The Gentle Leader® is a guiding and calming aid used by TTouch®.

As more evidence is found of family-like groupings rather than strict hierarchies among dogs (see our post about dominance theory: Beating the Alpha), top trainers are moving towards methods of guidance rather than force. Perhaps the most gentle of these methods are used by so called “TTouch® practitioners.”

Originally used to train horses, the main principle behind TTouch® is calming the animal’s nerves thus allowing the animal to think and react clearly and peacefully. Its main technique is massaging movements made up of small circles along imaginary lines on all sides of the animal’s body. The circles give the animal a strong sense of body awareness and build the relationship between owner and pet.

To train a dog to respond to commands, TTouch® relies on various food rewards, lures, guides, and calming aids. With these at hand, the handler maneuvers her dog through a sort of obstacle course made up of different surfaces to walk on, poles to hop over and boards to cross. Not only does this give the dog ample socialization, but he also learns to trust his owner’s judgment while improving self-confidence.

Linda Tellington Jones, the creator of TTouch®, stresses that handlers shouldn’t expect too much from their dogs. She writes that handlers must give their dogs the opportunity to sniff, bark, chew, dig and do their doggy things by providing them with appropriate outlets within the home.

Keep watching The Jaeger Fund for more advice as we use these techniques on Jaeger and Tony.

TTouch is a registered trademark of Linda Tellington-Jones. Gentle Leader is a registered trademark of Premier.