Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
At the same time Nancy was teaching me how to train Solo's nose, I needed to teach him
skills that would complement that nose: how to tolerate electric fences, how to swim in rivers,
how to push through heavy brush, how to climb over and into and under and through. How
to ignore distractions, like Whiskey, Nancy's big brindle East European shepherd—Solo's
nemesis—who snarled next to the cyclone fence, suggesting that the upstart come try him
out.
When it comes to dogs doing detection work, Deak said, people tend to forget it takes
time to develop skills. Dogs, like humans, need a chance to learn before their capabilities are
dismissed. I was going to give Solo a chance, even if he wasn't giving my fingers much of one.
Science aside, experienced working-dog trainers are clear about the order of things. You
lay the foundation first. The analogy with building a house is perfectly apt. If you don't get
that right, nothing you put on top will hold. You'll have a shaky, unreliable dog. A dog who
can't keep his eyes on the prize.
• • •
Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with
either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the
field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.
—Lewis Carroll,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
, 1865
For the moment, Solo was staring fixedly at the buckets, ignoring me. Whatever fun thing
was happening, it was coming from those buckets. Solo loved the buckets. That could change.
While this kind of foundation work is essential to future stability, it can be boring for both
you and the dog. Especially if you forget that it's supposed to be fun, which is easy for an
overly invested handler (like me) to do. That's when a little magic can come in handy. One
day, without Solo being along for the ride, I got to participate in a magic show and learn
from a master trainer how to keep foundation work interesting for both handlers and dogs.
The shell game is probably one of the oldest cons in a world filled with bait-and-switches.
Illustrations and detailed accounts of shell games date back to Greece, long before a deck of
playing cards was the easiest way to mount a quick three-card monte game on a street corner.
It's a game that includes misdirection and dexterity, audience participation and manipula-
tion. On busy streets all over the world, hustlers are setting up shell games, using shills in the
crowd to pull in gullible marks, who can't help watching and then can't help thinking they
can beat the system. Soon the marks' money has disappeared, along with the hustlers and
their shills.
