Choosing a Trainer

A client of mine, who has a lot of birds– a lot of birds– was concerned lately about some behavior that one of his dogs was exhibiting. Growling, protective, even some biting. He was desperate, he said, and was worried the dog would have to be killed or gotten rid of. The long and the short of it is, I recommended a very good trainer, Daphne Robert-Hamilton of K9 partnership. I told him not to make any rash decisions until he had at least spent some time with her. He seemed oddly reluctant, which surprised me because he loves the dog, but, after some persuasion on my part, he agreed.

A couple of days later, I heard from him and he sounded much happier! (I had already spoken, briefly, with Daphne who gave a positive report.) My client and his partner had already made some changes in how they behave around the dog to avoid the confusion which was, apparently, adding to the aggression issues. I asked him why he did not expect that. Why was it so difficult for him to see somebody?

The answer was not surprising. The most popular and talked about trainers, both on television and in pet stores seem to be the ones who use negative reinforcement. My client did not want to see shock collars, or other means of punishment used on his dog. He had used a reward system to train the dog in the first place (inadvertantly rewarding some poor behavior) and likes the process. But this is not what people see.

Karen Pryor and positive reinforcement in the form of clicker training was once, at least in my world, the foremost training system.  Now it is not just  the “Dog Whisperer” looming large on the National Geographic channel, and displayed prominantly in pet stores, or on the internet. Other trainers using similar negative methods are in the spotlight.  Clickers and positive training tools seem to have become a sort of “oh, and if you prefer…” method.

I do prefer! Positive training is the only way to go, and, yet, it is the negative training getting all the attention. Our society is a punitive one. If anyone behaves badly, even one’s dog, they must be punished rather than treated with kindness. The accountability for a dog’s behavior goes to the human (owner), NOT the dog. Mull on it. You can reach Daphne at k9partnership@yahoo.com. Please let her know you heard about her from here. Nancy