The previous two articles covered two types of dogs with which many of us may be familiar; the sensitive ones and the fire breathing dragons. Now I am going to talk about one very few people really enjoy – the unmotivated or seemingly disinterested dog. I use the word seemingly because perceived lack of interest may be legitimate or it may be off-base.

There are human beings who possess no interest in music (reading, history, technology, nutrition – you fill in the blank), absolutely no interest at all, and nothing can create genuine interest in their hearts and minds.  There are also humans who have ability, but have never had anything occur in their life to spark the potential interest in music (or the other things mentioned.) These humans, who may show no ability, can become consumers and appreciators of music, or other things. Einstein flunked out of high school.  It is a good thing he or his supporters did not assume he was unfit for academic endeavors.  He just went about absorbing and processing information differently from most.  It did not mean he was incapable or defective, it meant he was different.

Albert Einstein is an extreme example, I’ll agree to that, but not as extreme as you might think.  I fully believe that when he looked out at the world, he did not see what most of us see.  He did not wonder the same things you or I may wonder on any given day, and he found great intrigue in things many of us do not conceive of easily.  It would have been a mistake to assume the high school dropout was meant only for menial tasks, to be dismissed and moved out of the way of more competent and intelligent folks. Thank goodness he found the world of math and physics and moved through it to its most extreme ends.  I have often wondered how many people are out there, maybe reading this article today, possess amazing potential, but never get the lid released to discover and pursue it.

It is no less true with canines.  Many dogs show their interests and strengths as soon as their legs are developed enough to propel them. Some turn on at some greater age as if a switch were flipped. Others have no interest in the work for which they were intended, and no amount of teaching, forcing, begging or wishing will change that fact. Then there are those who have an interest, even a passion, which lies buried beneath lazy or /resentful demeanors.  The disinterested demeanor is read as the measure of the dog and the animal is mistakenly written off.   Now I know it is much more enjoyable to own and train a dog that loves what you have it do every day - we would all agree with that. That would be good enough if dogs were like lawn mowers and we could take back the ones that didn’t function as promised, but dogs aren’t manufactured products. Do you possess any characteristics, talents or interests that most people don’t know about? A deep interest in poetry that your family would ridicule or a love of dance that would make everyone laugh uproariously? Maybe you’d love to restore an old car but there’s just no time or finances for such a project.  Maybe you love romance novels but won’t read them because they are for desperate women or you wish you could learn gourmet cooking but it just doesn’t fit into your life. There are lots of things we keep to ourselves for good reasons and for not so good reasons. There are also many things within us that we don’t realize and might never explore, but that does not mean the ability and interest doesn’t lie in some undiscovered place deep inside.

I guarantee there are dogs like that.  I’ve had dogs I’ve given up on that upon the urgings of someone to do things way outside the lines, revealed talents I would never have imagined. I do not have an explanation or a way to discern which dogs will never care and which do when stimulated enough, I just know you cannot always believe what you see, even when you see it consistently and to a large degree. Sometimes I think dogs can feel what you believe about them – and act in a manner consistent with that expectation. Other dogs are truly oblivious to the very thing they could grow to love.  It is important to understand that when dogs honestly don’t know about retrieving, hunting, herding, whatever they should come programmed to love, they won’t just begin to love the activity.  They may have to be introduced in a nonthreatening and open ended manner, with no expectations. They will have to be allowed to have little interest and still be ‘okay’.  Think about that one; if a dog shows little interest in say, a bird, and that is met with disapproval from you, the bird becomes even more negative than before. If instead, the dog that shows little interest in a bird sees you show interest in that bird, or another dog that may illicit competitive responses shows interest, the bird may become more compelling.  It may not be much, but a slight improvement in interest is better than none.

One of the errors I see in the development of the mildly interested dog is the misuse of praise. For some reason, many people believe that dogs love praise and will do anything for it.  That’s just not true.  Dogs love the acknowledgment of their efforts and they love approval, but they don’t care a hoot if you think they are pretty or that they are a ‘good dog’.  If your praise equates to the handout of a treat or the cessation of the work at hand, praise may just delight your dog.  That isn’t praise the way you’d normally think of it, it’s a signal that the work will end.  That’s called the ‘quit buzzer’ and it shouldn’t be a tool. Unearned positive reinforcement rarely to never works, but it makes a trainer feel like they are doing all they can.  However, praise for small glimmers of engagement in the desire activity, or pleasure in making efforts to try – that can be beneficial. Praise is not to serve the giver, but the receiver.

Above all other aspects to working with an unmotivated, patience is critical. You cannot change the motivation of a dog in a hurry or just because you need to.  It will happen at the natural pace for the dog.  For some, that can be a few days of the correct and inspirational activity.  For others, it may be months without disappointment, with often little to no progress, but the continued investment of energy. Nothing can grow without an investment of energy.  Flowers require continued photosynthesis, moisture and some level of nutrition delivered in reasonable doses over time.  Olympic athletes require training, nutrition, motivation and attention, delivered in reasonable doses over time.  Human infants require affection, attention, nutrition, safety, nurturing, sleep, etc. in reasonable doses over time.  Dogs of all sorts, particularly those with ‘interest’ issues, require attention, concern, training, motivation, etc. – over time.

Amazing things can happen if you decide you aren’t going to give up.  Patients in hospitals, abused animals – a whole host of creatures in tough circumstances have been proven to rebound in the presence of committed and caring energy. The reasons behind the why of this phenomenon can be discussed and debated, but the phenomenon is real and a terribly powerful one. Sometimes it might help to remember the teacher who saw your potential and changed your life for just believing, or the coach who didn’t give up on you and showed you an ability you didn’t know you had.  You can do this for an animal easily – they trust more and they respond well to your effort.  It may be slower than you like, but if for no other reason than to prove you are a good animal person, try it on a tough to train dog. You may discover things about yourself you never dreamed.