This might not be a simple message that you should read. I will share a number of my experiences that could upset you. Its not my intention to upset you. My intention is to make a place and that i dont believe Im able to get it done basically dont share some unpleasant situations I have seen. Youve been warned:
In yesteryear 2 decades, like a dog trainer and former animal control officer, Ive come across dogs kicked, choked, punched and beaten.
Most of times after i saw your dog being handled roughly, it had been as a result of the final person what you know already. It wasnt someone on the street or perhaps in a garden beating your dog. Actually, more often than not it had been out in the open. Sometimes the individual choking your dog was teaching another person to complete exactly the same.
You see, the majority of the harmful items that I have seen completed to dogs was as a result of your dog trainer.
Dog trainers, for a long time, purchased harsh, outdated methods, and it is scary those methods are earning a comeback due to certain Television shows and YouTube videos.
Ive been your dog trainer through some interesting times. After i started, dog training was harsh and brutal. When the dog became aggressive, working out never was blamed - your dog always was.
In the mid 1990s, training really began to change due to some very dedicated individuals, as well as for many trainers, they quickly converted using their old, harsh style training techniques towards the newer, better and much more effective training style.
Many from the trainers that accustomed to train that old harsh way felt very bad concerning the way they accustomed to train and began to call themselves "All Positive Trainers. "
I think lots of it was due to the guilt they believed concerning the way theyd trained and trained others for a long time. The "All Positive" types became a force and exactly how dogs were trained changed dramatically also it swept with the nation.
Associations were formed and national conferences started. Increasingly more trainers got aboard using the better method to train, that was ideal for dogs and pet owners.
I believe wholeheartedly that dogs ought to be trained using positive methods but...
... I am inclined to enter challenge with the "All Positive" crowd because I wont complement that you ought to never do anything whatsoever negative in dog training.
Let me explain:
Dog training is about consequences. Youve two kinds of consequences - good and bad.
When you would like your pet to maintain carrying out a behavior, you utilize an optimistic consequence. Your dog sits whenever we ask and that we apply an optimistic consequence, treat, praise, toy, etc.
Now, once the dog jumps, steals, barks, begs, digs, or does the other behaviors that people do not want, we can not apply an optimistic consequence because that will simply make the behaviour stronger.
The "All Positive" crowd will explain to disregard the behaviour which is how we often split up. In my opinion that people want to get results and ignoring the behaviour requires a large amount of patience, as well as in my estimation, I rarely begin to see the behavior disappear by ignoring it.
I realise why the "All Positive" crowd doesnt desire to use or teach negative consequences. Most of the trainers within the "All Positive" camp have experienced many of the same horrors Ive.
But as trainers, were carrying out a disservice to the clients and also the dog as we do not get results. I personally use negative consequences to prevent your dog from carrying out a behavior thats unacceptable to us.
A negative consequence doesnt have to harm your dog. The issue is that lots of trainers dont know how you can properly apply an adverse consequence to some training situation. Four steps need to happen that we will show you for you:
The negative consequence can not be related to trainer.
The negative consequence must be large enough to prevent the behaviour.
The negative consequence needs to happen each time the behaviour occurs.
The negative consequence must happen the 2nd the behaviour occurs.
If the above mentioned four steps dont happen, problems will build up and also the dog could suffer. I realize why the "All Positive" crowd stays from any kind of negative training. It requires an incredibly skilled trainer to use an adverse consequence correctly.
Its vital that you realize that there are NO unwanted effects from doing positive training apart from your timing might be off as well as your dog gets confused (and thats why clickers are fantastic training tools). There are MAJOR unwanted effects whenever a negative consequence can be used and never done right.
A dog thats exposed repeatedly with a type of negative consequence that triggers pain may become aggressive, withdrawn, fearful or confused which is very sad to determine this occur to your dog.
This brings me towards the question which i get asked frequently.
Do I suggest electronic collars? My response is just a little complicated because I can not say good or bad. I usually have a "Well see" approach.
Let me explain...
Can electronic collars work - absolutely.
Can they do harm - most surely.
An electronic collar can be quite useful when you are some situations. There are basically two kinds of collars. The very first kind of collar operates with no trainer. For example, there are electronic bark collars. Your dog barks and also the sound activates the correction in the collar. Another example may be the underground containment type. When the dog gets too near to the boundary, the collar will activate and also the dog is offered the correction.
The second type may be the handheld collar operated through the trainer. The handheld operated through the trainer could be a serious problem. Every trainers on the planet are occasionally off with regards to timing. Ive also seen people who think the handheld collar is sort of a TV remote. They just press a control button and prevent bad behavior.
It doesnt work this way.
So after i am inquired about electronic collars inside a training situation, When i first ask the individual Im dealing with when they be aware of four steps to applying an adverse consequence. Nobody has have you been in a position to answer the 4 steps (You are able to since you come here to see this web site ).
After I explain the 4 steps, I ask the individual when they could apply the 4 steps each time the behaviour happened. I focus a great deal on #4 and discuss timing and just how it effects their dog if their timing is off.
Usually the individual may come towards the conclusion that the electronic collar wouldnt be great for them. I actually do believe that the underground containment fences can be quite effective since there is no human involvement.
The collar isnt controlled through the trainer. Your dog is offered an alert each time he gets near to the fence, the timing is ideal, the consequence is large enough to prevent your dog from going close to the boundary, it takes place each time and contains no association using the trainer.
Do I love with them or recommending them?
Not really, however i have experienced a many dogs which have a far greater life due to them. I additionally realize that the underground electronic fences have saved lots of dogs lives. Without one, your dog might have encounter the street and been hit.
When I must choose, Id prefer to begin to see the fence getting used compared to dog getting hit with a car.
So, after i am asked basically use electronic collars, I do not say good or bad. It depends on the dog, the problem and also the trainer. I do not rule them out i dont put one on the dog within the first work out.
In general, I rarely rely on them, but simultaneously, I can not state that they do not get their devote training.
As mentioned previously, I love to have a "Well see" kind of attitude. Making snap or emotional decisions arent always the very best. I love to suppose the Zen story which was distributed to me years back:
A young boy inside a village is offered a horse on his 16th birthday like a gift with a traveler and all sorts of the villagers are pleased for him. The Zen monk says, "Well see. " The boy falls from the horse and breaks his back and every one of the villagers are sad for him.
The Zen monk says, "Well see. " A war erupts and all sorts of the teenagers head to war - except the young boy, and all sorts of the villagers say hes oddly lucky. The Zen master says, "Well see. "
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