Category: Getting Started, Puppy Stuff ¤
  Author: Sue Ailsby ¤
   Title: Advantages of the Umbilical Cord ¤

It's excellent for this.  In re-homing adult dogs, I usually have the new
owners come over, chat for a while, then give them the dog and its toys,
mat, food, etc, and send them away, saying I want to talk to them
regularly, but that I don't want to see the dog for two weeks (unless it
isn't working out, of course).  Used to be - they would (obviously
reluctantly) bring the dog back in two weeks, obviously expecting the dog
to be relieved to be "home" and to want to stay, followed by the dog
excitedly greeting me, checking out the smells, then plunking down on the
new owner's foot and asking if they were going to hit the Dairy Queen on
the way home.  During this second visit, I would frequently notice that
the dog had to go out, and mention this to the new owners, only to have
them say "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?".  Since I've been recommending the
umbilical cord for that two week period, I've noticed that new owners feel
more securely that the dog is THEIRS when they come back, and THEY notice
before I do that the dog has to go out.  It helps dog and people
understand each other to have to be closer together.

Another place it helps ME is in housebreaking - my house is an open plan,
and my temperament is such that I get wholly-immersed in what I'm doing
RIGHT NOW - if I'm on the puter, I'm on the puter and the rest of the
world drifts away.  If I'm doing dishes (ha ha ha), that's what I'm doing.
Sorry, no matter how great I am at reading dogs and noticing things, this
is my temperament.  I simply cannot concentrate on something as mundane
and boring as housebreaking for two weeks at a time without drifting off
into something else.  The umbilical cord means the pup (or adult dog) is
within 6 feet of me most of the time - giving her zero opportunity to make
an error in the house, giving ME zero opportunity not to notice or read
her when she's telling me she's uncomfortable.  I have the same problem
with the llamas - when I'm at a fair with an animal in a pen, I'm there to
sell people on llamas.  I get talking to someone about llamas, and I
neglect to notice the animal telling me he has to go outside.  And bingo,
we have an accident in the pen.  I just came back from an 8-day fair,
matter of fact, and had only 4 accidents in the pen, but as far as
housebreaking is concerned, that's four accidents too many, and four that
wouldn't have happened if the guy was on an umbilical cord instead of in a
pen nearby.

One more place it really helps - an adult dog who is being rehomed has
frequently learned to rely on himself because he's the only constant he
has in an insane universe.  Wandering around my house, he's slowly
learning to trust me, but he's still relying on himself.  Putting him on
an umbilical cord shows him that *I* am important, trustworthy and
reliable.  He starts to rely on **me**.  He starts to relax.  Once the
bonding has happened, he is still on an umbilical cord, but one of faith.
Certainly it is possible to accomplish all these things without the use of
the cord - but it's possible to teach a dog anything you want him to know
without luring, too.  The "method" just speeds up the process.  The
umbilical cord is a tool.  Like any other tool, use it to further the
relationship.  Use it to help you explain what the dog needs to know.  And
if it bothers you or you don't see the need for it, don't use it.  All
training is explaining, and explaining is a conversation between you and
your dog.  What other people do is only "method" and method is unimportant
if your conversation follows the rules of operant conditioning and is
understandable by both involved parties.

Sue eh?