of her dogs.

Australian-based Bark Busters is spread throughout eight countries and has 160 branches in the United States. Hanley was drawn to the company right away. It was started by Sylvia Wilson, who had run a shelter for 10 years. She had become frustrated watching dogs revert to bad behavior because no one could figure out how to properly train them.

To become a trainer, Hanley had to attend an intensive, three-week Bark Busters training at the company's U.S. headquarters near Denver.

During the training, she and other participants were in classes six days a week for eight hours a day and had to undergo extensive testing. She opened her Las Vegas operation in October 2005.

She now enjoys teaching owners to communicate with their dogs.

"We teach you to understand your dog. No chance he's ever going to understand us," Hanley said.

Conrad is now doing much better with his barking. He was doing better within 30 minutes of working with Hanley. He barks once to announce something and then he's done. Hanley plans a follow up visit in order to teach Caldwell's husband the methods, as well, so Conrad does not get confused.