Article April 24, 2006 Issue

GOOD DOG!

BY SUSAN CLAY

"GET YOUR DOG," I yelled, too late. The puppy dashed past two children and made a beeline for Katie, who, barking frantically, lunged her 60-pound frame at the 10-pounder. As the youngsters tried to catch their playful pup, I restrained Katie from attacking, until their mom appeared and saved the day. A week earlier, I had been powerless to prevent my canine charge, who belongs to a friend, from biting another off-leash pooch. "Never again," I vowed.

Thankfully, a solution was at hand. I'd been reading a remarkable book that I felt would turn Katie's fear and loathing for other dogs into love for her species. Time to put its ideas to the test! Within minutes of following the steps in Judy Moore's Dogs Deserve Dialogue, Katie was walking calmly at my side instead of pulling relentlessly. A day later, she sat quietly as dogs passed by. Instead of me hanging on to her leash for dear life, she was hanging on to my every word of praise.

I'd expected as much. The book's author, a Christian Scientist, has a 45-year record of transforming unstable, unhappy, untrusting dogs into calm, confident, compliant canines. Dozens of hopelessly traumatized dogs, seen as unsalvageable by other trainers, have been saved by her method, which she calls Dialogue. Their dispositions have changed from dangerous to docile, stressed-out to serene, disobedient to dutiful. The reformation is accomplished without scolding, rough handling, or punishment. Nor are treats or other physical or psychological behavior-modification tools used.

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