A Dogstardaily.com blog posting let me onto a demonstration of sorts of different management (they are too short term to be called training) techniques for dealing with behavioral issues in various dogs and highlighting different trainers:)
I am not so much into "sound bite" training for solutions to the general public, but it's interesting to see the different ways the trainers deal with this. Note a single trainer might deal with all these cases differently as well, as it would depend on the dog's personality and the owner's ability to follow through. Videos from the Bad Dog Challenge can be found on this link provided.
The Dogstardaily.com blog that I found it on can be accessed using this link. The trainer on this blog uses appropriate techniques IMO for THIS DOG and THIS ENVIRONMENT. You will notice that most of the "Bad Dog Challenges" involve small dogs, and the Sheltie in this trainer's section is probably the most stable of all the dogs. Shelties are not terribly large dogs either.
Due to the comments on this blog, I was expecting to see some pretty strong corrections, as the blogger seemed to be appalled with the other trainers. One dog was managed with a water bottle, which is not a terribly aversive measure. I was very confused as to why a leash wouldn't be used on a dog that was a bite risk (I live by the if you can't do it on leash, you can't do it off leash. The leash is an excellent way to both keep people safe, and monitor when a dog is ready to go off leash) Another was a Yorkie that was growling and making contact with his/her owner's arm. This dog's head was simply pushed to the side if he was going to go in towards the arm. (Although I am geussing a Terrier is probably going to figure out how to bite the hand, if they are a serious dog) The dogs couldn't have been too married to doing damage if they were easily subdued. However, since no real training was done in any of these videos, I would wonder how long such a management technique alone would instill any kind of real behavioral change, regardless of the method used.
I am not so much into "sound bite" training for solutions to the general public, but it's interesting to see the different ways the trainers deal with this. Note a single trainer might deal with all these cases differently as well, as it would depend on the dog's personality and the owner's ability to follow through. Videos from the Bad Dog Challenge can be found on this link provided.
The Dogstardaily.com blog that I found it on can be accessed using this link. The trainer on this blog uses appropriate techniques IMO for THIS DOG and THIS ENVIRONMENT. You will notice that most of the "Bad Dog Challenges" involve small dogs, and the Sheltie in this trainer's section is probably the most stable of all the dogs. Shelties are not terribly large dogs either.
Due to the comments on this blog, I was expecting to see some pretty strong corrections, as the blogger seemed to be appalled with the other trainers. One dog was managed with a water bottle, which is not a terribly aversive measure. I was very confused as to why a leash wouldn't be used on a dog that was a bite risk (I live by the if you can't do it on leash, you can't do it off leash. The leash is an excellent way to both keep people safe, and monitor when a dog is ready to go off leash) Another was a Yorkie that was growling and making contact with his/her owner's arm. This dog's head was simply pushed to the side if he was going to go in towards the arm. (Although I am geussing a Terrier is probably going to figure out how to bite the hand, if they are a serious dog) The dogs couldn't have been too married to doing damage if they were easily subdued. However, since no real training was done in any of these videos, I would wonder how long such a management technique alone would instill any kind of real behavioral change, regardless of the method used.
The blogger who managed the Sheltie has also concurred with long term training, homework, and continued involvement of the client in order to be successful for long term change. I will have to see at a later date, if the other trainers also blogged about their experience and approach. I believe it is the intent of the producers to follow up with their subjects later on, and that should be interesting.
One dog trained by Barkbusters was a friendly, exhuberant, 95 pound Boxer (I believe); and this one dog (and one of only two bigger dogs) was trained using a prong collar. They used very mild corrections on the dog. I will say, the times where a correction that would need to be used would be too harsh, is if one were to rush the training (or management system). To train a dog on a prong collar would mean that at some point the dog could work without equipment on at all. In the same way, a trained dog using treats should be able to be weaned off the treats. This is why an AKC obedience is one way to test skills of a dog in training for Companion to Working dog. You can not use the equipment in the ring, and once you get beyond the Novice competition, that includes the leash!!
Many people just don't understand that time, space, calm, consistency, and leadership on a long term basis are needed to bring a dog along to an educated and trained state. Training should include in distracting areas, and not just sitting before food for instance. A lot of people don't understand that a sit trained correctly not only by definition prevents a dog from doing something like jumping on someone (remember I said done correctly so the dog learns the rules in all environments and around all things), but will also change the behavior so that the dog finds it more rewarding to greet people appropriately.
This almost never has a long term affect after one afternoon of management of symptoms however.
Need your dog trained? Call Mannerly Mutts at 207-361-4395 and ask for Robin Rubin, Maine Dog Trainer. You can also e-mail mannerly_mutts@yahoo.com for your Maine Dog Training needs.
Many people just don't understand that time, space, calm, consistency, and leadership on a long term basis are needed to bring a dog along to an educated and trained state. Training should include in distracting areas, and not just sitting before food for instance. A lot of people don't understand that a sit trained correctly not only by definition prevents a dog from doing something like jumping on someone (remember I said done correctly so the dog learns the rules in all environments and around all things), but will also change the behavior so that the dog finds it more rewarding to greet people appropriately.
This almost never has a long term affect after one afternoon of management of symptoms however.
Need your dog trained? Call Mannerly Mutts at 207-361-4395 and ask for Robin Rubin, Maine Dog Trainer. You can also e-mail mannerly_mutts@yahoo.com for your Maine Dog Training needs.
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