Dogs teach students simple lessons about gentleness

• Dog trainer Julie Fudge Smith brought her dogs to St. Francis to talk about gentleness.
• She drew parallels between positive reinforcement with dogs and gentleness with others.

Julie Fudge Smith asked her dog, Mr. Bingley, to lay down, carefully placed a treat on his paw and asked him to wait.

The students at St. Francis de Sales School craned their necks to see what the flat-coated retriever would do.

When Smith told him to take the treat, he scarfed it down, and everybody cheered.

Smith, a certified professional dog trainer and owner of A Positive Connection in Granville, knew Bingley and her other dog, Buckley, would have a great time visiting the students Thursday at St. Francis.

But she also knew the dogs would help her talk about an important positive trait: gentleness.

This year, the students have been studying the fruits of the Holy Spirit, said Lori Mazzone, religion education director at St. Francis. This quarter, they’ve focused on gentleness.

Talking about dog training seemed like a great way to reinforce that message, Mazzone said.

“We believe the fruits extend to all creatures, not just to man,” she said.

After showing off a few of Bingley’s tricks, Smith explained to the students that she used positive reinforcement to train him. That means using a clicker to show him he’s done a good job and deserves a treat.

“Positive reinforcement training is kind and gentle, and it works,” she said. “It’s fun, and it has ties to my faith.”

Smith showed the students several video examples of people using positive reinforcement to train dogs, rats and fish. Both people and animals work best when they are at peace and not afraid, Smith said.

“If you train them with love and kindness and gentleness, they won’t live in fear,” she said. “They can be the best versions of themselves.”

She told the story of Neo, a local great Dane who she helped train.

Neo was rescued from a puppy mill when he was 4 months old. He was incredibly traumatized and didn’t know how to act like a normal dog. But with kindness and patience, he was able to overcome his fears.

“He came out of the darkness and into the light through positive reinforcement training,” Smith said.

At the end of the presentation, students gathered around Smith’s dogs to pet them.

Mazzone said she hopes the lessons from the visit will stick with all the children.

“I think any time we can talk to the kids about our faith in a way that’s a little bit different, that engages them a little more in the reality that our faith is not just something we do at church every Sunday,” she said. “It’s something we practice every day.”

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @amsjeffries