We get a lot of great comments on our videos, and sometimes I come across one that inspires a podcast episode like this one. I’m answering a very thoughtful question that many people might have. Should you abandon one training philosophy for another when results appear elusive? And should you pick a dog training lane and stay in that lane? Professional dog trainers often forget what it’s like to be starting out. That can lead to learning overwhelm and students feeling less confident about the education they’re getting and giving their dogs, so it’s important for everyone to know the direction they are heading.
In the episode you'll hear:
- A listener question about abandoning a dog training method when results could be around the corner.
- Why compassionate, efficient, and effective dog training is the trifecta of my methodology.
- The difference between finding behaviors to praise vs. behaviors to punish.
- False assumptions that some balanced dog trainers make about positive reinforcement.
- That with enough time, any dog training method will work, but there are other considerations.
- Questions to ask yourself when your dog doesn’t behave as you expected.
- How my mentor Bob Bailey defines the difference between a good trainer and a great trainer.
- What “behavior is a function of consequence” means with dog training as an example.
- Why I believe the use of aversives to change behavior in dog training are antiquated.
- The two factors of mechanics and the other 23 hours of the day in dog training progress.
Resources:
- DogsThat YouTube Channel
- Podcast Episode 185: I Tried That, It Didn’t Work
- Podcast Episode 195: Making Your Mind Your Most Powerful Dog Training Tool
- YouTube Playlist: Reinforcement, Permissions and Transfer of Value in Dog Training
- Podcast Episode 193: Do Different Dogs Really Need Different Dog Training Methods?
- YouTube Playlist: Mastery of Positive Reinforcement Based Dog Training
- YouTube Playlist: Susan Garrett's Dog Training Philosophy and Training Processes
- Podcast Episode 197: Outsmarting Distractions: How To Use Environmental Reinforcement in Dog Training
- Podcast Episode 74: Yes, Susan Garrett’s Dogs Sniff On Walks
- Podcast Episode 11: The Power of Permission in Dog Training
- YouTube Video: Understanding Your Dog's Reinforcement Zone (RZ)
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
Hi Susan this is a great episode. I also got a lot from the conversation you had with Ivan .
Below is the message I left under that one.
Your final comments really resonated with me. When things aren’t going well, how often do we take seriously the animal’s lived experience and health as impacting on what we are asking them to do ?
Comment under your discussion with Ivan:
This is such a great conversation. The fact that you are both so respectful of each other, despite such very clear differences of opinion, is really refreshing. I applaud and it’s a model we should all strive to replicate.
I could be identified as a sceptic of Susan’s recallers approach . In 2016 and 2017, I diligently followed the game based protocols, with the lure of the happy ever after videos that draw us all on to the program. Despite working really hard, and making some progress in the garden, with my shy, scent driven spaniel. We NEVER got anywhere near the prize of anything looking like connection anywhere remotely stimulating. I was crest fallen.
Experts advised an e collar, but, thankfully, by this time I was far enough down the knowledge route of understanding the fall out of punishment that I declined to entertain that process. We stuck with a 15 m biothane line which allowed her some freedom, and came to terms that our life together was not going to be as planned.😪
Fast forward 6 years and a chance contact with a highly experienced behaviorist with knowledge of canine massage, identified that our cocker had a tiny hardly noticeable pain response twitch in a small area of her spine.
Following investigations, she has now had surgery for trapped nerve in her lower spine. Her behavior changes post surgery suggests she has been in pain ALL her life and that her hyper arousal was her way of blocking out that constant pain.
IMAGINE. if I had used a punishment based approach to animal that was already suffering!
Thank you both Ivan and Susan. Lots of food for thought here