Making the Connection: A Training Book for Bouviers and Their Owners and The Unexpected Memoir of an Exceptional Dog Trainer

What others have said about MAKING THE CONNECTION

Fantastic job and fantastic book.  I’ve already applied some of Donna’s ideas! And, it is fun to read! … I bought one to have on hand for the next person I meet with a Bouvier who starts asking me training questions. Kathy H., Iowa

. . . thought I’d just browse through it a bit and became totally fascinated.  Picked it up again this morning having my coffee and was late to work. . . There is so much useful information. Susan V., Pennsylvania

. . . reading Donna’s book in absorbed silence – it’s just brilliant – and as I read I can ‘see’ what she’s describing and I can feel her energy and enthusiasm coursing through the text – it’s like a challenge – ‘Get out there and train!  Get out there and have fun with your dog!  Get out there and show those Goldens what a Bouvier really can do!!!’. . . While reading this book and marveling at the insights on every page, every so often I’m reminded that this wonderful, perceptive, thoughtful, articulate woman and Bouvier-lover is no longer among us – and the sadness of that fact hits me hard. . . This book is among my treasures! Poppy McL., Australia

. . . anyone can learn from the book.  She put so much into her fur kids.  I would have loved to have seen her perform in obedience and see the back-up turn on the dogs.  She was an incredible lady that will be remembered by all for a long time. Karen T., Texas

I opened the package knowing that it was the best gift I had received in a long time. I picked up the top book and began to cry. The last half hour has been spent in a mixture of tears and outright laughter. One of the stories about 11 Bouviers in a camper brought back a distant memory. . . Now I know who that could have been! . . . When any of us feel that we train in isolation, we should read her book and realize what can be accomplished if the passion is truly there. Donna will continue to inspire me. Carolyn H., Canada

I would have liked this woman, her caring and warmth and sense of humor comes through her writing.  Barbara K., New Jersey

I am not like most of you . . . I don’t show, do obedience, etc., my Shadow is our ‘resident house pet’.  So I wasn’t too sure what I would find in the book that I could apply to him. Well, needless to say, I found plenty!  I can’t believe what a wealth of information that Donna was. Anyone that hasn’t bought this book yet, I would strongly urge you to. If there is something in it for me, there certainly has to be for others.  Susan W., Pennsylvania

I just can’t put it down as I want to learn everything Donna talks about right now!  It is positively wonderful. . . and Carol is right about her humor!  I can almost visualize her saying those funny things.  I am totally inspired to train a lot harder than I do now by all the words of encouragement that Donna has given. Vineta H., Alaska

I had to force myself to put it down so I could sleep last night. It’s a wonderful book--well done--informative--a real tribute to Donna Rioux. Virginia T.

Making The Connection

A Training Book

for Bouviers and Their Owners

and

The Unexpected Memoir

of an Exceptional Dog Trainer

by Donna Rioux

Edited by Carol Rauch and Holly Russo

Second edition

Smashwords edition

Copyright © 2014 Carol Rauch

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used, reproduced or distributed in any manner

except as permitted by law or as expressly permitted by the Publisher.

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains copyrighted property, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed the book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

First edition in print copyright © 2005 Carol Rauch and Holly Russo

Cover illustration copyright © 2004 Carol Rauch

For Mitch and Stephanie

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION to the Second Edition

INTRODUCTION to the First Edition

PART 1: PERSONAL STORIES and TALES OF TRIALS

The Beginning, Winter 2000

Bouviers Helping

Trials 2001

Winter Woes 2001-2002

Trials 2002

Drafting and Carting

New Pups 2002

Puppy Training

On-Line Fun Challenge

Cheerleading

Agility and Flyball

Merlin

Bouvier Flambe

Obedience Woes

Winter 2002-2003

Trials 2003

Final Posts

PHOTOS

PART 2: BEHAVIOR and TRAINING

Aggression

Back Up

The Bouvier in Sport

Breeding

Breeding for Work

Car

Classes

Commands

Corrections

Crate

Down

Greet on Leash

Heeling – Beginning

Heeling – Advanced

Heeling – Doodling

Motivation

New Dog

No Free Lunch

Obedience Program Overview

Open/Close Doors

Open Retrieves

Physical Stamina

Play

Potty on Leash

Prey Hunting

Proofing

Ready for Trial

Recall

Sit

Stand

Stay

Tips

Trial Information

Utility – Articles

Utility – Directed Jumping

Utility – Signals

Walk on Leash

ABOUT THE EDITORS AND PRODUCTION TEAM

INTRODUCTION to the Second Edition

The first edition of this book, printed in 2005, sold out. Now nine years later there is a renewed interest in it and with today’s technology it makes sense to publish electronically rather than on paper. We hope that this means this book will be available for many years to come. It is not only of interest to Bouvier enthusiasts, but also those who are training other large breeds of working character who can appreciate the enthusiasm, support, and excellent methods Donna so readably offers.

Donna will inspire you to be a better trainer, no matter what breed you own. And you’ll be laughing as you get there.

INTRODUCTION to the First Edition

We don’t know of a dog training book quite like this one.

It’s about living with and managing a smart, strong-willed, independent, high-drive working dog – specifically, the Bouvier des Flandres.

It’s about the basics of teaching your dog manners in the house and in your neighborhood, and dealing with the unexpected.

It addresses aggression and dominance issues.

It reveals the exact methods of training used by a top-level competitor in multiple dog sports.

It’s about motivating yourself to work your dog and motivating your dog to work for you.

It’s about making training fun for both you and your dog.

It’s about inventiveness and problem-solving when dealing with training and behavioral challenges.

It’s about the power of the Internet in making friends, setting goals, staying motivated, resolving issues, and bringing sanity.

And it’s the story of a remarkable woman named Donna Rioux.

Donna was a member of BouvTrain, an Internet list devoted exclusively to Bouvier training and behavior. She was active on the list for three years, from late 2000 to late 2003. Active is an understatement. She was the most prolific contributor on the BouvTrain list, and one of the wisest, hardest-working, most freely-sharing, most accomplished Bouvier trainers on the list. Exceptional is the right word to describe her.

Living in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, Donna was in the middle of nowhere. She had a dog training school, Focus on Fun, but reached many more people through her posts on the Internet. Her style is conversational, and therefore enjoyable to read and absorb. She intersperses her advice with her own experiences – both successful and unsuccessful – with her own dogs.

Donna spoke Dog and was positively fluent in Bouvier. She never failed to remind us, as their stewards, to respect their point of view. She was articulate, thoughtful, and thorough in her explanations. Donna’s friends called her a born teacher. Her style of communicating reaches owners and trainers at all levels.

Donna reached out – in part because she was so isolated and in need of communication with other dog people sharing similar interests, and in part because it was simply her nature. Donna was all about making connections – with dogs, with owners who came to her for training help, with fellow competitors, and with the BouvTrain members.

Donna’s outstanding achievements in training, of which she was proud but never boastful, are perhaps best expressed by the titles she put on her dogs:

Can Ch and OTCh U-CD Ooingmak’s Magical Merlin (Merlin) Am CDX,

TT, HIC, CGC

Kroankel’s Wolverine (Wooki) Can CD

Can OTCh Blackpowder’s Copper Plated (‘T’ ) DDX, BVCX, Am UD,

Can AI, Am OA NAJ, ASCA CDX, HIC, CGC

Blackpowder’s Jazzed On Java (Java) DDX, Am/Can CDX, Am OA NAJ

Blackpowder’s Nasty Habenero (Pepper) DD

Blackpowder’s Taking Chances (Risky)

(Barb Gordon wrote: Just looking at the titles in front of and behind the dogs’ names is amazing enough. They indicate countless hours of study, work and training. So much in such a short time. This is stunning stuff. It takes my breath away.)

Donna died suddenly in November 2003 at age 38, just before she was to move to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

BouvTrain decided to compile her posts as our way of honoring her. Holly Russo and Rona Brody were the driving forces behind the project. Although we knew there was good stuff worth sharing, we were surprised by the comprehensiveness of the material as it all came together. Donna, we salute you and thank you. We hope you approve of our compilation. We miss you very much.

Bouvier owners, we hope this book helps to motivate you to train your dogs – whether for competition or just for the bonding it creates – and to appreciate what a fine mentor Donna has been, and continues to be, for all of us.

How to read this book

The book is organized into two main sections: Donna’s personal stories and trial experiences, and training and behavioral topics, alphabetically arranged. You might want to read it straight through, or you might prefer to dip into those topics that immediately interest you. Either way will work.

Please note, however, that because of the nature of the source of the material (internet conversations), the topic distinctions are not necessarily clean. Most topic headings include other information as well.

Also, please note that there is a lot of language known only to the world of dog competition and serious dog training. Just read past it, if you don’t understand it. The totality of the book will still make sense to you – we guarantee it. If you are really interested in knowing the language, get the AKC or CKC (American or Canadian Kennel Club) booklets on competitive trialing in each of the levels.

Donna’s writings

Barb Gordon, a good friend of Donna’s, wrote: "Donna had done a few articles that were sent to The Canadian National Club editor. They were printed. One was on why she liked living with Bouviers and the other on training for obedience. I think there is also one on carting, but not sure. She did one or two for The Alberta Bouvier des Flandres Club in Alberta Canada. She was a member. I proofread them for her before she sent them off.

"Dorothy, who is the editor for the Canadian Bouv Club, asked me to see if anything else was found on her computer or tucked away. We got in contact with her sister who took any paperwork of value from her house. Also the computer. They couldn’t find anything. Donna had begun a training article for them and two more were to follow. She got the first one off to them but I think she did not get around to writing the other two, sadly enough.

If there was a book in the process it never came to be. She had an insanely busy life between home, family, teaching, training and traveling. I might see her four times a month and she stayed with me when she was doing a dog show here. We lived four hours away from each other on a good weather day. She didn’t have a lot of excess time, so writing was the last thing she got around to. Also we belong to the same clubs including NAWBA [the North American Working Bouvier Association]. I wrote quite a few articles before Donna and I met, so I am sure she wanted to add something new and/or different since our training ideas, styles and ways of approaching training were very much the same. We had talked about doing videos and a book together, but of course it never happened.

Explanation of the title abbreviations:

AI=Canadian Agility Intermediate

AKC= American Kennel Club

Am=American

ASCA=Australian Shepherd Club Association

AX =Agility Excellent

BVCCH=Versatility Companion Dog

BVCX=Versatility  Companion Dog Excellent

Can=Canadian

CD=Companion Dog

CDX=Companion Dog Excellent

CGC=Canine Good Citizen

Ch=Champion

CKC=Canadian Kennel Club

DD=Draft Dog

DDX=Draft Dog Excellent

HIC=Herding Instinct Test

NA=Novice Agility 

NAJ=Novice Jumpers with Weaves

OA=Open Agility

OTCh=Obedience Trial Champion

TT=Tracking Test

UD=Utility Dog

UKC=United Kennel Club

The Canadian OTCh title is awarded when a dog completes his Utility title. The AKC OTCh is awarded for a dog earning 100 points by placing 1st through 4th competing in both Open and Utility. It can take a dog 1 to 3 years to complete and is a huge honor. The UKC OTCh is awarded after a dog earns 100 points based on qualifying scores.

Editors’ notes

We have left Donna’s Canadian spelling intact in all cases and her idiosyncratic use of …... intact, in most cases. Very little editing has been done – a few commas here and there for clarity, a few dashes or commas replacing the …… for clarity. We have corrected most of her spelling and usage (e.g. anyways becomes anyway).

Donna always signed her posts. Sometimes Donna, sometimes her full name, sometimes just D. We have deleted all of these except when she achieved a new title and signed her name and the dog’s. But we remind the reader of her personal touch to all of her messages.

"Msg (#)" refers to the message number on Bouvtrain@yahoogroups.com. Members of BouvTrain can access these messages, and their contexts, in the Archives. In some cases, message numbers are missing due to the human imperfections of the editors. Our apologies. Editorial clarifications are bracketed with [. . .]. Where parts of the text have been excised, is used. <…> may also indicated the words of another List member, their comment or question. Or it may be internet language, as in , expressing an emotion. lol is also known as LOL, meaning laughing out loud.

How this book got its title

Barb Gordon suggested the title. The inspiration comes from the many times Donna and I spoke about making a connection between people and their Bouvs. We spoke a lot about connecting the pieces when it came to training. I thought it was appropriate since that is what she was doing when she helped people. She was making a connection first with them, then giving them help that aided them in making a connection with their dogs. I also thought it was a play on words, in many ways, like the internet connection.

Acknowledgements

Donna’s posts were excerpted from the BouvTrain Archives by Rona Brody, Elise Hooper, and Carol Rauch, each taking a separate year. Holly Russo organized the material into categories. Final edit and preliminary layout was done by Carol Rauch. Final layout and production is the achievement of Cathy Jensen. Cover illustration, Donna Teaching Java to Back Up with the Cart, is by Carol Rauch, pencil on paper, ©2004.

For reprint or quotation permission, contact:

Carol Rauch, 620 Gatehouse Lane, Philadelphia PA 19118

carolrauch@comcast.net

To give us feedback on the book, contact:

Carol Rauch, 620 Gatehouse Lane, Philadelphia PA 19118

carolrauch@comcast.net

To join the Bouvier Training List, go to:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo and search Bouvier training

PART 1: PERSONAL STORIES and TALES OF TRIALS

Donna really did live in the middle of nowhere. She drove hours and hours to get to live trainers – with multiple dogs and two kids in tow – sometimes requiring an overnight camping-out with the crew to stay within her limited budget.

She counted on the Bouvier Training List (BouvTrain) for advice and solutions to training problems, as she had no local resources. And even more than that, she counted on the members of BouvTrain for inspiration and motivation during the five-month long Canadian winter, when training and contact with other dog people was severely restricted by the weather. Plowing out the yard to train? Not many of us would do that, for sure. The achievements she attained in the competitive arena are truly stunning for any Bouvier owner-trainer, but even more so given her remote location.

And when she was inspired to train her dogs to help around the house, what happened? They picked up the laundry and hauled firewood. She eagerly embraced any new ideas offered by her comrades on the Training List.

Enjoy the ride with her . . . and be inspired by her grit, her perseverance, and her inventiveness. We start with her first post on the Training List, and end with the painful announcement of her death.

THE BEGINNING, WINTER 2000

Msg 7135 re: Introduction 11/12/2000

Hi Group,

My name is Donna Rioux and I live near Cranbrook, B.C., Canada.

I have been involved with dogs for 20+ years and with Bouviers for over 10 years.

I currently own 3 Bouviers: Merlin – 10yr retired, ‘T’ – 5 yr, and Java – 1-1/2 yr (just starting out). I like to compete in Obedience and also do a little Agility competition.

My goals for the next couple of years are.... to get more involved (and compete in) herding, tracking, carting and hunting. I would like to actually get to a SchH [Schutzhund] trial and get my dog’s BH [basic obedience in a large field in Schutzhund].

I would also like to go to the American National Specialty in AZ next year and compete with ‘T’ and Java and the Canadian National Specialty and compete with ‘T’.

I am fairly isolated so 95% of my training (or more) is done all by myself. I hope this list can help me in my weak areas and that I am able to help out in my stronger ones.

Thanks,

Donna Rioux

Cranbrook, B.C.

BOUVIERS HELPING

Msg 7702 re: Helping paws

A month or so ago Jan R. brought up the subject of Bouviers helping around the house. Ya know.....doing the odd jobs and making our lives easier. Not the Competition stuff or the SchH stuff but *house* stuff.

I think this thread should be brought up again....simply because it makes us all be a little more creative in our training thinking. My winter has been the pits. I have been quite sick lately and ditto with my kids. This winter is yucky! I think Kathy H. would agree.

A little while ago Lucy brought up a clicker seminar that she went to and what a great time she had. I wonder what new *housey* things she has taught her dog to do?

Here are five *helping Bouvier* stories. All are true. Only one involved some training. The rest were just basic instinct.

First story. The first is about Merlin when he was 3 yrs old. We *used* to have sheep. Lots of them. It was lambing time and the weather was cold. Real cold. One of our sheep had just had her twins but one of them was not doing very well. His mouth was sort of deformed and he just wasn’t nursing properly. Merlin and I were heading into the pen to take look and try out the bottle on the little guy. I didn’t allow the dog to go into the pens so he waited outside. When we got to the pen the lamb was dead. Still warm, but dead. I gathered the lamb up and took him out. Merlin tried to leap up and sniff or bite at the lamb. I told him to ‘go lie down’, then walked over and stuffed the lamb in the garbage can.

A short time later I heard a crash. Merlin was into the garbage can. He had the dead lamb in his mouth. Yuck. I took it away from him and scolded him. A few minutes later Merlin was back into the trashcan. I heard the can crash but I was busy with another sheep and was unable to go over and scold him. When I finally got done I went over expecting to find a guilty dog and a gummed lamb. Nope. He had taken the lamb and returned it to its mother. He didn’t stop whining and fussing over the dead lamb until it was cold.

Second story. That same year we brought in a hundred baby chicks. Merlin used to follow me about while I was feeding and watering them. When the chicks were about 6 weeks old we started having major problems. Something was ripping them apart and they were dying by the dozens. The pen was completely fenced with only a small hole by the top. One morning we heard lots of barking. When we ran outside to see what was up we saw Merlin in the chicken yard. He had charged through the wire. The baby chicks were huddled underneath him. He had a mouthful of black raven feathers. After some fence repairs (and some better top wire) the chicks were safe.

Third story. The third story happened about a 1-1/2 years earlier. My sister had her crazy Arabian horse staying with us. He was a *real* spooky horse who would freak out at just about anything. This horse had only been around farm dogs who had chased him. Now Merlin had never been raised with horses but fell deeply in love with this one. The two would play tag in the field and the horse would groom Merlin’s back for him....while he stood moaning. Anytime we had to ride or move this horse about, Merlin usually came along for the walk. Every time the horse would freak out, Merlin would dash in front of him (kinda dumb place to be when the horse is rearing up) and give a short bark. The horse would immediately come down to earth and plunge his nose into the dog’s fur. He would breathe deeply for a few minutes and then would be as calm as could be. Until the next scary tree appeared.

"‘T’ knows an excellent forced retrieve so I redirected her retrieve to laundry detail."

Fourth story. The fourth story involves Java when she was 7 weeks old (and up). Every day since she was 5 weeks old I took her with me to feed and water the baby chicks. She wanted to chase them but a gentle ‘uhhuhh’ from me would stop her. Now that she was 7 weeks I started to let the leash drop and gave her more freedom. She was