Sunday, September 03, 2006

Easy Sunday Morning - Dog "listening" and more thumbnail studies

I recently finished a good read of a book called the Dog Listener, author Jane Fennel. Her positive reinforcement methods of training incorporate "pack mentality" since dogs are gentically are related to wolves. I often receive comments from other dog owners about how well Picaso is behaved, which as a dog owner provides me with a sense of pride. So the read has been helpful, except for a behavior I'm having with Picaso in response to strange dogs that often walk by with their owners. Picaso will often charge the fence and bark obsessively - still working on my approach to corrrect this behavior. I'm hoping the neutering operation Picaso will have this Friday will hopefully allow this territorial behaviour to subside.

Anyways Jane dedicates a chapter to a process she terms as Amichien bonding. Here are the 4 points she emphasizes:

1. When the pack reunites after seperation, who is the boss now?
2. When the pack is under attack or there is a fear of danger, who is going to protect them?
3. When the Pack goes on a hunt, who is going to lead them?
4. When the pack eats food, what order do they eat in?

For example, on number 1 if you simply ignore you dog (no eye contact or acknowledgement)when you arrive at home the dog will eventually submit by laying down and relaxing. At this point wait 5 minutes and then offer praise or treat after the command "Come". By doing this you are establishing your "leader" status and the dog recognizes that the sooner he gets out of his jumping up and down in your face behavior, the sooner he gets a treat or affection.

Jane's emphasis is placing the dog to make accepted choices with their free will. The dog and onwner are much happier even this happy medium is met.

I'm currently working on a painting that is the same house as "One Last Stand" , although I'm referencing the front. Below is the part of the photo cropped, and following that two thumbnail studies. One a sepia monochrome and the other thumbnail sports color choices that I have started fleshing out. Mainly the idea of these thumbnails is to get a sense of the values. The thumbnails provide a "roadmap" so to speak for the finished piece.

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