Sorry to hurt your feelings, but both dogs and horses need to know who the boss is, no matter the size. So your story, while maybe well meaning, is incorrect. Break them before they break or kill you because they are living, breathing, (sometimes) thinking animals with spirit and attitude.
A helicopter is just a machine that does what it is told or not told to do. You don't teach it, it doesn't learn, it just does with respect to gravity and mechanics.