25/04/2024
Love this by Good Guardianship!๐๐๐
There are very few people I trust to care for my dogs & when choosing your trainer please make sure that their ethics are in line with your own. We want our dogs to feel safe with us, to build trust & build a bond with them & it's so important that training ties in with that!
I recently took in a fab foster girl who had little to no training, was quite jumpy/overexcited & was very fearful of strangers/men. Through rewards based training alone she has blossomed-she has lots of cues & has calmed so much. She loves to show off her tricks & will often offer up a "sit" or a "down" without being asked & look at my treat pouch because she knows she'll get rewarded. She does the same thing with toileting - she could be at the other end of the garden & will return to me once she's toileted as she knows she'll get praised. (In order to keep her @ a healthy weight I factor her training food into her overall intake of food.)
I can't imagine she'd be so eager to return to me if I had treated her harshly, been forceful or used aversives! She has only had positive interactions with me & so if she's unsure of something or even if she just wants a little rub she doesn't hesitate to run straight over to me. Isn't that what we want?!๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ๐ฅฐ
I know I much prefer that she runs towards me than away from me! (Something that proved very helpful when her lead snapped on a walk & she ran straight back to me๐ฅน๐)
If you need recommendations for ethical trainers feel free to DM, there are 3 or 4 based in county Galway who are amazing!
Training should never make those involved uncomfortable, anxious, or scared. That includes both human and dog.
It can sadly be easy to assume that a trainer is giving the best advice because they are a professional and so must know what they are doing.
The thing is that there are trainers who have not kept up to date with how our knowledge and understanding of how dogs learn and their emotional capacity over the last few decades and so, although they think they are doing things correctly, they are causing fear and discomfort to dogs and showing caregivers out of date advice that might harm the relationship between human and dog.
Even worse there are those who don't care. They market themselves based on 'quick fixes' and appealing to ego, talking about dominance, needing to be the boss, the 'alpha' or the 'pack leader'. They claim that they are imitating natural behaviour and treating dogs like the 'tame wolves that they are'.
Dogs are not wolves - related, yes, but with thousands of years of evolution to live alongside humans that distance them from their modern cousins. Dogs do not operate a strict hierarchy, there is no set breeding pair (which is what in fact defines the alpha wolves in wolf packs) and, perhaps most importantly, dogs know that we are not dogs.
We are a part of a family unit together, but we are not the same, so dogs do not think of us in those terms. And, if we look at the definition of dominance as being the one in charge, the one who controls access to food and other resources, it quickly becomes clear that in human homes, we are most definitely the dominant individuals.
Our dogs' lives are short and our time with them precious, so if you find your trainer is making either of you uncomfortable, walk away. Find a trainer who works with behaviour in a gentle way, not using fear and suppression behaviours by force, but who shows the dog what we would like instead.
