The Way Of The Dog

Pressure on, pressure off' is a method that I have witnessed time after time when watching pack animals interact with each other. I have come up with a technique that works extremely well for me by using this form of communication, a language that pack animals naturally understand, rather than trying to get them to understand our human language. Pack animals have a built-in system: they know that if they are within a pack they have a much greater chance of survival than if they were out on their own. It's a very strong instinct to be part of a pack. When a pack animal has been isolated from the pack in the wild, it becomes very stressed and nervous and it is aware that its chances of survival have diminished considerably. The chances of having a successful hunt or protecting itself against an attack have reduced ten-fold. By understanding this instinct, we can use it to our advantage and use the knowledge to break bad habits. There are two ways of breaking in a domestic animal. One is through fear, using harsh methods to make animals submit. The other is through understanding pack hierarchy. The 'pressure on, pressure off' technique is about understanding the animal's instinct and thought patterns, and acting accordingly. In a training session, when a human puts pressure (using physical, mental and energetic pressure) on a dog or a horse because it has misbehaved, they are, in essence, expelling it from the pack. They are using their energy and physical body to push the animal away from its safety zone. The human is effectively the animal's pack and, joined with the human, the animal feels safe and secure, rather than being isolated and vulnerable.