Today’s Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants will be presented in German, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

And I think that you can also train any dog to be a sociable, well-mannered and accessible being. It depends on the person at the other end of the leash.

Halo thoughtful viewers, and welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Today we present the first in a two-part series on Clarissa von Reinhardt, who is one of the most highly respected and sought after dog trainers in Europe.

In 1993 she founded the animal learn canine training center in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, a serene place where dogs are taught in a gentle manner and human clients gain a greater understanding of how our four-legged friends think and perceive the world.

She is also the author and co-author of several books about dogs, including “Calming Signals,” “Chase!” and the award-winning “Stress in Dogs.” Her most recent publication, a vegan cookbook called “Vegan and Natural,” won the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Germany’s Progress Award for best vegan cookbook of 2010.

Mrs. von Reinhardt’s training methods are always peaceful and nonviolent and are based upon her deep knowledge of canine nature.

Eventually I developed my methods through observation of dogs ultimately figuring out how dogs interact with one another. That means, for example, in which situation do they behave very patiently, very empathetically with the situation? And when do, for instance, situations occur when they set limits on their fellow dogs, which happens in a nonviolent way nearly always.

Dogs are very highly social beings and only in rare cases do they resort to violence. Mostly they just apply body language to show: Do not come nearer or go away now. And this I just studied, studied, and studied. I have been observing dogs for hundreds, I’d even say, thousands of hours, and have wondered what do they do in certain situations and how can I as a human being behave similarly so that my behavior will make sense to the dog?

How do Clarissa von Reinhardt's methods differ from traditional dog training? For starters, they are worlds apart in terms of how the canine is treated.

First of all, in traditional dog training some things are very common: That people use dog collars, maybe even choke collars or pronged collars and that these collars are being yanked around a lot, so the dog is told through jerks again and again what he should do. And, of course, that feels very unpleasant.

Just imagine for yourself that attempts to communicate among each other would consist in me constantly yanking your neck. And if I want you to sit down, I jerk the chain upwards, and if I want you to lie down, I jerk you downwards with the chain. That’s no way to treat each other.

The name of her training center, animal learn, reflects Mrs. von Reinhardt's basic philosophy: that dogs and humans should learn together and from each other. Her teachings emphasize mutual respect between the dog and his or her caregiver.

Now, first off, it is essential in my training sessions that I work in an absolutely nonviolent way. That means, to put it a bit provocatively, not be just a “little bit” nonviolent or true to the slogan: “I am working nonviolently as long as the dog does what I want.” Instead, nonviolence means to me to really, always and at every moment, to deal with great respect with that living being who is entrusted to me for training.

Or we might even say, [with great respect] for both living beings that are entrusted to me. That is on the one hand the dog her- or himself and then of course also the human companion on the other end of the leash. Because both need to be trained. Because both deserve to be treated with patience, care and respect. And this often is a balancing act, because the dog naturally has entirely different needs than her or his human companion.

And often the trainer has to take the function of a mediator, e.g. explaining to the companion that the dog cannot do certain things expected from her or him. Or explaining to the dog that certain things he or she likes to do as part of her or his nature are just not possible in this way.

To me. Come to me! Come on, sit! Lissy, come to me! Chinnok, to me! Come on! Come, sit! Come, sit! And stay! Good boy! And stay! Hallo! You are doing great! Good dogs. Look: On we go! You, too! Come on!

Training a canine companion in a nonviolent way is not the only mark of a healthy relationship between dog and human. We must also consider the needs and wants of our canine friend to ensure their happiness.

But in addition there is a lot of mental abuse, for example, giving a living being the impression that the only reason for their existence is to act the way it pleases me. That means the dog is only allowed out when I feel like going for a walk. And he is given to eat what I give him, not what he really would like to eat. If people, for instance, don’t think about what he would like to eat but they just think: What is the most convenient thing for me put in his bowl? What means the least work for me?

Or the dog would like to sniff around somewhere for example, but we have no time, no patience, no mind for doing that so we just pull him along, or even get annoyed about it and say: “Come on, hurry up!” And imagine if you would have to live your life like that, always controlled by others, always dependent.

If I want to go to the loo, I have to depend on someone bringing me outside and on that somebody noticing that I need to go. I can only eat when somebody puts some food in front of me. And most dogs are not allowed to choose a partner at all, because it simply doesn’t fit into our society, it is just not possible. And I could go on and on in an endless repetition of examples.

Mrs. von Reinhardt says dog training should be fun for both the dog and their human companion and done in a constructive way so that the canines will enjoy the experience.

Another very important aspect for me during training is to actually involve the dog. And this means not only telling something to the dog and then she or he should obey the command or refrain from something after being told so. But rather I involve the dog in the training process, enabling her or him to take part in decisions on how far she or he can and wants to go in the training.

Clarissa von Reinhardt frequently works with dogs who have socialization issues, such as exhibiting hostility toward other dogs. She has discovered that by carefully observing the dog's non-verbal communication and respecting their personal limits, she is able to help them to develop new, socially acceptable behaviors.

When working with dogs in re-socialization with other dogs, that is with dogs that have aggression issues with other dogs, for such dogs it is very strenuous when I work with them, as the dog is not getting aggressive just for fun, but because something happened in his life that made him believe in the need for aggressive behavior for chasing away the other one.

If I put the dog into this situation, if I put him in a situation so to speak in which he is confronted with another dog, telling him: “But please do not attack but wait for a moment first. Think about it first. I can show you strategies and solutions how to deal with the situation in a different way.” Then this is very demanding for the dog. It is similar to undergoing psychotherapy.

And if the dog for instance is telling me by glancing at the exit door or by showing calming signals or signs of stress that it is getting too much for her or him, then I give her or him the chance to have a little interruption, to have a break and maybe have a little walk in between and have a rest. And this has a tremendous effect on the dogs, because they do not have the feeling of being at the mercy of someone else.

It is like saying: “I am putting you into this situation and you must see how to somehow cope with it. And if you do not behave the way I want then you have to expect punishment on top of it.” Instead, the dog learns that he can communicate with me during the training, that he can explain to me: “It is too much for me now. Could I please have a break?” And he also learns that these attempts of communicating that are on a non-verbal level, that is, via eye contact, via touch, that these actually work for the dog.

So she or he at the same time sort of learns something that is very important for the therapy’s success: If I de-escalate, that is, if I show, it is getting too much for me, I’d rather leave, then she or he may actually leave. And therefore the dog does not necessarily have to react aggressively to escape the situation. And that is very, very important.

Mrs. von Reinhardt feels that many times people make too many demands on their canine companions and that it is important for dogs to also have the freedom to enjoy their surroundings.

And that’s why I feel it’s very important in my training to not just say… Okay, the human companion for example, wants the dog to come when he is called. Sure, we like to teach that to them and it also works very well afterwards, but to also teach the caregiver a little bit: “Look, you don’t need to call your dog at all. Let him sniff around for a while. Give him some time. Give him a bit of mental freedom to do what he likes to do. Don’t boss him around all the time.”

And the interesting thing is, many people are taken quite aback, because they say: “I’ve never thought about that before.” And they immediately agree with me and often thank me for pointing it out to them and say: “If you put it like that it makes sense, but we never thought about it like that.” And for me that is an important part of my work: To make people aware how to look after other living beings, not just dogs but also others they come across in daily life, like cats, horses or even insects or plants, how to treat everything with care.

What are some ways of being more thoughtful towards our canine companions? What is the best type of leash to use? Should we take our dog friend with us to a restaurant? To find out the answers to these and many other questions, please join us again tomorrow for the conclusion of our interview with Clarissa von Reinhardt.

For more information on animal learn and Clarissa von Reinhardt, please visit:
Books by Mrs. von Reinhardt are available at the same website

Thank you for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May we all grow in understanding and love with each passing day.