Nando Brown interview for Rescue Dog to Super Dog

1 June 2016

Dog trainer Nando reveals all about his new show, and explains why we should all emphasise the carrot and throw away the stick.

 

Your new series is Rescue Dog to Super Dog – what’s the show all about?

The show is based around a fantastic concept which helps both people and dogs. We’re taking dogs out of a rescue centre – and probably dogs that are going to find it harder to be rehomed, because they’re high energy dogs. And then we’re pairing them up with people who have some kind of vulnerability or disability, and seeing if we can make a partnership out of the two of them. So they can help each other.

 

What do you look for in the dogs you’re training?

I’m looking for a dog that is emotionally robust. A term that dog-trainers commonly use is bomb-proof. It means it’s not fazed by a lot of things, it doesn’t get scared when it goes out in different environments, it has a close connection with humans, and actively seeks humans out. It wants to be near us. And you need one that’s easy to motivate. I can reinforce it through play, or through food, or through praise – just finding what makes that dog tick is really important.

 

Is it more to do with the breed of dog, or its individual characteristics?

When we talk about breeds, it’s a big generalisation. The most important thing is the individual animal.

 

Do you use specific breeds for specific jobs?

There are certainly going to be some breeds that are more suited to doing specific tasks, purely because of the history behind them. But actually, a lot of the breeds that can be used would be surprising to many people.

 

What’s the most intelligent breed?

Ooh. That would depend on how you defined intelligence. I want to say a Malinois, ‘cos that’s the dog that I’ve got. If you mean trainability – they’re easy to train and they pick tasks up easily, then border collies and Malinois, German shepherds, those kinds of dogs are very, very easily motivated. However, if you’re talking about a breed of dog that’s more independent and more of a problem solver, then a lot of the terriers are very intelligent. Then if you look at gun dogs, they’re very biddable. So it’s quite a difficult question to answer.

 

Do you have to train the humans as well?

Definitely. Animal training is a skill, and whatever the skill is, people need to learn that. It takes practice, persistence and a bit of determination. If they have those characteristics in them, then I can teach them how to do it.

 

Why do you choose rescue dogs for this? What kind of backgrounds do they tend to have?

We’re looking at rescue dogs because they’re misunderstood a lot of the time. Often the reason that they end up in a rescue centre is that they don’t have a lot of stimulation. They don’t get the exercise that they need, and they don’t get the mental simulation they require. A lot of them can be ideally suited to this work.

 

Is there an age when they become too old to start training them?

No, not really. The old saying ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is just rubbish. However, I do want to make sure there’s an age limit, because as the dog gets older, it takes slightly longer to train them. And I don’t want the dog to be trained up to be a helper and only last six months before it passes away. So we might use younger dogs, but not because they’re more intelligent, by any means.

 

How long does it take to train the dogs, generally?

We had a very restricted amount of time, which was 12 weeks. In real life, it can take up to 18 months, or even 24 months, before a service dog is trained. So this was a massive undertaking, and a very big challenge.

 

Do you get emotionally involved with the dogs or the people involved in this programme?

Totally. You’d have to be made of stone not to fall in love with some of those dogs. They are absolutely fantastic, there are some beautiful characters in there. And I’m not afraid to say that some of the people have brought a tear to my eye once the cameras have stopped filming. There are lovely, lovely people and lovely, lovely dogs in this.

 

How did you end up doing your job?

I fell into dog training because I made every single mistake you could possibly make as a dog owner. I was never mad about dogs as a youngster. I joined the Royal Marines, and when I left, I was kind of lost, and in a period of my life where I really didn’t know where I was going. And I’ve got to be honest with you, if it wasn’t for dogs, I could have ended up down a very, very wrong path. They turned my life around. Anyway, I got the wrong breed of dog, the wrong puppy out of the litter, I went for the wrong trainers – literally every mistake you could make, I made it. And then I got bitten by the bug, and realised there was so much behind dog training, and so much behind behaviour, that I fell in love with it and found the one thing that I’m passionate about and very, very good at.

 

Do you train other animals, or just dogs?

I have trained other animals in the past. I’ve trained donkeys, I’ve worked with aquatic mammals, I’ve trained horses and ponies, I’ve done a little bit of cat training, but dogs are by far my favourite.

 

What tips do you have for people who are training their dogs?

Don’t get hung up on the stuff that the dog does wrong. Humans are hardwired to punish, so we focus on what the dog is doing wrong. Peeing in the house, barking at people, jumping up at people. What we need to do is go “Actually I want the dog to pee in the garden,” or “I want the dog to be quiet when people come round to the house.” So spend less time punishing the dog for what it does wrong, and more time rewarding it for what it does right.

 

So use more carrot than stick?

Throw your stick away, and get as many carrots as you can possibly get your hands on.

 

Are you still learning your trade? Do dogs still surprise you?

I’m definitely still learning my trade. Anybody that thinks they know everything there is to know about dog training has already been left behind. Dogs surprise me on a daily basis. They are such an intelligent animal, and we don’t give them enough credit. I still train my own dog on a daily basis,. And the bond that builds is second to none. You just cannot beat it.

Rescue Dog to Super Dog is on Channel 4 on Wednesday 8th June at 8pm.