Pro-Hunt

When a training program rests on permanently diverting your dog away from its instinct over a prey instead of just briefly turning its attention toward you for proper coordination on a hunting pursuit, you will never get your dog to indulge on its primary disposition which will adversely affect their entire framework. Their misbehavior hinges upon this problem, hence, when they get bored or anxious, they are allured to satiate that restricted instinct by either pillaging whatever is accessible to them, howling or excessive barking. However, coddling to satisfy them on a regular basis with a legitimate hunting treat will then permit them to anticipate another experience with you. On that account, the significance to hunt or indulge in their instinct without the directing, honing and the care of an alpha dog will somewhat be watered-down. They would now, to a greater extent, solicit your company to every hunt they take or whenever that indulgent instinct hits them.  And appropriately so since recent studies show that a dominant characteristic of an Alpha dog is not its prominence over its subordinate. Decades of wildlife observation done by biologists confirm that dogs, like wolves, do not control through aggression; while traveling, they do not take the lead position but stay on the hind end to have a more suitable evaluation; when a subordinate male matures, they do not compete to overthrow the pack leader but simply leave and find a mate to start their own family. What this means, is that the hypothesis that most trainers carry today about a hierarchical model is off base. They have been misled by stories and movies based on an anecdotal premise, not by scientific studies. They liken them with the behavior of horses in a pack that fight for dominance.

Unlike human beings, hierarchal conflict for dominance does not exist among the pack; this is taboo. They do not compete with each other but merely interact by assessing what works and what does not with each interaction. In other words, they simply draw conclusions based on the others’ action. Recall that contrary to human behavior, dogs do not have conscious minds, they do not reason or assume, they simply react to a given circumstance, as noted in our previous article. As a result, the one who knows how to direct them, sharpens their skill and cares for each of them ultimately becomes the Alpha dog. Therefore, to the one that plays that role on a hunting expedition that accompanies the likelihood of gratifying their ingrained impulse to catch prey - earns the title. This is distinct to the cruel and unnatural method of one who dupes a dog with emotional frenzy to permanently divert its prey instinct with an objective of making the dog stay at home politely. Howbeit, in our dog-training world today, the type of training that has been indicated is what is commonly known as positive or modern training, which is distinct to a more severe method known as traditional dominance or punishment-based method. They both differ on the trainer’s leniency and intolerance in meeting the same objective that is to permanently divert the dog’s prey instinct. I however call the method that I am publishing as the ‘Pro-Hunt Training’.     

What does this so-called ‘Pro-Hunt training’ have to do with our modernized world? What does a hunting treat do to man’s ultimate goal in domesticating a dog to live in their home? Well, it is not really far from an objective to keep a pleasant dog in the house, except that the manner that primarily drives them to be orderly is their forbearing temperament and not largely an indulgent sensation. I say that because a hunting treat exposes them to intermittently refrain from enforcing what is due them hastily; a hunting treat makes them use up their intense energy and enthusiasm; and a hunting treat conditions them to treat you as the alpha. More about this in the next article.          

Practical Application

Subjecting a dog not only to be familiar with byway trails but also to nibble the savor of those various elements that it brings, this is the strongest means of rehabilitating their juvenile qualities. Puppies need to rely on their ability to detect odor since they are born blind and deaf in those first 2 helpless weeks of their life. They also need to rely on their ability to move to be warmed and be nourished in the presence of a caring mother but within just a few weeks, despite their vulnerability, they are out exploring their world. Hence, the reason why reconditioning their native instincts is not simply to provide food (as mothers) since this is nothing but simply a subordinate determination for them, but rather, to recondition them in that same manner that they been intrinsically shaped. Therefore, to reformat this construction would then have an overwhelming effect on them. Nevertheless, many these days try hard to domesticate their dogs by killing those impulses and defining it as good manners or a good behavior. Its success however can only mean that whenever the dog earns a more positive bliss than hunting itself, they are bounded by it. Endorphin discharge in the body of dogs while hunting triggers a positive feeling similar to morphine. So like humans who are under the influence of drugs, it can easily be dazzled from reality. In similar manner, dogs too do not necessarily need to go that far to reach that trophy to experience, that self-rewarding rush, because it can produce its own instantaneous dupe anyway. Hence, humans through the medium of emotion like praise, adoration, approval or a pat can easily exploit dogs to their ruin.

Anyhow, if that is how to misuse that strange interference that abrogates a dog’s far-reaching interest which is somehow twice as good, lo and behold, that same median is also employed within the ranks of the dog’s pack life, and the reason why they are so coordinated. Moreover, a good master trainer also has a good reason to emulate that, but the objective must be to make it easier or encourage the dog to masterly control its own hunting instinct for better coordination. In other words, it is pointless to teach them to have self-discipline if they have lost their hunting instincts in the first place. Hence, one should never teach them anything out of their hunting instinct.

However, going back, the value of that strange interference which can either be abused or preserved by man; a result of showing dogs to be obedient which is worthwhile; why despite all the distractions and sensations they get, you are still their pack leader; or why refocusing their hunting instinct on shared activities always works better for everyone. All these same application is workable in both scenarios with the exception that it both carries a different goal. In addition, when used incorrectly, this in essence is really the reason why disorientation to both the owner and the dog emerges every now and then, and why uniformed trainers earn those sugarcoated outcome from their effort. Altogether, this somehow is the explanation why even those practical applications becomes its own handicap.        

In conclusion, teaching a dog to master or resist consistently its own instincts does not just depend on what you know so far, it will also depend on your dog’s experiences that require an appropriate training environment. This must never be overlooked. Besides, though it might take you a lifetime to expand their maximum capacity to excel, the lifelong connection between the two of you is somehow priceless also. Another word of caution is never introduce something new to test your dog’s ability; it should rather be to create short headways first to make them gradually reach your objective, or better still, allow your dog to train themselves to do what you are requiring them to do. Nevertheless, once they have already covered what you want them to do, testing those short headways is necessary to be able to stabilize its performance.