JUDGE ME BASED ON MY CLIENT'S PERFORMANCE?

I just can't help myself today. I was reading one of the Dogstardaily's blogger's (I don't know yet if this particular post is on Dogstardaily.com) dog training blogs. In the this post, she complains about dog trainers being required to actually teach obedience skills in a measurable forum, and asks instead to be judged on her and her client's performance.

Not so long ago she proudly posted the following pictures and videos of her client's GRADUATION in a completely quiet gym at a school. No other dogs around, people, nothing. It should be a pretty stunning video of the end of a client's sessions, right? I'll let you decide.

http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com/2008/10/danno-graduates.html

Now if I had to judge a trainer based on this FINISHED product, I am not so impressed. Also a lot of trainers feel, as this one did, that if only they were interested in the sport, of course their dog could do it LOL. It's maddening that some people can't see their limits, or that they have limits. I readily admit that I have mine, and therefore, have referrals if necessary. Not having done this yet, they don't understand how the precision and handling help their client. For instance, this trainer could have let their client know that shoulders straight and walking briskly forward brings the dog forward. They would also understand that they lost the leash too soon, or did not properly train a heel position. Behind the owner and lagging is not heel position. I could tell the owner wanted the dog in heel, that's why they angled back to look. If they were doing that with an on leash heel, it will tend to drive the dog backwards not forwards just by body language.

On another trainer's site, here are some videos that show the BEGINNINGS (I couldn't find it, but there was one of his whole class working in a parking lot or something off an airport!!!) of another's training. I don't know this person personally, but I know impressive training when I see it. I also know happy dogs when I see them.

These are two extremes of trainers clearly. However, I think it's fairly important to know how to yourself, and show your clients how to train their dogs for distracting situations. In an empty gymnasium (and if you are showing something you are proud of) this should be a no brainer. If a trainer can't do this for you, and push you to your very best for the partnership and enhanced life of you and your dog, then you are wasting your money.

A trainer that had done the work of competing, might also notice how the precision and timing help and improve the behavior modification as well. And socializing, and performance, and relationships.....

Merry Christmas

Here is a very cute video that has been going around the Internet showing off some skills of retrieval and more!!



Here is Margot Woods with her dog Sanity retrieving with oversize and awkward items. My husband looked very bored as I exclaimed over this video LOL. So many people don't understand the steps and work to get to the above, and the very real work that a dog can do!

http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2008/12/is-there-hole-in-bucket.html

Sanity is Margot's service dog, and a great little worker as you can see.

Need your dogs trained? Call Mannerly Mutts at 207-361-4395 or e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com and ask for Robin Rubin, Maine Dog Trainer, for your Maine Dog Training needs.

Many Dog Trainers are Actually Nice People

I sort of don't want my previous post to make everyone think that the dog training world is polluted with greedy egotistical narcissistic folk. Actually, I know quite a few dog trainers that have taken time out to spend time with me, show me things, and not always in a seminar setting. There are dog trainers that I have seen, where I am thinking "I am glad of it, but you are charging way too low for what you are giving" and then there have been a couple where I have felt the opposite of that.

Dog trainers, me included I guess, are characters of strong passion and opinions. Since we are not manufacturing widgets, most of us have very passionate feelings about the work we do, the world we live in, and laws being passed that affect our work. Many of us have allowed ourselves to get too close to rescue or client's dogs. Some of that can't be helped, because IMO part of doing your best job as a dog trainer is making that positive relationship between you and the dog. It's harder to do that if you can't find something to like and admire in almost every dog you work with .

I have gotten calls at home from dog trainers that I knew only online when York Maine had a serious flood, just to be sure I was okay! Most Christmas greetings for dog trainer acquaintances are looked forward to every year (except the one). In general these people make great companions during seminars, events, et. And these people are all different and very interesting....you know for the most part.

There are some that are the bottom feeders, however. Even if they might have some talent, they are not looking out for the clients or their dogs, but for the green mostly. A good trainer does not need to exclaim that they have trained "Hollywood biggies". Most people would know that politicians, hollywood biggies, and executives are still primarily humans who all have the need or want for a trained dog. Having one as a client does not necessarily make you a great trainer, though it might boast to your marketing skills and how you look on camera!!

It's also a very different thing if you a warning someone about a particular person or trainer for their own good. You give your feedback, and then you let the person go on to hold that until in their memory until another date. What was done by the person mentioned in the previous post was to list the people as all below her in ability, to bulk herself up higher than them. Someone who is truly confident in their abilities does not need to do this, and a professional does not need to or want to do this.

Past Present and Future First Dogs

I have been getting requests from professionals in different fields of canine service and retail to join groups pleading with the Obamas to get a rescue dog/puppy. I have been reading blogs or messages on group boards of people who want to be the trainer to the presidents new dog. It's a subject that has the dog world's knickers in a twist. I bet President Elect Obama wishes he had kept the puppy promise to himself already.

As far as the dog or puppy that they adopt, I only hope they choose one that is right for them and their family. This is a long term commitment, and not something to be taken lightly. Everyone needs to be ready to pitch in and be a part of that dog's life. I care mostly that this dog won't end up in rescue (imagine the scandal there) or given to a housekeeper or.... The family shouldn't be pressured into where to get the dog, but only to pick the correct dog for their situation.

I find the rescue situation especially alarming, since some misguided advice is to be sure it's a "pit mix" (note mix by the way) so people can know they can be nice dogs. Of course they are nice dogs!!! However, they need a bit of discipline and training. The wave of keep everything fun for the owner, rather than meet a dog's long term training needs, is what keeps Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) alive and well. Imagine a Pit mix bites the next reporter. The following blog, http://celiasue.wordpress.com/, that I enjoy for dog-friendly travel and marketing advice wants the family to pick a Dalmatian/Pit mix. Not that I am against that, but if that was the breed, I would say find a very qualified trainer who can prepare the pup for public life. Neither is considered a bomb proof personality in a dog. Neither breed is particularly hypoallergenic either, as the President Elect needs.

Next high profile behaviorists or dog trainers want to be the trainer to the President Elect's dog. I can't even imagine the amount of offers that he has most likely received. For a job like this, the trainer (note I didn't say behaviorist) needs to be well versed in obedience and how the ability to perform commands reliably leads to a confident, well adjusted dog, that will be in the public eye. Some of behaviorist Ian Dunbar's fans are calling for his submission to a possible line up of dog trainers. By the posting of his experience in obedience on his blog, http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/major-issue, and the belief that K9 Games will replace this valuable skill in the future, making obedience in either training or competition obsolete, I feel he is quite unqualified for such a position.

It's not that I don't like K9 games idea. I do, in fact it's being used in classes by accomplished trainers, such as Margot Wood, in their weekly group classes. Games of baseball, musical chairs, tic tac toe, are all used as a fun and competitive way to improve their skills in real life.

K9 games seems to focus more on a solitary dog performing in front of a crowd, which has it's place too. But obedience really does prepare, if the obedience trainer wants to prepare, for real life situations when you are very close to strange dogs and strange people for long periods of time.

The children nor President need to compete in obedience, it's important that their trainer is qualified to know what is involved in a public, strange, and busy environment for the dog and from the dog's perspective. JMO Because most behaviorists don't give any credence to the sport of obedience that has been around as the standard for awhile, or quit after qualifying with a CD on their own dog (ie not competing various breeds, and various dogs not owned by them OR training other people to handle their own dogs), they have no idea the beneficial properties that this has to the dog. Therefore, they can not properly instruct a client to more than be sure the human has fun, feed the dog, medicate them, or purely management techniques.

On a less serious and fun note, Time has a pictorial of different first dogs!!

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1830236_1746240,00.html

Who is trying to supress information?

What is it that Nancy Freedman-Smith (owner and trainer at Goodogz in Portland ME), blogger on http://mainepets.mainetoday.com/, doesn't want you to know? She has been working hard these days to suppress information on an organization that I don't agree with, just because she doesn't agree with me. And, oh yes, she is a member of this organization.

Generally, I wouldn't call another trainer out, however, Nancy herself is not afraid to call trainers out in this post and this post and this post and this post...(not me and I would rather you look at the post, rather than give credence to this for those poor trainers) She disagrees with them, and so she can name them. Isn't that special (pulling up the old church lady from Saturday Night Live old school). Apparently, Nancy is so special that she feels free to ban posts from public blogs, with the help of mainepets.com, of an organization that she belongs to, but that I disagree with. It's okay for her to talk about organizations and INDIVIDUALS BY NAME that she disagrees with, however.

She even talked about me on the Truly Dog Friendly Board, behind my back, as she thought it wouldn't get back to me!!!! About this article, she claimed I wasn't even a professional dog trainer without researching it!!!! Slander I say LOL (I really have nothing to worry about from her)! Just do a Google and Yahoo search or find an old copy of the Worcester MA yellow pages from when I lived there. Isn't it good to know you are in the capable hands of someone who looks at the information before posting it?

It is supposedly against mainpets.com's policy to allow their actions to be influenced by other member's disagreements on philosophy (yeah right)!! I am hoping to find a reply in my inbox today, that rectifies this situation. I was quiet and nice before, and didn't complain about her. My bad!!

Nancy Feedman Smith also belong's to the APDT where this kind of conduct is supposedly against professional membership rules. Association of Pet Dog Trainers, what steps have you taken for members like this?

Here is the information that Nancy would like y'all not to see:

There is this one about one of the founders of the Truly Dog-Friendly Organization. And here are the quotes from her that Nancy Freedman Smith and Truly Dog Friendly organization would really REALLY like everyone to forget about (acquired by others from the canine professional certification yahoo public board posts 421 and 430, shhhhhhhh):

"Not all pain-causing methods are prosecutable abuse, but the risk of a dog with aggressive behaviors being abused by someone who uses pain causing methods is high, so yes, given the choice, if it were my dog who had an aggression problem and my only choices were to euthanize or send it to someone who used pain-causing methods, I would choose euthanasia for the dog's well-being. I think a gently death is preferable to abuse." - Pat Miller

You can see why one would want everyone to forget that. Pain causing methods to Pat Miller include traditional training equipment that was recently referenced in an article by me OR electronic collars, which have levels so low that most dogs or humans can even feel them. However due to her philosphy, she would prefer death. Death=Truly Dog Friendly Organization. Huh?

Additionally it would be really good if you forgot this verification forwarded to me after being Posted on Truly Dog Friendly's Public Yahoo board by Pat Miller post # 7015 in it's entirety:

Re: going down with the ship?

<<The fact that someone cited Pat Miller's statement totally out of
context, means that they wish to use that statement against her and
any other positive-reinforcemany other positive-reinf
impression "They'd rather have a dog euthanized than ever use an e-
collar to help train it and save its life."
>>
>>
Actually, stated this way, the comment is essentially true for me, solely
because I believe it's a false premise that a shock collar would be necessary to
save the dog's life. I believe there are always other options. Although I
tend to state it as, "I can't imagine a situation in which I would feel
compelled to use a shock collar."

Ooookaaaayyyyy. Note to self, not the dog trainer for me!! Neither is one who does a consultation for dog training over the phone, without seeing the client in person in her own words. A two minute over the phone consult, and she pinpointed the problem!! Amazing.

Other articles in the series that Nancy Freedman Smith does not want you to know about. Sadly most places practice freedom of speech and democracy.

Here is the advice Nancy Freedman Smith will give you if you call her for help with a biting dog. She is very confident that they can help you.

Here is a picture of Nancy's graduating class. Draw your own conclusions. This wouldn't be good enough for me and my dog, and it shouldn't be good enough for you!!

A manners course normally includes dogs not jumping, and people not encouraging dogs to jump up, especially on children. As a post that is about a graduating class, I don't find these pictures particularly impressive.

Need your dog trained? Visit the http://www.mannerlymutts.com services page. Or contact me at 207-361-4395 in York Maine. Ask for Robin Rubin, Dog Trainer.

Say no to HSUS, PETA, No Shock Collar Coalition (NSCC), International Association of Positive Dog Trainers (IAPDT), or Truly Dog Friendly Organization (TDF). Articles and information on why I do not support these organizations is on here and here.

Need your dog trained?  Visit the http://www.mannerlymutts.com services page.   Or contact me at 207-361-4395 in York Maine.   Ask for Robin Rubin, Dog Trainer.

Say no to HSUS, PETA, No Shock Collar Coalition (NSCC) or Truly Dog Friendly Organization (TDF).  Articles and information on why I do not support these organizations is on here and here.