Something borrowed ... (not really; the history and science of dog training)

Most people know about Pavlov... ring a bell?

Some people know about Skinner... need a box?

Keller Breland, Mirriam Breland Bailey, Bob Bailey?

How about Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, Karyn Pryor, Pat Miller?

All of the above have contributed enormously to the work of properly educated and scientifically fluent based dog trainers around the world.  Notice I didn't mention any names of two North American training personalities (one in the US and one in Canada).

There is science behind training; whether people know it or not.  For many many years, the Training community relied on lore passed down from trainer to trainer.  Most of this lore still used came from training of war dogs.  During the wars dogs had to be resilient; the methods used weeded out dogs that were not resilient were washed out.  The harshness of the training was passed on after the wars; if your dog didn't live up to those standards, it usually meant an uncomfortable end ("He's defying me", "He's not trainable" etc).  There was little scientific knowledge with this training; even though they were using what Pavlov and Skinner had already figured out in the Laboratory. 

The people that brought science out of the lab into the world were the Brelands and Bob Bailey; students of Skinner.  Using their techniques, they realized quickly that science worked quite well in the real world to train animals of all sizes and stripes.

Karyn Pryor and Ian Dunbar took these ideas and ran farther with them; turning them into usable and practical  methods for every day people.  Questioning the need for force at all.  If, as some said, dogs were willing to please, why did you need force?  Why could you use methods not involving force on some animals and need them on dogs?  There was no logic in that and they proved there was little need to bully or coerce a dog.  Making the dog do something was incompatible with them wanting to do it or wanting to be with you; reward the correct behaviour and you don't have to worry about all the other nasty.

The discussion continues though.  Those claiming that dogs need to be put in their place will still use the old excuses.  It should be an issue of Consumer Rights.  Many of us will be happy if those that use force, coercion, pain, discomfort and/or bullying/intimidation come out and tell people outright what they plan on doing to motivate without the euphemisms of "alpha", "dominance", "pack leader" or "energy" speak.  The public will decide, just like the public decided on the abuse of children and spouses -- the change in law followed.  There is an ethical responsibility of ALL trainers to be straight forward with effects their methods will have; not to hide them.  Science tells us what effects different types of training uses; if someone doesn't understand the science, they cannot understand what their methods will do.  If they don't know, how is the public suppose to know?

(thanks to Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, Kayrn Pryor and the others mentioned here for all the work they have done to get us to this point)

Something New.... (Loose Leash Walking)

Something New...

Leash walking is one of the most intense behaviours to get out of a dog.  Why?  If you think about it, there is so many other more interesting things to do.  So, what do we do?  We either train the heck out of them, or if you're a bit lazy like most of us are (including me), there are things we can use to reduce the pulling.

Harnesses and head halters are a wonderful addition in the last few years.   Although many are touted as  "No-Pull" with the right other motivation SQUIRREL! your dog can easily CAT! pull you along if it really DEAD FISH! wants to.  I would term them pull reducing harnesses.  The harnesses I am talking about are ones that attach at the front of the chest to use their own forward momentum against them.  As a scientist, I liken it like a fulcrum; depending on where it is, the more effect it will have.  It works against a natural reflex as well.

Get someone to pull you by the arm, quickly, and without any warning (no 1...2....3!).  Your natural instinct will be to pull BACK against this (the same with a shove).  Sensible/Sensation, Easy Walk and Freedom harnesses are the common these days for anti-pull harnesses.  They work the same way because you can attach them at the front (the Freedom harness has an additional attachment at the back) and this acts as the fulcrum.  Ideally these are used in conjunction with training, but for some, all they use is these for a long long time without training... once back on the collars though, they will likely start pulling again.  Nose halters and Gentle leaders will be the same.

Halters and Gentle Leaders are designed more to control the head (gently, not with a rough hand - snapping heads around can cause damage to the dog, which might lead to other problems).   I don't recommend these as much as harnesses because if the dog loves to walk nicely and then SUDDENLY charge, the same head snap can happen.  But for a dog that is all over the map (street) and is a bit less focused to specific things, these work well; it also allows you to get reactive dogs off of whatever stimulus triggers their reactivity.  Training is helpful here too, but many don't bother.

Training is intensive and takes time, but is well worth it.  The main concept in teaching a dog not to pull is to play "Red Light, Green Light" (Ian Dunbar).  Every time the dog starts to go forward to pull, you stop, and wait for them to focus back on you or (better still) to come back to your side.  For chronic pullers, this means a lot of stopping and waiting, but once the dog starts to understand what you want, it becomes a lot easier.  Patience is a supreme virtue when it comes to Loose Leash Walking, but it is well worth it.