It was hot-102 degrees at 9 am in June of 2006 when Ken and I went to Red Rock Canyon. Ken had only agreed to include a summer horseback ride in the desert as part of our Vegas vacation after considerable negotiation! While we were there for the horses-the first thing that caught my eye was a dog: a cattle dog, laying under a table, off leash. The dog stood up and looked at us when we arrived then lay back down to nap. To my fellow professional dog trainers in the DC area, you all know why this was surprising to me. But for others I’ll explain. A cattle dog that does not greet unfamiliar people by rushing up and ballistically barking is nearly unheard of in Northern Virginia.  Of course–this was how cattle dogs should be, happy, well exercised, relaxed.

Red Rock Canyon

The second thing that I immediately noticed was a group of men seated at a table next to the dog. They were “cowboys” (or at least they fit my definition of a cowboy). Worn, dusty western boots, hats, jeans, skin heavily tanned and leathered by decades of work outdoors. They briefly greeted us and went back to talking. The dog continued napping. No one said anything to the dog – no commands to behave nor reminders to stay. Our tour guide was a teenager, a young girl who was confident and happy around the animals. She helped us on the horses and cheerfully led us on the tour of the desert. On our return trip to las Vegas, I reflected on the relaxed animals and relaxed people. I started thinking that may be they might be onto something–on the other hand, I thought at the time, in 102 degrees may be everyone looks relaxed.

In the late winter of 2009 we went to Death Valley and this is where I met “cowboy.” I never caught his name unfortunately. Again, we had planned a horseback ride but this time I would go alone. Ken is not a fan of horseback riding and I opted to minimize our negotiations. The temperature was a perfect 73 degrees.

Death Valley

When we arrived, once again what caught my attention at the stable were the dogs rather than the horses. This time I could not blow off the good behavior on high temperatures. Both a corgi and a labrador were exceptionally well mannered, the labrador lay down when cowboy asked him to. I noticed the dogs were off leash, wearing just buckle collars. When I asked how old the labrador was, cowboy shared that he was just 7 months old. I was already impressed, but when we walked to the riding ring is when I was truly amazed. Cowboy quietly said two words, “kennel up” and both the corgi and labrador raced to the kennel. As cowboy mounted his horse he signaled “down” and the dogs lay down in the kennel and remained there, while the kennel gate stayed open.

It was not the training per se that amazed me, I have trained service dogs complex skills and have attended hundreds of hours of training demonstrations from various professionals. It was how casual and relaxed the interaction was–how naturally it all came to cowboy. Here was the type of person I never encounter in my daily life in the DC metro area. Someone who truly works with animals outdoors on a daily basis. He had grown up in the Death Valley area, was always around horses and loved dogs deeply of all types.

As we talked, he shared that he felt it was very important for dogs to be able to do what they were bred to do every day, so he provided this for his own dogs. His corgi literally had opportunities to herd livestock. In short, these dogs were well exercised, environmentally enriched and happy. I had to ask about his training methods, this is where things got sticky. He could not put into words just how he had trained his dogs. Phrases he used, “I told them what to do,” “we practice a lot,” and “I really spend a lot of time with them.”  As we talked “dog” I learned how much cowboy really loved animals. At one point he shared how he had cared for a coonhound. We see a lot of hounds in the DC area…and cowboy said something very casually that blew me away: “Have you ever heard a coonhound bay? What a beautiful sound!”

Well there you have it DC trainers and pet owners, someone on this planet actually likes a dog’s loud barking – really and truly appreciates it. When you enjoy listening to a dog bay and you give your herding dog an opportunity to nip the heels of cattle, well now we are talking about developing a relationship with an animal that involves accepting and appreciating the animal as it is! Of course these dogs were well behaved.

Ok, so we don’t all live in the middle of the desert. We have neighbors, animal control, sound ordinances–and we are trying to make dogs adapt to these environments. Many of the dogs I see are completely unsuited to live in the setting they live in. Most of my clients did not grow up surrounded by animals to cultivate a natural handling ability. My clients do not get to see nature all around them every day-they work in cubicles and take vitamin D supplements. Cowboy himself was well exercised and environmentally enriched which allowed him to interact with animals in a very relaxed manner!  So now how to get from here to there–how to capture that “cowboy” that I’m convinced is hiding in each of us to build the best relationship possible with our pets. That’s the puzzle. What would cowboy do?