Dog trainer Sherry Boyer helps canines become well-behaved and
obedient
By Mike Meyer Special to the dispatch
Gilroy – Two women walking their dogs on a spring evening in Gilroy have the look of model pet owners with well-behaved canines. The dogs are on their leashes, stay at the women’s side, stop when the women stop and walk when the women walk.
Charlene Williams and Sandy Gillis are wondering how this happened. The two hadn’t been able to walk the dogs in more than a year because, as Williams put it, “they barked constantly and were scared to death of everything. It was so much trouble all the fun had gone out of it.” But this night’s success had the pair smiling.
“It’s because you’re here,” Williams said to Sherry Boyer, of Dog Behavior Rehab based in Hollister, who was accompanying them.
But Boyer disagreed.
“It’s because we didn’t leave the house until they were calm,” she said.
Helping hyper and aggressive dogs understand who is in charge is one of the main elements of Boyer’s message.
“Dogs have a certain energy level, and they’re all different,” Boyer explained while on a house call to Williams’ and Gillis’ home. “With some dogs, the energy overflows – and in different ways. They become neurotic, destructive, fearful, or aggressive. They tear their toys or bark constantly. They can let it out lots of ways.”
Dog bites are the most obvious example of aggressive behavior in dogs. It’s a phenomenon the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says is epidemic. CDC estimates that 4.5 million dog bites occur in the United States each year, most of them to children.
Williams contacted Dog Behavior Rehab because her dogs were hard to handle at home. In fact, the situation was so bad that when she saw the sign on Boyer’s car door one day, she shouted across traffic to get Boyer’s attention.
“I was so desperate,” she said. “No one was enjoying the dogs anymore.”
Williams’ dogs charge the door when someone is near, bark incessantly and jump on visitors, exhibit jealousy over an infant in the house, and can’t calm down, she said. Boyer says she’s typically called when dog owners are considering putting their pets to sleep.
One of Williams’ dogs also fits the neurotic mold. “Maddy” sniffs certain spots as she descends the stairs – the same spots every time – bobs her head maniacally, with glazed, “really weird eyes.”
She’s a different dog when she’s like that,” Gillis said.
Dog Behavior Rehab teaches people how to have a more open line of communication with their dog. Boyer said it is not difficult to see what a dog intends to do once you are aware of what the dog’s body language is telling you.
Boyer worked for two years at the Animal Fitness Center in Aromas, where water therapy is used to treat physical problems in pets. She’s a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals, and has trained with Cesar Millan at his Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles and who stars in National Geographic’s “Dog Whisperer” television program.
She said she has spent years observing the nuances of body language in dogs and humans. She reminds clients that dogs and people are two distinct species.
“Dogs establish territory when you fail to establish it,” she said. “When you make room for them by stepping aside, for example, they can take this as yielding territory. They’ll assume leadership, when it is not clearly defined for them. They take it on themselves.” Humans, Boyer said, don’t process the same as dogs, and aren’t as pack oriented, though men have a more innate ability in establishing leadership over a dog.
“Dogs need a stable leader,” Boyer said. “They want and need order, almost as much as they need food and a safe place to be.” Affection, she says, is not something a dog necessarily needs, though companionship definitely is.
During the rehab session, Boyer emphasized a dog’s need to follow. She typically interviews and talks with the pet owners while observing the interactions between them and the dog.
“Dogs are bred to do a job and to follow its leader,” she said. “But they’re also migratory, which basically means they move from food (source) to food (source). That’s why walking your dog is a key element to establishing a relationship the dog understands.
“Dogs want to work and they want to follow their leader. When you show that you are the leader, dogs learn.”
At Williams’ home, Boyer explains that teaching the dogs different behavior also means altering Williams’ and other family members’ behavior. It means four to six weeks of not allowing the dog on their laps in front of the television, of stopping territorial behavior such as leaning against them or sitting on their feet, and of not leaving the house until the dog is calm. The particular modification depends on the problem, Boyer says.
Williams found it difficult to believe that the dogs’ behavior had changed so quickly. Later, she admitted that she still believed the change had something to do with Boyer’s presence. But the next day the changes were just as apparent.
“When I opened the door the next morning, both dogs stayed behind the line. I took Maddy for a walk and she was fine. I just want a dog who behaves and doesn’t annoy guests, or runs off. We’ll keep (Boyers’ system) up until we’re sure they’ve learned,” Williams said.
To contact Sherry Boyer at Dog Behavior Rehab, call 831 588-9684.
