Training tables have been around in one form or another for longer than any one can document. Some caveman, tired of bending over to get to a pup, probably hoisted it onto a rock and gave it a pet or a bit of food, and the training table concept was born. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but then fact is often stranger than fiction. My own experience and the advice of quite a few others is that every trainer should consider having a table as part of their equipment. “Well, thank you very much!”, you say. “I’ve never used one and gotten along very well. Why should I bother with it?.”
The two most obvious reasons are comfort for the trainer, and control over the dog. The trainer is able to reach any part of dog from a standing position, and more quickly than when the dog is at ground level since there is no need to reach downward. The reduced fatigue from avoiding bending and reaching, in sometimes awkward positions, is considerable by the end of several training sessions in a day. Control over the dog is enhanced not only by proximity to it, but through design and use of the table itself to accommodate specific training tasks.
A key concept about the use of training tables: they are a place where the trainer wants learning to occur. That fact should be the basis of starting every dog’s relationship with the table, and until the dog is at ease on the table the entire effort is oriented to achieving a desire in the dog to be up there. Sometimes there’s a humorous bit of back ground involved in getting a positive attitude instilled in the dog — to include overcoming previous training that stopped getting up on anything resembling the dinning room table at meal time!
Achieving a desire to be on the table can be done in conjunction with teaching the dog to get on or off a given surface. These two easily taught commands can be one of the basis for building responsiveness and obedience, while gaining a positive attitude from the dog toward learning from the trainer at a location where success is taking place. The training table should also be used as a place where grooming occurs, good words are imparted to the dog, and appropriate affection is frequently given.
I’ve never seen or read anything about preparing a dog to anticipate good things on a training table. Quite the opposite, as more than one book and training video I’ve read or watched has simply advised restraining the dog to preclude it leaving the table. I’ve used all of the methods I’ve seen to do that, such as overhead cables, hobbles, and tie-posts. In every case with the devices there was a reduction in effective training time, and a requirement to overcome the stress or distraction resulting from each device. In some instances the device was actually an impediment to the task at a higher level, and when the constraint was removed to continue to that level, another period of adjustment to the absence of the restraining effect had to be gotten through. When the dog wants to be on the table all of that is eliminated, and the dog is better prepared to learn.
You should generally expect a dog running to get on the table voluntarily on the third day by giving it four or five positive experiences on the table each day. If the attitude isn’t one of willingness by the third exercise of the second day, I will increase the number of repetitions for the day and attempt to make each one more appealing. Because some of the tasks I train on the table involve the dog getting off with a return to the table to complete the exercise, early work always involves a number of on-and-off actions in each session, and a lot of handling while on the table. In short, I want the dog to have already experienced as a fun issue before formal training starts, that handling I’m going to put the dog through while training. If I’m going to teach the trained retrieve I do a lot of ear and mouth handling, and if I’m going to teach woah I walk the dog up and down the table on a lead. This allows me to get a good read on the existing level of cooperation I have from the dog, and to appropriately adjust my approach to training each as an individual. The goal is to cause the dog’s attitude toward what it and I do on the table to be positive, and that pleasing me on the table is rewarding. As easy as it may seem, getting some dogs on the table can present an initial problem of significant resistance by the dog. It is important to establish from the start that the table is a place where you are in total command. Even tractable dogs of good disposition may resist and must be dealt with firmly, and must not be allowed to be successful in avoiding being put on the table. This is easily accomplished by the use of a lead in conjunction with a ramp for the first few days of putting the dog on and off the table. This ensures that the dog’s ability to refuse your command to get on, or for it to get off with out permission, is under your control. Approach getting the dog to mount the table, to remain there, and to dismount only on command just as you would the teaching of any other task, but with the added goal of making the table a place the dog wants to be.
Dogs that are anxious or even fearful of the situation in which training is being conducted are not going to give the trainer their best effort: so why would a trainer put a dog into a place where the dog immediately becomes a lesser student? I have seen training videos, and had discussions with a few trainers where the training table has been referred to as a less than positive place in the dog’s view. Those trainers chose to approach this by just, “working through it”. It seems to make more sense, that the dog should see the training table as a positive place for it to be before using the table for any training that may be stressful.
The trainer’s relationship to the table height is of importance from two standpoints. The first is trainer safety, and the second is the ability to quickly and easily reach the dog as required for the training involved. Trainer safety is always to be considered in the relationship of table height and the dog being trained. Safety in design comes primarily from ensuring the dog’s opportunity to access the trainer’s face or chest area is appropriate to the dog and training being conducted. A lower table will reduce the level of the dogs muzzle to those areas. Trainers dealing with dogs of significant variance in height might elect to have two or three tables of different heights but of the same width, about five feet long, which could be placed end to end to gain desired length. This allows the trainer to use the appropriate height when next to the dog, and the other tables for extension of the working surface.
Trainers on an eye-to-eye level with dog that is even potentially aggressive are more at risk of injury in the face and throat area, and if they elect to train from that position should take appropriate precautions. In some instances, the reduction of the relative height from trainer to a timid dog will be a positive because of the less dominate or threatening positioning of the trainer. This should be looked for as even a very subtle, positive change in the dogs body language, reduction of nervousness, or attention to the trainers efforts.
The location and training objectives dictate the selection of materials for durability and portability. Tables to be permanently outside should be made of treated wood, or a combination of galvanized pipe for the frame and treated wood for the top. Tables to be used inside do not need treated lumber, and will benefit by being lighter and easier to move. The need for a portable table is a challenge to satisfy with a truly portable design. Commercially available at a reasonable cost is a table with metal frame, folding legs, and a laminated top sold at business supply stores. The slick surface of the commercial design is unsatisfactory for training and should be covered with rubber matting before use. I strongly recommend the use of deck screws instead of nails if you make one from wood. My current tables are now over ten years old, and except for an occasional tightening of screws remain sturdy.
At some point you’ll find the dog running to the table and waiting when you arrive for training. Hopefully you’ll also find a wagging tail and a look in the eyes that asks “What’s in store for today?” Those enthusiastic leaps to the table put a lot of lateral stress on the frame which is another reason to use screws in construction. For dogs of up to about 70 pounds, tables constructed of 2 x 4 frames and 1x 4’s for the top (lighter than plywood), with a width of twenty five inches provide adequate surface area for training. A total length of 10 feet gives enough distance for most work with medium breeds, but 15 feet or more is desirable.
The tasks to be trained will also influence the height, as well as the width of the table’s design. Ideally, with the dog standing along the near edge of the table the trainer should be able to reach over the dog and touch its outside flank However, the table must also be wide enough for the dog to easily turn 180 degrees during the execution of training for fetch, line, and other tasks. Lowering the height will give the trainer greater reach over the dog while maintaining width necessary for 180 degree turning.
If you’ve used the approach of getting the dog to want to be on the training table, you should not need any of the overhead control devices designed to ensure the dog remains there. In the case of aggressive dogs, such design additions may offer the trainer additional security, but are not enough to ensure safety. The trainer’s best defense against being attacked is correctly reading the dog and listening to his own gut feeling.
There are two commonly used table restraints for those that may choose to use them. One is a post extending above the table, with an arm extending half across the width. The arm should allow about 5 inches clearance over the top of the dog’s head when it is standing erect. The second, suspended by a post at each end, is an overhead cable running the center length of the table. This cable is used with a trolley arrangement linked to the dog’s collar to keep it from dismounting the table when sent down the table’s length. I have used both, and found them to work when properly employed in conjunction with the flat collar.
If you do use the restraints, the proper length of line from the fixed point (arm or trolley) to the dog’s collar must be enough that the dog, if dismounted, is able to prevent itself from choking by placing its front paws back on the table. One or at the most two dismounts and the dog usually realizes that the consequences of doing so are an immediate correction (supplied by the short line from collar to the restrain point), and the action is not generally repeated. The collar must be a flat, buckle collar, adjusted to prevent the dog slipping out of it during these instances. Give no other correction than what the dog has caused itself to experience, and if required assist the dog back onto the table without unbuckling the collar. If you decide to use the restraints discussed above with small breeds and toy breeds, ensure the combined width of the table and length of restraint are such that the restraint prevents them from being able to jump off.
Exercises which I commonly start on the table are: woah or stand, sit, down, the retrieve, take a line forward, take a line 180 degrees by turning left or right, take a line 90 degrees left or right, down for examination, and of course on, and off first of all. By correctly positioning the dog in relation to table configuration, the table contributes to the dogs learning by eliminating some of its options. For example: in teaching woah the action is performed at the end of the table where the next step would be into empty space. In teaching sit and down, the end of the table and restricted width reduce the dog’s sense of space in which it can move about. By standing at the end of the table for the retrieve, instead of stepping forward the dog must extend its head and neck when learning to reach for the object. In taking a line forward, the table provides a clear path to the object to be retrieved. For the 180 degree line, by placing the dog on the appropriate edge it must turn in the desired direction and to the correct degree. For 90 degree lines the dog is placed at sit at one end facing across the table’s width. It then has no choice but to move directly on a 90 degree line upon command. Down for examination has the dog in a subordinate position, but the trainer is able to remain in a standing position (and is thus more movable) without towering over the dog. This also prepares the dog for the veterinarian’s examination table.
Design and use of the training table are limited only by the user’s imagination. Whatever you build for your first table, you will certainly find changes to improve upon it to meet your own training needs. Consider safety, portability, and the tasks to be trained to get the best design for your needs.
Try it — you’ll like it.