yes, i wish the usual folk would cut out all the cesar milan pack leader stuff toward new members as well

A great way to test out training success is to work with a cat. You have the independence, you have the same ease of working within the home in a comfortable environment, but you also have a very independent creature who could care less whether or not you praise etc

and yet, cats are very easy to train using the correct techniques - as are rats, ferrets, lizards, goldfish, whales, sea lions, dolphins and the list goes on

TBF there are many instinctive trainers who have not a qualification to their name and who are world class. Does not mean they do not study (in either the theoretical or empirical sense). It is not actually necessary to attend any course to train a dog.

A teaching qualification per se does not necessarily cover existing methods of training a particular subject, it just means you have the skills in teaching.


Any form of training/teaching involves feedback either externally and or internally.

I would say there is nothing intrinsically cruel in NILIF approach of dog training (or people training for that matter) it is the application of it which requires scrutiny, not the method itself. Of course if the application of this method is incorrect the dogs DOES flail about until he accidentally hits on what the handler wants, but that is true of ANY system a trainer selects to employ.

And dogs do need to know their place as do people.

The training sequence is:

Create the Behaviour
Define the Behaviour
Reinforce the Behaviour
Cue the Behaviour
Maintain the Behaviour

Bribery (known as luring) is used extensively in animal training, this is how we create behaviours in puppies, we then move on so that the behaviour is not contingent on the reinforcer but the reinforcer is contingent on the behaviour.

Failure to move this on is, IMHO, the biggest obstacle to successful dog training.

Reward also does not = reinforcement.

However, when an individual advertises themselves as an expert behaviourist and dog trainer it is usual to back that up by the relevant credentials as failure to do so undermines credibility.

IME the more skilled an individual is, the less they rely on unsupported superlatives to sell themselves.

I can think of several top trainers who have no websites and no need to advertise........

She does have an excellent way with words. Thanks for the link.

rune

Any reason that my questions were never answered?

Not sure the SB's qualification got answered either, did it?

I already know the answers TBF...............

My memory is not so good and I saw so many trainers in Tala's first year of life that it all tends to merge into one, and I have taken from them the bits that have worked for me.

I had forgotten until now about a walk with Steve where he took hold of my dog's line and without a word or move from him she changed from a wild beastie trying to get to every other dog around to a calm obedient dog He told me that this happened because his expectation of her was different to my expectation. I remember his mantra being 'patience and persistence (and perhaps something else???)'

I do also remember a session on the field where we used food to keep our dogs attention.

I do know now that if I expect her to do something she most likely will and if I am worried she won't do it she more likely doesn't

My experience has been that some people have a natural talent with dogs just as people are naturally talented in other areas. It doesn't seem to me to have anything to do with qualifications or belonging to clubs. In fact I have found that the less instinctive trainers often belong to organisations that set the rules so that they have guidelines. I also think that some trainers are skilled at teaching others which is totally separate from their abilities with dogs.

I think it is good to have an open mind and look at different ways of training.

Originally Posted by rune

Oh dear---just done the quiz on your website and my dogs are probably in charge of me LOL.

I've also just undertaken the quiz and it appears my dogs are in charge of me too!

Im sorry but that quiz is total nonsense. Coles is 12 and Buster is 3. Neither have any behavioural problems whatsoever but yet they are in change of me

Another good test subject are rabbits. Very easy to train but being prey animals using any force is not going to work. My rabbits are actually more reliable on a recall than my dogs.

Chickens are great!