"Is Your Dog a Zen Dog?"

RainyDayMagazine had an opportunity to sit down and chat with Gordon Fontaine yesterday about his Zen Dog practice.

RDM: How is Zen Dog's approach different than some of the more traditional methods of training a dog?

Gordon: The training methods we use at Zen Dog rewards the "right" behavior.  We don't immediately use things like choke collars or pain to discourage undesirable actions.  We look for the reasons why the dog is not responding the way we want and take the appropriate actions to drive the right behavior.  Sometimes it's training the owners how to communicate with their dogs...because, frankly, the dog is just confused by the owner!

RDM: How do you mean?  Are the owners not saying the right things?

Gordon: Dog's first language is body language.  Most people communicate first through voice and often assume their dog is as well, but often, the dog is really responding to is the owner's body movements.  If the voice commands are given at the same time as some consistent body language, the dog will respond to what is most SALIENT (obvious) - the body language. 

I sometimes ask client if their dog 'sits' on a verbal cue...it's almost funny to see the contortions and hand gestures people go through "at the same time they ask for a sit!"  My first priority is often to determine how to make our human/dog communication as clear as possible!

RDM: OK...how about breaking a dog from doing something "bad?" How do you get them to stop doing something you don't want?

Gordon: My primary concern is to try and understand what really motivates each dog.  That often takes a bit of investigating which is why I prefer to go to my clients home, so I can see exactly where, when and how the 'problem' behavior happens."

After we get to the root of the problem behavior, I'll spend a good deal of time teaching my clients hand's on techniques that eliminate these behaviors.  Not complicated methods that only an experienced trainer can do, but exercises anyone can repeat long after I'm gone.

RDM:  This all sounds pretty interesting... but why is it better than methods that have always worked in the past? 

Gordon:  Many of the popular techniques such as harsh commands, choke collars, electrical shocks are fear based.  While they are certainly effective in eliminating a behavior, they create a fearful dog.  You can see them when they are walking with their owner...their ears are down, they are apprehensive.  This is because they don't know when they will do something wrong.  This is not a happy dog and certainly not a Zen Dog.

I guess it all depends on what kind of relationship one wants with their pet.  My methods are working towards building a confident, calmdog...now that's a Zen Dog!

RDM: Is this a method invented by Zen Dog?

Gordon: I was trained at the SFSPCA in California.  There are only about 400 certified trainers from this Academy in the US.  Director Jean Donaldson started the program in 1999 to teach effective non-fear based techniques to dog professionals.  In the business, this Academy has sometimes been referred to as "Harvard for Dog Trainers"

RDM:  We would love to see these technique for ourselves...can we follow you on your next assignment and take some footage to share with our readers?

Gordon: Absolutely!  We can start with some typical behaviors and show some "before and after" behaviors of the same dog.

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We'll update this page when we have footage of the training ...come back in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, go check out the Zen Dog site and see how to turn you dog into a Zen Dog!

2/17/06 Update:  Movies!

Snapper is a big dog that sometimes can be difficult to control (Left video).  Since Gordon has started working with Snapper and his owner (Right video), Snapper is well on his way to becoming a Zen Dog!

The folks at RainyDayMagazine met Gordon Fontaine about three years ago at Shobu Aikido of Boston. 

Gordon achieved his Shodan rank in Aikido in 2005.  In his dog training practice, Gordon combines his Aikido understanding and the most modern "reward based" techniques to create a humane system that is both practical and successful for his clients and their pets.

Gordon has just set up his new practice in Boston after returning from a intensive training program in California. 

Feel free to contact ZenDog directly for your pet's training needs. 

Zen Dog:

- Interview

- FAQ

- Snapper video

- Loose Leash Walking video