Dog Owner Responsibility: Training

[Sailing_Faith]

Thank you for your praise of this thread, Sailing Faith. That being said I hope you don't think any less of it when I say I must respectfully disagree with some of what you had to say......

Thank you for the kindness in your reply, I did not intend any slight against you in my post.

I appreciate your decision to give me the benefit of the doubt, even though now I realize the "some who hold themselves up as trainers" comment came across as directed at you... While there is some history behind that comment, I had not considered how it might come across and I am sorry.

It is obvious you have a heart for dogs, and are likely a very good trainer. Thank you for the work you do!

[jarrett.morgan]

This was some great information. I did agility with my pup for about 6 months with my dog to prepare her for the trails; however, the situations are pretty different. Now I have a new list of commands and goals to work on to increase my control over her. Thanks again for the information.

[Another Kevin]

Sounds like you treat your dog as a slave! Glad I am not your husband!

A well-trained dog is anything but a slave! He's a partner. A dog wants to please you, they really love it. Think of the training as teaching the dog your language, so that you can talk to him and have him know what you're saying. You're both happier: the dog behaves well, the dog gets to please you, and you both get to do things that you couldn't do with an ill-trained dog.

(For 'he', 'him,' and 'dog,' substitute 'she', 'her' and 'bitch' at will. I hate callng pooches 'it.')

[Another Kevin]

My current dog is a headstrong former hunting dog (and I'm her third owner) she is sharp, dominant, gets "birdie" when she finds a scent, and is wonderfully and comprehensively trained by a professional who also trained us how to properly work with her both on leash and off leash. She is off leash with us either at the horsebarn or on local trails 4-5 days a week. We are able to reliably trust her in these situations because we have the tools to correct her when she's in the middle of doing something foolish (like standing under a horse), because of this she his able to have a far more fullfilling and adventerous life than she would if she were less solidly trained.

...And before anyone asks, yes we still keep her leashed on the A.T., it's just too busy a path and while I do trust her, I don't trust the other fools that we meet out there 100%.

I look forward to hiking with her someday! (And yes, I know the issues that are keeping both of you off trail at the moment.) But our last hike together was probably not a good choice for dogs. I know some that could do it, but they'd definitely grumble afterwards that I'd inflicted it on them.

[Dogtra]

Thank you for the kindness in your reply, I did not intend any slight against you in my post.

I appreciate your decision to give me the benefit of the doubt, even though now I realize the "some who hold themselves up as trainers" comment came across as directed at you... While there is some history behind that comment, I had not considered how it might come across and I am sorry.

It is obvious you have a heart for dogs, and are likely a very good trainer. Thank you for the work you do!

Thank you, Sailing Faith.

[Dogtra]

A well-trained dog is anything but a slave! He's a partner. A dog wants to please you, they really love it. Think of the training as teaching the dog your language, so that you can talk to him and have him know what you're saying. You're both happier: the dog behaves well, the dog gets to please you, and you both get to do things that you couldn't do with an ill-trained dog.

That's the truth right there. Training increases the level in which human and canine can communicate with each other. Yes, it really does go both ways. Over time a trainer begins to know that individual dog very well and can read it. Training also creates mutual trust between canine and handler. All of this opens up more opportunities for the canine team that may not otherwise have been possible, as Another Kevin pointed out.

[Dogtra]

This was some great information. I did agility with my pup for about 6 months with my dog to prepare her for the trails; however, the situations are pretty different. Now I have a new list of commands and goals to work on to increase my control over her. Thanks again for the information.

Even though I don't currently own a dog, I do generally enjoy their presence on the trail. Thanks for being a responsible owner to your pet, and making it a joy for others to be around.

Thank you both for your kind comments. You're welcome.

When done properly and after a dog has a strong base of positive training, negative correction is a highly effective way to reinforce and fine tune a dog's training. I think that much of the problem is that lay people don't understand the difference between "correction" and "punishment," and those who don't know the difference should get the help of an experienced trainer.

I totally agree. It drives me nuts when people walking around with their submissive goldens or Bernese mountain dogs which they've owned since they were weaned try to tell me that positive reinforcement only training is the inly way to train every dog. I'd love to see them get a hunting or protection breed dog working effectively off leash and in their element with +R only training.

True. Unfortunately I believe the misinformed view "punishment" is this horrible thing, like beating a dog or some other form of cruelty. Its also common for many that don't know better to believe that Positive = Good and Negative = Bad. It's not the case. A lot of the "Purely Positive" craze comes from the media and other organizations pushing it almost religiously down people's throats... the result creates a large population of ignorance and intolerance towards anything but +R.

Thank you, Elf, for taking on that headstrong dog of yours. It saddens me when good dogs like it get put down because those around them don't know how to handle them.