Wednesday, May 26, 1999 | noon
GARDNERVILLE, Nev. - The border collie tugs on the leash, his bobbed tail twitching as he yelps and whines at the chaos around him. Overcome with nervous excitement, he finally does what any frenzied pup is prone to do - piddle on his owner's shoe.
He's not alone in his confusion. The barking and whining crescendos with each new arrival; uneasy owners clutch tightly to their dogs' leads as the canine cacophony grows.
So begins the first day of dog obedience 101, a sort of canine kindergarten where learning to get along with others is just one part of the overall lesson.
Guy Yeaman and his partner, Stewart Holets, have been training dogs for 30 years. Turning a problem pooch into a best friend, they say, takes time, patience, and above all, praise and consistency.
When your pet doesn't obey, don't get angry. "They smell your adrenaline and get more keyed up," Yeaman said.
"Just get more stubborn than the dog," Holets added. "The dog will always give in, eventually."
Yeaman and Holets began working with dogs in 1968 in Sacramento, where they helped train guard dogs. They were "agitators" - the guys who were bitten while the dogs practiced their chomping techniques.
Over the years, both have been bitten too many times to count, though not enough to diminish their love of working with dogs.
"I enjoy the heck out of my job," Holets said. "Driving and getting bit are the only drawbacks."
Yeaman, of Gardnerville, conducts classes in towns and cities along the eastern front of the Sierra, from Gardnerville and Carson City to the Reno-Sparks area. Holets, of Garden Valley, Calif., handles the western side of the mountains, including Auburn, Placerville, Jackson and the Tahoe area. They often double-team classes.
They offer training for show dogs and guard dogs, but the bulk of their classes are basic and advanced obedience - or how to make your dog sit, heel, come and stay and be a pal instead of a pain.
Most of their group classes are offered through community parks and recreation programs. Both also work with local humane societies and animal control agencies and offer a free hour-long instruction to people who adopt dogs from the pound.
Over the years, they estimate they've each trained more than 10,000 dogs - and owners.
"We train people to train their dog," Holets said.
"That's the biggest thing we try to do is educate people," Yeaman said. "If you listen to us, there's not much we can't do."
Granted, some dogs take longer to catch on than others. Owners can attend the on-going classes until their dogs get it right or as a periodic refresher course for the life of their pet.
"The only way you flunk is if you don't come back until you're happy," Yeaman said.
For Roger and Maggie Rusmisel, the class has meant a world of difference in the behavior of their lab pup, Noosa.
"She was pretty wild," Maggie Rusmisel said. "Now, she's almost a well-behaved dog. We have more confidence that we can control her."
"I think she's beginning to grab the concept that humans are in charge," her husband added.
Hilda Weizer said she's happy her 6-month old Pomeranian, Bear, no longer jumps out of the car when she opens the door.
Besides, she said, walking around town during class is "good exercise for him and good exercise for me."
At the end of class tuckered pups lay inches from each other, all too tired to muster excitement over the dog next to them.
Yeaman and Holets say that above all, owning a dog involves common sense. First and foremost, they stress that no matter how gentle a pet may be, dogs are animals and all are prone to bite if startled, frightened or teased.
For that reason, children and dogs should never be left unsupervised, they said. At the same time, children need to be taught to respect a dog and not tease it or pull its tail or tug its ears.
Lastly, Yeaman and Holets say training takes time but doesn't have to be a chore.
"Repetition and praise," Yeaman said, is the secret to success.
"You can't pet your dog too much," Holets added. "If you can't spend time with your dog, get a cat instead."
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