We debated whether Tito should be trained by a professional dog trainer. Most of our dog-owning friends suggested hiring a professional trainer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a dog who brought you newspapers and shoes and walked docilely by you with the leash held dutifully in his mouth? We decided against hiring a professional trainer because the tactics they employ are harsh. The choke collar, which restricts the flow of air into the lungs, is a typical training tool used by trainers of dogs. We did not want Tito to be subjected to such ‘torture’. Instead, we chose to let Tito be himself, learning and behaving as he saw fit while growing up with us. Nonetheless, Dumpy and I taught him a few basic commands: sit, shake hands, and fetch. The training was carried out using positive reinforcement and food as bait. We would repeat the command after he understood what it meant and encourage him to respond correctly through rewards – giving him cookies or letting him have the toy he wanted to play with.
The more difficult commands were heel and stay. The heel command orders the dog to walk parallel to you on your left side about six to eight inches away from you. The stay command orders the dog to stay stationary at his current location. Tito comprehended both the commands but obeyed them whimsically. He would frequently ignore the heel command, and instead dragged the person holding the leash towards some thicket that piqued his interest. The stay command would be effective until the person giving it moved about 8-10 steps away from him. Tito would come bounding by the person’s side after that. The ‘no’ command was used to dissuade him from misbehaving, particularly when he tried to get too familiar with scared visitors. The command almost never worked, even though Tito perfectly understood what it meant! Tito greeted all visitors with exuberance, sniffing them and circling around them while wagging his tail furiously. Visitors who were not used to dogs would freeze in terror. The greater the dread, the greater was Tito’s exuberance to woo the visitors in his attempt to reassure them that he meant no harm. Many of our friends who were initially afraid of Tito, grew more at ease with him over time. Usually, Tito would settle down on the floor after the initial expansive welcome, often close to the feet of the visitors. The visitors just had to weather the initial exuberance.
Food remained a life-long weakness of Tito. We were unable to teach him not to beg for food. Tito was a chocolate connoisseur. He soon discovered that Alka liked eating chocolates after meals. Tito would always follow Alka out into the garden where we would generally sit for a while after lunch and beg for pieces of chocolate, slowly wagging his tail from side to side. He knew he’d get his share after being severely chastised. Though chocolate is harmful for animals, we reasoned that the modest amounts would not harm Tito.
