Benjamin at Westminster, 2003 with cat behavior consultant and pet book writer/editor Beth Adelman

           If after 35 years of training dogs Carol Lea Benjamin had to sum it all up, narrowing all her collective wisdom into one tip, this is it, “Dogs need exercise, outside, every single day, rain or shine. That’s tip number three in Benjamin’s latest book, “See Spot Sit: 101 Illustrated Tips for Training the Dog You Love,” (Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY, 2008; $12.95).”It’s extremely rare to find a dog having a behavior problem who is getting enough exercise,” she says.

            The famed Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan frequently barks the same mantra about under-exercised dogs. His style of training is more to Benjamin’s liking than some techniques considered more politically appropriate today. “Carol doesn’t need to walk around with raw meat in her pockets to train dogs,” says Mordecai Siegal, the dean of America’s pet book authors. Siegal has written about or written with the greatest dog trainers of the past 40 years. Without hesitating, he says, “Carol is one of the best ever.”

            In 2002, she was named to the International Association of Canine Professionals Hall of Fame, and her books – including a series of mystery books, starring Rachel Alexander and a dog named Dash – have earned her numerous writing awards.

            Benjamin says that as many trainers have moved to rely on food rewards and clicker training in recent years, but the dogs haven’t benefited. “I’m glad people seem to care more than ever about their dogs, but today people are putting up with bad manners and bad behavior,” she says. “Years ago, we’d go to an off leash area, and people would call their dogs. The dogs would instantly respond. Today, dogs don’t listen. I believe there’s more going on here than training methods. I think that people are so busy with their lives, they feel guilty about not spending time with their dogs, or for that matter, their children. They indulge them. So, today, we have dogs running the households.”

            Benjamin recently overheard people talking at a neighborhood coffee house in Greenwich Village in New York City about how a dog has taken over the bed. The family didn’t want to disturb the dog.  “That’s ridiculous,” she says and laughs. “I don’t mind Skye (her Border Collie) in bed with us. When I get up, Skye may move to where I was, it’s warm and smells like me. But when I return I ask Sky to move, and she does. After all, I need the reading light, Sky doesn’t. “

            Benjamin continues, “Structure is something that dogs thrive on; they’re happier and more relaxed when there are consistent rules to follow. My dogs have a lot of freedom, but only after they’ve earned it.”

            In 1971, Benjamin received an energetic Golden Retriever, named Oliver, as a Valentine Day present. She signed up for a training class. All she did was walk into the class, and she experienced an instant epiphany. At that moment, the former schoolteacher knew she was meant to train dogs. Benjamin apprenticed at that facility for just over a year, and then opened her own training business, Oliver and Me. 

            Back in the 1970’s few women were training dogs, and far fewer were running their own businesses. Divorced, and raising a teenage child, Benjamin soon began to write for dog magazines to earn extra money. Books soon followed. Her first book was “Dog Training for Kids” in 1976.  Aside from the Rachel Alexander mysteries, she’s authored several dog training classics, including “Mother Knows Best” and “Dog Training in 10 Minutes.”

            In “See Spot Sit: 101 Illustrated Tips for Training the Dog You Love,” Benjamin combines her talents as a writer and an illustrator. Each tip is accompanied by an illustration. “Dog training isn’t brain surgery,” she says. “This book breaks it down so it’s simple, step by step. And I’ve found people often remember the illustrations more than they remember the words.”

            Still, there people who seem to have a natural knack for communicating with canines. Some people say ‘dogs always love me,’ even dogs they’re meeting for the first time. “I think there’s some truth to that,” Benjamin says. “Dogs seem to relate to certain individuals in a special way. Dogs respond to people who are relaxed yet confident.”       “That’s Carol,” adds Siegal. “Even many dog trainers don’t have this natural skill, an insight and understanding about what dogs really are. Dogs respond to Carol instantly.”

            Benjamin used this relationship in her own life. “I always felt better with dogs around me,” she says. Not long after she was diagnosed with a chronic intestinal illness, she left for a trip to London. “I was in pain, and realized my dog Dexter (a pit bull mix who has since passed away) is what was missing. He really made me physically feel better when he was near me, and he knew exactly what he was doing to help me.”

Carol Lea Benjamin and Sky

            Benjamin was one of the first to have a certified service dog for a so-called invisible disability, a condition not evident to bystanders on the street. Today, her service partner is Sky, a Border Collie. “I think we’ve only scratched the surface of understand what dogs can do and how much they really know.”     

            Today, at 10 years of age (she maintains her age in dog years), Benjamin no longer actively trains client’s dogs, though she continues to study them. “I consider myself privileged to have worked with so many dogs over the years.”

©Steve Dale, Tribune Media Services