By Jay Scott Kanes

IN A CLASSROOM, Hong Kong – Formal training often erases the behavior problems of “naughty” pet dogs. But dog-trainer Jill Wong surprised me by saying that she focuses most of her attention on how the dog-owners behave.

“When teaching dogs, I always try to send a strong message to the dog-owners,” Jill said. “I want them to change the Hong Kong style of raising dogs. Too many people feed their dogs in the morning, go out to work and don't return until 10 or 11 at night. Then they feed the dogs again and go to sleep. There's no communication with the pets. People need to spend time with their dogs. Only then can they have fun together.”

Jill insists that pet-owners must attend her dog-training classes, not send the dogs with domestic helpers or children. She wants to train dogs and their people together.

“Most of the problems for pet dogs start with things that their owners do,” she said. “If dogs behave badly, I want to know why. They always have reasons. Maybe they want to attract their owners' attention, or they don't have enough activities and feel bored. There are many methods to change a dog's bad behavior, but I always need to know the reasons behind it. I'll never find out why a dog has certain problems without the owner telling me about the dog's life.”

Also the dogs can't enhance their understanding by asking questions. The dog-owners can.

“In every class, we have a short break to allow the dogs to socialize and play together,” Jill said. “Then the dog-owners can ask questions. The answers help the others too. They all benefit from meeting each other and sharing experiences and information about problems they have had with their dogs.”

After eight years as a dog-trainer, 29-year-old Jill has taught hundreds of canine students. Her company, Jill's Animals Workshop, offers dog-training classes, consultations and services across Hong Kong.

“The classes usually happen in a big room with chairs for the pet-owners. The dogs sit on the floor beside them. I stand at the front and talk.

“When I need to show a command or action, I like to choose the worst student to demonstrate. People soon know which dogs are clever. If I let the brainy dogs demonstrate, then it may be too easy. But if I call on the worst student and use all my means to teach that dog, then the people realize that their dogs can do the same thing. They gain more faith in their pets and better understand that there are many ways to train dogs.”

Jill also works as a nurse at the Non-Profit-Making Veterinary (NPV) Clinic, Hong Kong's “only vet clinic for poor people's pets”. Located in Prince Edward, the clinic has 16 veterinarians and dozens of veterinary nurses.

“Knowing how to train dogs helps me at the veterinary clinic too,” Jill said. “I can use my skills to better teach pet-owners how best to care for their dogs, cats or other pets.”

Registering a dog for six one-hour lessons with Jill costs HK$1,800. She teaches classes of about six puppies or older dogs. One lesson in each course requires going outside to walk together along a quiet street.

Nearly every dog easily learns to obey basic commands. “They're clever,” Jill said.

Even well-behaved dogs may attend. “The lessons must satisfy the dog-owners, not the dogs,” Jill said. “Often the dogs are smart, well-behaved and don't need lessons, but the owners want them to learn a few tricks, like catching a Frisbee.”

How do Frisbee-chasing dogs learn such skills? “The first step is getting the dog interested in Frisbees,” Jill said. “One way is to use a Frisbee as a food bowl. Then play with the Frisbee by moving it in your hand, encouraging the dog to grasp it. Later start to throw the Frisbee. The dog will chase and catch it.”

An older style of dog-training often meant sending dogs for weeks to a teaching kennel in the New Territories. “Then the dog-owners still knew nothing about training or how to build on it,” Jill said. “Maybe the dogs' behavior would be better, but still not perfect.

“Basic obedience means teaching dogs to ‘come’, ‘heel', ‘sit’ and ‘stay',” Jill said. “But that may bore the dogs and people. So I also teach the dogs to ‘roll over’ and to ‘search’ for hidden food. The dogs enjoy games, and so do their owners. Actually, these are more than games. They're also serious training to make the dogs better pets.” 

Jill loves to teach puppies. “They really benefit from the social aspects of the training classes,” she said. “I help them with obedience and teach them funny little tricks. Most importantly, the lessons help to build strong relationships between the puppies and their people.

“Too many people buy dogs and then in time, if the pets aren't that obedient, they turn away from the animals. If a dog-trainer helps them to build good relationships, maybe they can stay happy together.”

Mature dogs present bigger challenges. “They have their own characters fully formed,” Jill said. “Compared to puppies, they're less open to new things and character-building. It's easier to change the behavior of puppies.”

Adult-dog sins may involve bites, barks, chewed objects or toilet habits. “With grown-up dogs, I need more time and patience,” Jill said. “Patience is very important.”

Consider toilet-training. “Even a dog that recognizes indoor-toilet-trays and knows how to use them may choose to wee-wee or poo-poo elsewhere,” Jill said. “It's trying to get more attention from the master.

“When a dog uses bad behavior to attract attention, the best solution may be to ignore him. Then the dog realizes his strategy doesn't work. Only play with him again once he calms down.”

What about a dog that “humps” against his master’s legs? “That means he wants to challenge authority and take over the decision-making,” Jill said. “The owner must make it clear who the master is, maybe by reducing the dog's living area. Show him that the master can put him in a small place, refuse to let him out and closely manage him.”

Similarly, dogs may try to choose the routes and tug people along when out on walks. “Then too, you must let the dog know that you're the owner, the decision-maker,” Jill said. “Pull and push the dog in the opposite direction. Every time, go in the opposite direction. Then let the dog calm down and realize that you're the one taking him out to walk, not the other way around.”

Some people “spoil” their dogs with negative results. “Once I had a case of a dog badly spoiled by the owner,” Jill said. “That dog would bite other dogs, the owner and even me. The owner ate, slept and did everything together with the dog, confusing the dog about who was the boss.

“I taught the dog-owner to take a position of authority by eating first before feeding the dog, not getting too close with the pet and each day spending time to give the dog orders, like ‘sit’ or ‘get down'. Then the dog knew who the master was. That's when I could teach better behavior and obedience.”

For dog-trainers, the most important knowledge may be if certain animals most love to eat or play. Then the teacher knows what rewards (treats or toys) best motivate them to learn.

Timing counts too. “If you want to teach a dog to shake hands, at first when you give the command she may not understand,” Jill said. “Later when she reaches out with a paw, catch it and give her the command. Then she'll know what it means. That's the importance of timing.”

Jill regards most dogs as quick learners and intelligent creatures. “I have no basis to compare their intelligence to other animals,” she said. “What I do know is that they're the best-suited animals to live with people. They know how to adapt and adjust to living with us. Really they're very kind animals. They could choose not to listen to humans, but that isn't their attitude. They like to live with people and get along with us.”

In Jill's entire life, she's never gone a single day without having dogs. “I've always loved them,” she said.

These days Jill and her parents share their home with five dogs: six-year-old Ah Gum (whose name means metal or gold), six-year-old Ah Mok (wood), five-year-old Ah Shui (water), two-year-old Ah For (fire) and six-year-old Daisy. Four of these pets have the names of basic elements. Daisy, a former street dog who recently “settled down” by joining the Wong family, keeps the name she had in the neighborhood.

Formerly a vagabond relying on food handouts, Daisy decided to stay with the Wongs after Jill gave her a bath. The dog-trainer's kind and cleansing touch won her heart.

Wisely, Jill avoids status disputes among her own dogs by taking the initiative to designate one dog, Ah Gum, as the “alpha” (leading) one. “I feed Ah Gum first. Only she has her own bed. So it's clear to all the others that she's the alpha dog.

“Then Ah Gum takes the responsibility to help to educate my other dogs. She makes sure that no one bites the furniture or makes too much mess.”

Although Ah Gum and Ah Mok joined the Wongs together and have equal seniority, “Ah Mok was too naughty to be the alpha dog”, Jill said. “Ah Gum has a much more stable and reliable character.”

Jill chose to become a dog-trainer after a mishap when her dog-loving grandfather fell down and suffered injuries, bitten by a large dog in his care. The family consulted a dog-trainer who declined to help because the dog looked too aggressive. Fearful of a second attack, the Wongs returned the offending dog to a previous owner.

From that frustrating incident, Jill grasped the value of dog-training skills. She left her “boring” job as a hairdresser to study dog-training for a year. Then she began to teach, first at a dog-training kennel and then at a leading pet store.

The rewards extend far beyond earning money. “I've made lots of friends, including dogs,” Jill said. “Usually if I see some of my past students and their owners on the street, I recognize the dogs first.”

More importantly, Jill intensely enjoys her work. “I have fun with the dogs. It's always surprising how well they understand human language. Although they can't talk, they understand what people say, no matter how complicated the sentences. Not everyone believes that, but it's true.”

Some canine senses, perceptions and sensitivities far exceed those of humans. For example, Jill arrives home at widely varying times, but her parents swear that Ah Gum always sits by the door to wait for her exactly 20 minutes before she arrives.