How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend Read online

  Historically, two groups of monks have been responsible for breeding and training dogs. The canons of Saint Augustine (technically not monks, but members of a religious order) have raised Saint Bernards at their hospice in the Swiss Alps for more than two centuries. The dogs are still bred there, although they no longer perform their well-known rescues of travelers lost in the Pass — airplanes and snowmobiles have limited the need for dogs in that capacity. But occasionally the canons and their dogs still do go out on a search. The famed brandy cask is a myth. It is probably based on the fact that the lost traveler, once found, was usually offered brandy by the Brother who accompanied the search dog. But it was the Brother who carried the brandy, not the dog.

  In Tibet quite a different group of monks developed the Lhasa Apso dogs. They raised them in their monasteries and frequently gave them as gifts to nobles. It's interesting to note the disparity in size between these two monastic breeds, as well as that two quite dissimilar groups of monks found working with dogs a fitting monastic occupation. We can attest that raising and training dogs fits into monastic life very well. Dog care takes a lot of labor and affection, and monks usually have both in abundance. On another level, the dog typifies in many ways the mature monk: loyal, steadfast, willing to please, willing to learn.

  Monks should not be thought of according to the stereotype that no doubt rests in the back of the minds of many — otherworldly romantics, who with bowed head and folded hands walk in silent procession down medieval cloister walks. Nor does the Friar Tuck image apply, though good nature, healthy appetite, and a bellicose streak will be found to varying degrees in most monks. Actually, the best image to capture what a monk is can be found in the words of the Russian author Dostoyevsky, who remarks in The Brothers Karamazov that a true monk is nothing more than what everyone ought to be.

  Still, that is certainly debatable: "what everyone ought to be." Obviously, he did not mean that all of us should be celibate. Instead, he was pointing to an attitude of heart that he believed was characteristic of monks. The key to human happiness and fulfillment — for monks and nonmonastics alike — lies in a wholesome spiritual understanding that is supremely rooted in reality. Though monks certainly have no exclusive claim to such an understanding, we do attempt to pursue this in a professional way, passionately searching for the truth of who we are and what life is all about. What we have learned is that for the person who is truly open, the whole of life has the capacity to speak, to become a word leading us to greater wisdom and understanding. We have but to listen. From such a perspective, it is hardly surprising that our dogs have taught us much about ourselves, in many subtle ways showing us how we ought to be, as well as how we ought not to be. Because of their association with humans, an association that the stories we mentioned above show to be as old as human consciousness itself, dogs are in a unique position to offer humanity a reflection of itself.

  Anyone who knows someone with a pet does not have to search too far to find similarities between the two, in little things, perhaps, in behavior quirks, in outgoing friendliness (or the opposite, suspicious reserve), and even — and often the most amusing — in appearance. Some cartoonists (such as Booth and Price in The New Yorker) get a lot of mileage out of the latter. On a deeper level, when we pay close attention, dogs mirror us back to ourselves in unmistakable ways that, if we are open, foster understanding and change. Dogs are guileless and filled with spontaneity: unlike people, they don't deceive. When we take seriously the words they speak to us about ourselves, we stand face-to-face with the truth of the matter. We can easily learn to reflect on these words — they are inscribed on their bodies, in their expressions, in the way they approach and interact with us. There is more raw material for meditation here than in many a spiritual book, which is why we offer our experience with dogs not just for the benefit of your dog but in the hope that you, too, might learn something about yourself through interacting with your dog. A better insight into your dog may suddenly give you a glimpse of your own humanity. Just as important, it often heightens the sense of responsibility we humans have, not just for our fellow creatures but for one another and for all creation.

  2

  How New Skete Went to the Dogs

  In Egypt, there is a devoutly religious tribe called the Nuer. The Nuer live near the Nile River and raise cattle for their livelihood. But their cows are more to them than just a source of income. Barns, cow halters, and electric fences are foreign to the Nuer. Instead, they integrate their cows into the total fabric of their daily lives, utilizing them in work, letting them mill around, sleeping near them, and meticulously grooming and bathing them. Each cow has a name and a personal history, known by all the tribe. Daily life is characterized by incessant conversation (or so it seems to an outsider) about the cattle. Each tribesman has plenty of stories to tell about his cows, cows he has owned, or cows he hopes to own. The Nuer are always looking for the "ideal cow." Cows even attend some religious services, and Nuer ritual is full of references to you know what. Nuer religion has been studied extensively and is considered by anthropologists an archetypal primitive religion. The Nuer are, on the whole, physically healthy and psychologically wholesome. They live totally integrated with creatures that are on another level of existence.

  Now, what has this to do with the training and breeding programs at New Skete? In some ways our lives at New Skete resemble those of the Nuer, and so we can appreciate many parts of their culture. We, too, consider our animals more than merely a source of money. Each monk is personally responsible for one or two German shepherds, whom he comes to know intimately in the course of his life with them. We structure our monastic life in such a way as to include our dogs on as many different levels as possible, implicitly making room for our dogs not only on a physical level but in our minds as well.

  Though this might strike some as peculiar, it is actually entirely in harmony with the ideals of monastic life. Traditionally, monks have had a profound reverence for nature and the animal world because they manifested something essential about the mystery of God. This insight came from working intimately with nature, caring for it and learning its secrets, not just reading about it. Genuine monastic living means living a life without division, looking for God in the soil of each and every moment of daily life, not merely when praying and worshiping. Living in close association with our dogs helps us avoid a temptation that is always present in contemplative life — the temptation to live narcissistically in the dreamy world of ideas. We do not "find" God solely in the interior realm, and when we live our lives as if we did, we fall victim to a dividedness that has profound spiritual consequences. Being responsible for our dogs, living creatures that are needy and vulnerable, helps ground us in reality, forcing us to appreciate the mystery of God in all its length and breadth. There is no conflict here with the ideals of monasticism, only a challenge to live those ideals more fully and integrally. For us, the result has been a mind-expanding experience.

  First Steps

  New Skete monastery is in the hills outside Cambridge, New York, near the Vermont border. Early in our community experience, from 1966 to 1969, we had a full-scale farm. At one point or another, goats, chickens, pigs, pheasants, horses, Herefords, Holsteins, and sheep all dotted our landscape. Without realizing it at the time, we were beginning to enter the psychic realm of animals. Our observation of the different farm animals began to educate us in a natural, organic way about animal psychology and behavior. We had a German shepherd dog and had thought about eventually breeding. Meanwhile, the farm animals were an excellent preparation for us. In a sense, training and raising German shepherds is the apex of our long experience with animals. Our farm had to be phased out, since the new property we moved to, high on Two Top Mountain, could not sustain a farm. We then made the decision to enter professional breeding and training.

  Brother Thomas Dobush, who died tragically in an automobile accident in 1973, showed a keen interest in breeding and training as early as 1966, wh
en Kyr, our first German shepherd, came with us from our former monastery as we founded New Skete. Kyr was a male,

  Kyr, New Skete's first German shepherd dog, in late 1966.

  a former Seeing Eye student, and a dynamic, intelligent shepherd. After he passed away, the monastery felt so empty without him that we decided to purchase a bitch and plan a litter. From the beginning we studied our breeding and training plans carefully. We acquainted ourselves with any and all information we could find on the subject. We contacted prominent breeders and trainers, asking for advice and counsel. Professionals recognized our sincere interest and desire to learn, and shared their knowledge with us, in time helping us develop a sound breeding program. We owe them a lot, and we shall be forever grateful for their generosity and help.

  Our knowledge in dog behavior and training grew naturally out of our experiences with our own dogs. Brother Thomas began training our German shepherds to live in the monastery as a group and maintain quiet and order, important to monastic life. Later our skills appealed to other dog owners, and we began to train other breeds as well. Whenever a new monk entered, he was apprenticed to Brother Thomas and learned training skills. More than merely instructing his apprentices in handling skills and techniques (at which he was an expert), Brother Thomas tried to communicate an intuitive way of dealing with dogs. He emphasized "listening" to the animal and "reading" the dog's reactions. His training and handling skills were thus passed on in an oral tradition that is still alive at New Skete.

  Brother Thomas Dobush (d. 1973) having a ball with Jessie and Bekki, New Skete's first two female German shepherds.

  For more than thirty years we have lived in a communal situation with our German shepherds. The dogs live in a colony of approximately fifteen animals, of different ages and temperaments, and constitute the core of our breeding program. The breeding program itself is modest, with our primary goal being to produce beautiful, healthy dogs of exceptional character and temperament in harmony with the breed standard. We also run a three-to-four-week obedience-training program that specializes in teaching dogs (and by extension, their owners) the standard obedience exercises in a manner that easily integrates into the owners' daily lives. We limit the number of students we take at any one time so that each dog can enjoy personal attention. Though we are familiar with obedience classes, we feel more comfortable with an individual approach, which fits better into our monastic circumstances, in which a quiet, reflective environment must be maintained. This quiet, we believe, helps humans and dogs alike to learn better.

  As in the case of neighboring Egyptian tribes wanting to have Nuerquality cattle and learn Nuer techniques, so too have we had people

  Brother Job Evans (d. 1994) with Zanta and one of her pups. (Photo by Holly Anderson)

  seeking us out for advice. We feel both honored and humbled by this, and to the extent possible, we always try to be generous and conscientious with our help. We consider each dog we train or breed to be a reflection on our monastery and an indication of what we stand for as trainers and breeders. Additionally, we have tried to make what we have learned available to the broader public. Aside from this book, we have written a second one more specifically devoted to puppyhood, The Art of Raising a Puppy,*and produced a three-part video series titled Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete.**We are currently working to expand our website, www.newskete.com, to include resources to help owners with questions relating to their dogs, and we continue to study and keep up with the latest advances in training and dog behavior. In a sense, we are always beginners, and we have found a learner's stance to be beneficial in increasing our knowledge of training and breeding.

  An aerial view of New Skete monastery. The outdoor pens for dogs are in the upper left, and the puppy kennel building is at the bottom right of the photograph.

  East side view of New Skete's puppy kennel. These are the secure runs for older pups and the German shepherds being bred. The horizontal purlins are to hold a clear poly cover to protect from winter wind and snow.

  3

  What Is a Dog?

  Dogs and humans have been together as close companions for the past fourteen thousand years, if not longer. The origin of the domestic dog is still somewhat unclear. We know, for example, that when people and dogs began to live together, the only other animal with comparable dental characteristics was the wolf. The wolf is certainly a proven, but most likely not the only, ancestor. Most authorities believe that the dog is directly descended from the wolf, but others subscribe to a modified theory that teams up the wolf with some other close relative that may have looked more like a dog. The evolution of different breeds is a fascinating study beyond the scope of this book. For those interested in training or just in becoming better friends to their dogs, one fact is important to remember: every dog claims the wolf as an ancestor. Understanding wolf behavior helps you understand your dog.

  There is still a great deal of prejudice against the wolf. Today it surfaces when environmentalists and others clash with those who believe that wolves deplete the deer population and attack livestock and even small children. (The fact is, the wolf can aid deer survival by eliminating the weaker members of a herd, and to our knowledge there is no documented case of a wild wolf killing a child.) Since the wolf is a pack animal, it is sociable with its own kind but wary of humans. Many people confuse the hunting habits of the wolf with those of the fox. Though the wolf moves pretty much with the pack, the fox is a solitary hunter. Wolves invariably stay as far away from humans as possible.

  Unfortunately, prejudice against the wolf thwarts a possible way of appreciating the dog, since despite their differences, wolf and dog have striking similarities. Both are innately pack-oriented and prefer not to be isolated for long periods of time. Both are hunters who chase down their prey instead of ambushing it like some of their other close relatives. Both are responsive to leadership from an "alpha figure" to whom they look for order and directives. Both use a wide array of body language to communicate within the pack and with outsiders. Some researchers have noted the presence of a kind of altruistic love in wolf packs, the willingness to please another member of the pack without any reward, and the ability to show caring. These last two traits are well known in domestic dogs.

  To learn about dogs, learn about wolves. There are a number of exceptional books about Canis lupus that can provide you with invaluable background about your dog and his behavior. We present those we have found to be particularly enlightening in the Select Reading List. Reading about wolves in order more fully to understand your dog and his behavior is not going the long way around the mountain. If you reflect on the behavior of wolves, as reported in these books, you will discover an ironic fact: many books on wolves help you to understand and appreciate your dog's behavior better than some of the dog-training manuals currently available. Many of the techniques in this book dovetail with what we know about the dog's close ancestor, the wolf, and, most important, help us avoid unnaturally sentimentalizing our relationship with our dogs.

  Today's dogs belong to the family Canidae, along with their relatives the wolf, coyote, jackal, and fox. This family of animals is remarkably diverse, but all members are carnivores, all hunt for food (whether alone or in a group), and all are potentially trainable and tend to learn easily. That said, it is important to voice a strong word of caution. With the recent surge in fascination with wolves has come an alarming and potentially disastrous side effect: people rushing out to purchase wolf hybrids as companion animals. It is tragic that at a time when reeducation about wolves has helped overcome age-old prejudices and has allowed us to appreciate them anew, and where controversial and hard-fought reintroduction efforts have restored healthy wolf populations to several select western locations, perhaps the most serious threat to the wild wolf population is the breeding and purchasing of wolf hybrids.

  Hybrids will not help perpetuate the species. The unpredictable mix of wolf and dog features often results in a highly dangerous animal (ev
en despite a high level of socialization), and wolf experts are unanimous in discouraging them. People getting a wolf hybrid usually have no idea what they're in for, and for a good reason. For all their similarities to dogs, wolves possess some genetic and behavioral characteristics that in many ways prevent them from adjusting to domestic life. As we have already said, although they are strong, highly intelligent pack animals, wolves have developed an instinct to completely avoid humans, and are naturally adapted for traveling vast distances each day, something that allows them to easily avoid human contact. As such, they pose no danger to humans. When crossed with a dog, however, the wild and domestic ancestries often come into conflict, making for a very dangerous, unstable creature. Having spent fourteen thousand years transforming a wild animal — the wolf — into an animal well suited for human society, it makes little sense to create a highly unpredictable hybrid, particularly when there is so much statistical evidence of their danger. When a biting or mauling incident occurs involving a hybrid, it only adds fuel to the fire against the wolf and makes the good work of wildlife biologists and wolf experts all the more difficult. The best way to care for wolves and their conservation is by not supporting hybrid breeding. Instead, support those groups whose purpose is wolf education, conservation, and the careful reintroduction of the wolf back into the wild, where it belongs.

  4

  Some Important Terms

  Relationship

  Dogs have been bred over the centuries for a wide variety of purposes, but the more grounded these reasons are in a sound, respectful relationship with the human caretaker, the more the unique nature of each dog blossoms. Dogs are essentially social creatures who thrive when directed positively. For this reason our approach emphasizes the social relationship as the single most important factor in your life with your dog.