FAQ: Dog Training
Is my dog too old to train?
Curious? Have a question? Email me and ask!
There’s no such thing! Dogs of any age can learn whatever you wish to teach. In fact, sometimes, more mature dogs are easier to train because they have less energy! Whether you have an 8-week old puppy or a 10 year old shelter dog, the outcome of training depends on many factors, none of which include age.
Do you guarantee your training?
NO! Be wary of trainers who guarantee dog training results – this is very much frowned upon by educated professional trainers and animal behaviorists. It can also simply be a way to keep you coming back, even when you’re unhappy with the results – if you go to someone else for an opinion, it voids the “warranty.” No one can guarantee the outcome of a dog training or behavior modification program. A dog is a living, breathing creature with a powerful brain and wills and desires of its own! The success of any dog training program depends on many factors, including the time and effort that the owners are able to provide, the personality of the dog, the type of behavior being changed, the techniques applied, and more. And of course, training a dog is a life-long job – to put it simply, if you don’t use it, you lose it! I can, however, promise that the methods I teach, use, and love are the latest and most sound offered by the scientific community and have been proven humane and effective over and over again by world-renowned dog trainers, behaviorists, veterinarians, and specialists in all canine fields.
Jackson: candidate for Cutest Puppy Ever Award?
What do you think of the Dog Whisperer?
I think it’s fantastic that he’s brought so much awareness to pet owners about the possibilities of dog training – gone are the days when the family pet had to be relinquished or euthanized because he has behavior problems. Gone are the days when it was acceptable to tie a dog up in the yard instead of train it. Milan has taught dog owners that there’s hope out there, and that it takes work, but improvement is possible! He’s also brought awareness to the plague of both homeless, and loved but grossly underexercised and understimulated dogs in our society, which is wonderful.
However, my methods are fundamentally different from his. I think we need to shift our focus away from simple dominance hierarchies in considering animal behavior. Dogs are socially complex animals, and contrary to popular myth, they don’t spend all their time trying to figure out how to usurp their humans or other dogs! Consequently, physical shows of punishment do nothing but damage a dog-human relationship. Knowledge is power. The more you know about how dogs truly learn, the more tools you have for enhancing your relationship with your dog. Have a look at this fabulous dog training article from 4Paws University; it also links to more scientifically-backed articles for more information. The Dog Whisperer Controversy
Do you use food in your dog training?
Yes! Food is what behavior professionals call a “primary reinforcer,” that is, it’s a stimulus that is rewarding (or sometimes pleasurable) in and of itself, and most likely has obtained this function through evolution and its role in a species’ survival. For us land mammals, primary reinforcers include food, sleep, sex, air and water. Out of that list, food is obviously the easiest to manipulate to our advantage (and let’s face it, if we asked most dogs, they’d be pleased to be offered food). Food is also instant gratification for your dog. It’s not by any means the only positive reinforcement tool used in dog training, but it’s often the easiest and most powerful.
Won’t my dog need food forever, then?
Not at all. Once a dog has mastered a behavior thoroughly, food is no longer necessary (but I’m sure it’s greatly appreciated!) To be quite blunt, if you need to use food every time you want your dog to behave, you’re doing it wrong! I will teach you how to “fade” the food as quickly as possible. Have a look at this excellent article, written by Dr. Ian Dunbar, world renowned animal behaviorist: Food Critics
My dog doesn’t like food. Can he still be trained?
Yes. Some dogs aren’t born immediately inhaling everything you put in front of their nose; that’s OK (and beneficial in some ways!) The important idea is to reinforce good behavior! Even better, it is possible (and not too hard) to actually teach a dog to enjoy certain foods. Contact me for more information; together we can put together some ideas on how to train your dog. This is not an insurmountable problem and it doesn’t mean that a dog training class won’t work; it just requires thinking out of the box a little!
Why don’ t you use choke, shock or prong collars in your training?
Because there’s a better way. When you induce pain or discomfort in an animal, you increase anxiety and frustration. (And that is how these tools work, by the way – by inducing pain or discomfort as an incentive for a dog to correct his behavior. They’re not magic, as many people seem to believe.) Anxiety and frustration tip over very easily into fear and aggression. This is not a sound way to train a dog, any more than it’s a sound way to train a giraffe or a lion! It is much safer (and more pleasant for the dog and owner alike) to avoid these tools as much as possible, especially since better ways have been proven even more effective! Increasingly, studies are showing that aggressive or aversive dog training methods can breed aggression in dogs. Have a look at a quick synopsis of the most recent research here: Karen Pryor Risky Training article Also have a look at Penn State’s recent article on aversive dog training, particularly of the type seen on television: Questions about aversive training
