For me, training a dog is a spiritual exercise, it is not about domination or obedience. It is easy to dominate a dog, they are so eager to please us. First, I make sure the knows his or her name, I do this by putting treats and food up to my eyes and repeating the name so that the dog pays attention.

When you say a dog’s name, he or she should whip their heads and look straight into your eyes, as Gus is doing. This opens the pathway to communication, and when you can communicate with a dog, you can train a dog.. Dogs are our partners in the world, not our piteous and pitied dependents.

A dog doesn’t care if he is rescued or not, he wants to know how to live safely in our world. Usually, he doesn’t care if he is abused or not, as long as he is now being treated well. What is in our heads is what matters, the dogs that and responds to it, all things being equal (which they are often not.)

We have to be clear and patient and caring, and the dog will mirror us and return the favor. Gus is a bright dog, he is attentive. We have his attention now, so he listens to us, and doesn’t run off and pursue his own agenda.

Training a dog is about showing them not to live safely in our alien world. The tough thing for them is that a “bad” dog is most often just being a dog, while a “good” dog is most often acting like a human. It is a difficult position for them, Gus is mastering it well.