PHOTO:
Sharon Griswold - the Dog Lady - helps people understand their pets.
Everyone calls her the “Dog Lady,” but Sharon Griswold is really a people person.
That’s because the owner of Rover Misbehaving recognizes that dogs are pack animals, and their human owners are part of the pack.
“The biggest thing I do is try to make the partnership between the person and dog,” Griswold said. “Often owners don’t realize they are fighting their dog. Love, leadership, and respect are what I am working for.”
Her strategy is to make humans think more as a dog thinks. Viewing a situation from the animal’s perspective changes the approach to training. For example, when teaching the “sit” command, many owners jerk back on the leash. In the dog’s mind, that is correction. Instead, Griswold recommends lifting the dog’s head with gentle pressure, placing a treat just above the dog’s nose. As soon as the head tips up, the fanny hits the floor. Add the verbal command “sit” and you’ve just trained your pet.
“Most people are too rough on the leash, and too rough on the voice,” Griswold noted. “The animal does not understand what is wanted. So we break down the exercise we want into little steps. That way the owner understands how to teach, and the dog understands what is being asked.”
Griswold has developed her technique over 35 years. She started out wanting to become a veterinarian, and ended up with a degree in agriculture. For four years she worked for Seeing Eye - the oldest dog guide school in the world - training guide dogs as well as teaching the visually impaired clients how to use them.
The crux of Seeing Eye training is “obedient disobedience.”
“That means you tell the dog to do something, and if they see it is incorrect, they have to decide to do what’s right.” The example is if the owner is telling the dog to go forward, but the dog sees a truck blocking the way, the dog must make the decision to “disobey” the command and lead the owner safely around the obstacle. “We train the dogs to think,” Griswold explained.
Griswold is an advocate of starting right at the puppy stage by helping them social as well as play games that introduce basic commands. But she also holds out hope for owners of older dogs, claiming that you really can teach them new tricks.
She shared a story of a couple that brought their 13-year-old dog to class. The dog had been tied to a tree its entire life, never trained or housebroken. After her obedience training, the dog went on to live another three years inside the house.
“The couple wrote to me after their pet died,” she said. “They told me had they known what a great dog they had they would have brought him inside 16 years ago.”
That kind of story contains the whole purpose of Griswold’s classes. They are all about respect, kindness, and building a partnership between owner and pet.
“By doing these classes, you create more of a bond and enjoy your dog more. It is all about teaching people to respect their dog, and teaching the dog to respect the person,” Griswold said. “My job is to make people appreciate their animals more - and to appreciate the dog that you have.”
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Sharon Griswold (www.rovermisbehaving.com) will teach a new set of Puppy Kindergarten and K-9 Manners beginning in April. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.
Summer is coming! If you offer an activity or camp for kids, put it in our Hill Country Kids catalog of great things to do. Email club.ed@kerrvilleisd.net or call 830-895-4386.
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