How do you believe dogs should be trained?

I asked a question a few minutes ago and got some heated responses criticizing my trainer and her methods! The issue of dog training seems to be a hot topic of debate. So, I'm curious. How do you believe dogs should be trained? What "method" do you…

    How do you believe dogs should be trained?

    I asked a question a few minutes ago and got some heated responses criticizing my trainer and her methods! The issue of dog training seems to be a hot topic of debate. So, I'm curious. How do you believe dogs should be trained? What "method" do you…...
    Dogs Training Discussions : How do you believe dogs should be trained?...

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    • How do you believe dogs should be trained?

      How do you believe dogs should be trained? Dogs Training Discussions
      I asked a question a few minutes ago and got some heated responses criticizing my trainer and her methods! The issue of dog training seems to be a hot topic of debate. So, I'm curious. How do you believe dogs should be trained? What "method" do you prefer?Personally, I believe in pure and simple classical conditioning. It's not a complicated one, but it has a lot of empirical support behind it.@Bells - You did definitely give me some food for thought! I am no expert, and I agree with your red flags.

      How do you believe dogs should be trained?

      How do you believe dogs should be trained? Dogs Training Discussions
    • no...you've never mentioned the trainer's methods in your last question...the only thing that raised flags for me was that she was an expert at "animal behavior"....I look at a good trainer in his/her ability to train HUNDREDS of dogs, of different breeds, different temperaments...not because he/she read a book or 10 .... experience is far more important, than something you read or studied in a classroom...especially when it comes to dogsI just wanted to give YOU food for thought....other than that, I have no clue what kind of trainer you have and what methods she usesanother red flad is when a so called trainer refuses to use certain methods .... all dogs are different and different dogs might require a different approach...this whole "ONE FITS ALL POSITIVE CRAP" that most trainers now use....I dont agree with and wouldnt have my dog "trained" by someone like that....just my opinion, hon!

    • Here is a simple formula for training:1) teach the dog what IT is you want;2) give IT a name;3) reward the dog when he gets IT right; and only after the dog has demonstrated that he knows what it is you want, do you4) correct the dog if he needs help him keeping IT right.Follow that formula always, and it doesn't really matter whose method you employ. The biggest problem dog-owners have is that they mix methods, omit steps, or embellish the material. If you choose to use a specific method of training ... follow the author's instructions.Tony Ancheta

    • I train my dogs with the tried and true Koehler Method of Dog Training.This method produces a reliable and happy dog who performs on one command and one only.I can not say enough good things about this method of dog training.Success is never "old fashioned".Since I live on a horse ranch, my dogs obeying me on one command can save their life.I have watched this method work on all kinds of dogs with all kinds of temperaments.My own dogs are all very "soft" , with one dog coming from a DOCUMENTED (not imagined) case of abuse/neglect.Visit this website to learn more about it-from the sourcehttp://koehlerdogtraining.comADD- Never trust anyone who calls themselves a "Behaviorist", real dog trainers KNOW dog behavior, they did not "learn" about it from reading a book.

    • Easy answer - my Basset train me. Always have, probably always will. This didn't work quite as well with my Whippet who tested my patience big time early days. But I suppose if truth were told, the fact we now live together in peace and harmony, means she too has me trained.I do subscribe to positive correction - in other words, rewarding the good, and treating the bad with silence, unless caught in the act!

    • Having been a competition obedience trainer for over 40 years, I've seen training methods come and go. The old pop and jerk method of leash training has been replaced by treat based positive methods which is producing a much happier pet in and out of the ring. The old Alpha and Domination theory has long gone by the wayside, thankfully, as more and more trainers are reverting to the more positive forms of training supported by Karen Pryor, Dr. Dunbar, Pat Miller, and many more of the more active trainers.Cesar Millan is setting training back many years which is a shame, because what is shown on his show is the finished product and not the cruel and harsh treatment he used to get the dog there.Behind the scenes people on the show have reported some of the things they've seen done and now there is a disclaimer before every show telling you "not to try this at home". Cesars training is something he dreamed up, not something that has been proven over the years by anyone other than him. Once I threw away all the outdated training that I was originally taught, my dogs started doing better, were happier and the bond between use grew stronger.The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior posted a position statement on dominance;http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/dominance%20statement.pdf You might find this interesting.

    • Show the dog what you want, motivate the dog to do it, in anyway it takes, make the dog do it, no choices, no variables, proof the dog, end of. That is not the problem here, the problem that makes everyone sht is the tools mentioned when training a dog, things like chokers and prongs and E collars. Hope I helped.

    • I dont believe in yelling, or abusing my dog in any way... so Usually I will only give him feedback if he does something good.. My dog sits and stays he comes when I call and he knows random frazes... like if I say "Ted, wanna go for a car ride?" He runs to his leash, lies down and waits for me to put it on, then I open the door and he runs to the passenger seat and sits and waits til I come to open the door for him :P also if I say Wanna go for a walk? he will go lay by his leash. If I say Leave it or no he will stop what hes doingHe does a few cute tricks... like if I put a treat in my hand and say "Which hand" he will sniff both closed hands and then tap on the hand that has the treat in it :P he also gives high fives... He is a pretty well trained dog, but he does do that many tricks :P and other then the "Which hand" trick, he does everything without reward... when we first started we rewarded him with praise and occasionaly gave him treats.. but its funny if we give him a treat, he wont take it unless we ask him to do a trick :Phes a funny dog :Palso in the morning my mom says something like "Go get (Insert Family members name here)" and then he goes into that persons room, jumps on their bed and licks their face until they wake up :P he does it with me and 5 of my siblings. when my grandma walks up the stairs he will try helping her by walking right beside her and gently putting her hand in his mouth... its like he holds her hand :P if my granny is watching TV he is always with her :P he loves her :P also to me a trained dog is a dog who is friendly dog who would NEVER bite anyone unless they were harming one of their loved ones... my dog has only growled at a few people... all of whom werent good people... but he has never visciously bit anyone. When he was a puppy he would bite in a playful way... but after a week or 2 of us saying no and walking away from him when he did that, he stoppedWe took my dog to a group training session, where I trained him with instructions from a dog trainer. and then when we came home I would practice what we learned... I think thats the best way

    • I use motivational training to clearly fix a command to the expected behavior, consistent practice to embed it & some form of compulsion training to ensure that the dog obeys reliably [99% of the time] regardless of the strength of its instinct or inclination to environmental stimulus.As an example one of my dogs would always choose to chase a rabbit I would be boring in comparison to what is a strong natural instinct, & would not remain at heel not reacting to prey or drop in a down to please me or for a tasty piece of steak, but as a rule would suppress the instinct to avoid the right level/type of correction for the individual dog.All dogs are individuals, so no two dogs necessarily learn in the same way, at the same rate or are motivated by the same things, so I adapt the training to suit the dog to achieve the goal I want.

    • Basically: Reward a good behavior, correct a bad oneBut, different levels of correction and rewards depend on the dog, with timid dogs they don't need to be shown who is boss but need more love and care, but they will still need a correction, just a light one. With dominant strong willed dogs and inbetween dogs you will first need to put them in their place, then once they trust and respect you, you can lighten the corrections because they will listen to you better.Different dogs, different training, sometimes all it takes with dogs is "No" and with others it might take sending it to the crate or a light spank.Trainers like Zak George seem to always assume every dog needs the same training, but that's just not true, with the more aggressive dominant dogs, you can't 'train them with love' or whatever he calls it, you have to show them who's boss, otherwise they will not respect you or obey you...ADD: Shock collars should not be used on scared timid dogs, because they tend to be nervous they will relate the shock to things around them, like that bathtub they were standing next to when they were barking uncontrollably, now you won't be able to easily give the dog a bath. Things like that can happen with simply yelling no, for example, I gave my female timid dog a rawhide, my male took it from her and ran off, I caught him and yelled at him then I gave her back her rawhide, months later she was still scared to death of any kind of rawhide.ADD: As for tools, I use a prong collar, I used to use a choker chain but he pulled too hard and I didn't want to hurt him, besides that it wasn't working, now that I use a prong collar he does not pull and obeys much better on leash. Prong collars entire design is to NOT hurt a dog, the prongs are dull and set at an angle, it loosens when they are not pulling, and when it is loose they don't feel much because the prongs are at an angle and just sit there. Most of peoples problems with prong collars is because they don't know much about them, but I must say that they are also not for scared dogs, at least not until you have a good relationship with it.@Labman - Sorry, but I don't think YOU have very much experience at all, I can slap my dog on the butt a dozen times and all he would do is look at me (yes, I have tested), maybe not even that, he is oblivious and laid back, but he is a very dominant dog and needs firm training, before I was firm with him (like I have said in my answer) he was impossible to even pet! Now, all it takes is a little yelling and he heads for his dog house and that's his punishment. So, you go around dissing everyones opinions (I have seen you a few times, you are very bias and narrow minded) and 'experience', what experience do you have? All I've seen is rude answers that try to defend crappy foods like Purina (which IS bad and that is something basic ANY dog person should know) WITHOUT any sources, THEN you try to insult ME for not having any 'facts'. Incase you don't know what I am talking about: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiG5_Wz_JIWK9xpV5SNPXobty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20110802214959AAif5n6So you assume all dogs need the same training and give the same results? Sorry, but every dog is an individual and needs different care and training...I just read this answer: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqK.Lql6pEQ5Nlwv_.6TLRvty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20110913210024AA4smEGSo you feed pro plan? These are the first three ingredients (Shredded Blends Natural Adult Dog Food) "Chicken & Rice: Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat", since they measure in weight before it's all made into kibble 80% of that weight is water which is taken out in the process, if it had been chicken MEAL it would have been already dried and the weight would not have changed in the process of making it into kibble, so really the main ingredient is whole grain WHEAT! But besides that, if you think that is truly the first ingredient, you want RICE to be a main part of your dogs diet? I am a person who believes in a raw diet, prey model raw to be exact, but even BARF people believe meat should be the main ingredient, and people who educate themselves make sure meat is the main part of their kibble, not crappy by-products though, you really want your dog living off of cow brains and chicken feet?http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag5jjHeW0NgurmBNd3.aRT7ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20110914030318AAp6E2YSalmonella? Really? Goodness @5:54 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3wLTlqnMMg(my pup was raw fed by the breeder, I plan to get him back on that diet! Oh, and he's not sick or dead)You get plenty of thumbs down so I guess plenty of DS people know how uneducated you are, but still, I had to get that out...

    • Dogs and handlers should be trained as a unit, and the method used should be one that is effective to meet the handler's goals.Every method and tool exists because it was useful for some dog working with some handler to accomplish some goal at some time. Good trainers recognize this and are willing to keep filling their "tool box" with new techniques, on the other hand, trainers recognize when they are not qualified or experienced enough to use or teach a method or tool or when a tool is not one that will ever be useful to meet their goals for whatever reason. The key as a trainer is to be good at reading both the dog and the handler and the dynamic between them and then helping them choose and use the right tool.For myself and the dogs that I work with, dogs selected, primarily from rescue, based on their temperamental suitability to my goals and style, I teach-with-treats and proof-with-prong and have been very successful in obedience, agility, etc and have been successful in helping many students use variations on that theme with their own dogs. I am willing to use even techniques I would never use on my own dog for certain dog-handler teams that need them: i.e. retractable leashes and head halters (shudder) or to refer them to a trainer that I know uses the appropriate technique (i.e. e-collars).Note: Classical Conditioning (ala Pavlov) is NOT training and is only the appropriate term for causing an instinctive, unalterable response to occur when a conditioned stimuli is presented - drooling to a bell. Sitting, recalls, heeling, etc are NOT instinctive, unalterable responses and so that is not the right term. The term you are probably looking for is Operant Conditioning (ala Skinner), where the organism's frequency and patterns of voluntary behaviors are altered by the stimuli presented - i.e. reinforcer or punisher. Also note that strict behaviorism is basically dead as a well-accepted psychological theory, cognitivism and the idea of internal processes, thoughts, etc has been widely accepted since the 60's.Parts of behaviorism and conditioning are VERY useful, like shaping and the ideas of both positive and negative rewards and punishments, but strict behaviorism based on Skinner's techniques is not possible for the average pet owner, nor would it be considered humane if attempted. Note that in Skinner's famous experiments the animals had food withheld until they were 90-75% of their normal weight to assure that they would respond to the reward - something I am just not willing to do to my dog! I believe that my dog has the capability to think and to decide, and my training and corrections reflect that belief, and have had great results for me.

    • Anybody that knows anything is going to positive methods. Koehler? In this day and age? He is worse than Milan. There is no excuse for abusive methods. I recently was privileged to attend a presentation by Ken Ramirez of the Shedd Aquarium. I hadn't realized they have a large dog training program. Dogs work well on training the public in positive animal training. He had videos showing how well their methods work with a number of species. How you going to fit a prong collar on Flipper? @Bells, your personal experience doesn't even amount to a drop of water in the bucket of the dog world. I am grateful to learn from the likes of Ken Ramirez, the Monks of New Skete, Patricia Mcconnell, Ian Dunbar, Diane Kowolski, and many others. How many large, controlled studies does your personal experience include?