Meg - 1979 – 1992

Nine National trials

English team 1983

The first of our Main Line of dogs and the inspiration for MBCC

TLC – Thinking Like Canines

TLC helps us to access our dogs’ minds, to know what they are thinking and to understand their behaviour. It helps us to communicate with them and to provide a foundation for all forms of training. There are only four basic commands required for a dog to be well mannered and to respond to a pack leader, and these commands are none negotiable. Being a pack leader doesn’t mean using threats nor does it mean being unloving, on the contrary, a good pack leader is like a good parent, setting the boundaries and being a loving mentor.

Quite often we give dogs mixed messages that make it very difficult for them to understand what we want from them. For example if the word ‘down’ means lie down what do we expect from the dog if we say ‘down’ when it jumps up?

Ignoring a dog isn’t providing boundaries, you wouldn’t ignore a child that was breaking ornaments, instead you would explain to the child that it is unacceptable behaviour, and then explain what is acceptable behaviour. In the same context a dog jumping up at a visitor will eventually settle down if ignored, (just as the child will stop breaking ornaments when they run out of things to throw), but the dog is making its own decisions. If the owner of the dog stops the dog and then gives it acceptable behaviour e.g. to sit quietly while the guest is settled, then the owner is making the decision and in so doing is setting boundaries.

TLC is about listening to our dogs and talking to them in their own language - body language. With simple movements a dog will soon learn not to pull on a lead and it doesn’t involve any pulling or jerking of the collar, in fact it is taught on a slack lead, no bribery is used and no toys are needed but the dog will soon begin to show its handler the respect reserved for a good pack leader.

Feeding a dog after you have eaten and not allowing it to go upstairs will not prove to a dog that you are the pack leader if it still pulls on a lead. But a dog that genuinely sees its owner as the pack leader can be fed at anytime and sleep upstairs and will not abuse that freedom.

Understanding how dogs work in the pack environment provides many of the answers needed for good manners training. Without good manners a dog is lacking in the foundation training needed to go on to be a good companion, or to compete in the disciplines. A dog needs to be able to free think, it needs some freedom of choice and it needs to know boundaries, exactly the same as children. But the choices a dog can have must be minor ones leaving all the major to decisions, such as to who to greet and when, to the pack leader.

Many problems are attributed to over, or under, socialisation but my dogs never get formally ‘socialised’ yet they are confident when they meet other people and dogs, not because they have been ‘socially trained’ but because they trust me as their pack leader in all situations. In the pack environment young dogs aren’t allowed to mix with other packs until the seniors know they can be trusted, like children education begins as home.

If we make dog training complicated we are making our own lives complicated. Dogs are very simplistic, they understand their own language and instincts and if we want to make our training easy for both them and us we must make every effort to communicate with them in way they understand.

TLC isn’t an overnight cure for all problems, it teaches the four basics without any complicated techniques or gadgets and it takes effort on the part of the handler, you are learning a new language and that is never easy. Bringing a puppy up the TLC way sets the boundaries straight away, TLC training on wayward adolescents soon brings them back into the pack as sensible teenagers, TLC on aggressive dogs take longer and more commitment from the handler but many dogs have been saved from euthanasia with TLC training. Once something is in a dogs mind you can’t erase it so aggression will remain in the memory bank but TLC helps handlers to learn how to control it.

As a friend once said when told she was lucky to have well behaved children, ‘luck has nothing to do with it, it was damned hard work.’ Teaching your dog the TLC way is uncomplicated and simple but nothing comes without a bit of effort, and the reward when your dog looks into your eyes and ‘talks’ back to you is worth every step of the way.

For more on TLC training see our consultations page or contact Mainline at info@bordercollies.co.uk

T ake time to understand

H eed others

I nteraction should be unselfish

N egative thoughts induce negative reactions

K indness is not a weakness

I ndomitable spirit is not aggression

N atural body language is vital communication

G entleness is strength

Our complete TLC philosophy is on sale from Mainline Border Collie Centre