Manners maketh a happy dog

A perfectly mannered dog is a pleasure to own but takes patience and consistent training to achieve. David Tomlinson explains how to ensure your canine is always on its best behaviour

- David Tomlinson

WILLIAM of Wykeham reckoned that manners maketh man but there’s no record of whether he thought the same about dogs.

While I'm unsure whether 14th-century bishops kept pet dogs, I’m certain that if William did have one he would have insisted that it was taught manners. A polite dog with good manners is a pleasure to own or encounter; a dog with no manners, however, is a complete menace.

But what, you may ask, is the sort of conduct you expect a canine companion to have? The perfectly mannered dog is one that knows how to behave. It doesn’t bark when you don’t want it to, it ignores other dogs when out for a walk, it doesn’t leap up at people and it instantly obeys a number of simple commands. A tall order, perhaps, but one that is certainly achievable.

It's difficult to know which is worse: dogs that bark at everybody and everything or those that are over-friendly, jumping up at anyone they meet. What we all want is a sociable animal that may greet its special friends with enthusiasm but doesn’t knock them over or lick them to death.

Basic training gives the grounding for a dog with manners. With puppies the rule is to start as you mean to go on because what they learn in the first few weeks of life they won't forget. For example, always insist that the puppy sits before its dinner, and don't let it eat until told to do so. Similarly, never give a dog a treat unless it is sitting down. Don’t be afraid to use edible bribery but keep such treats to a minimum.