Quote:
Originally Posted by millitntanimist
We only train very large/wild/intelligent animals with R+ and P- (cats, bears, whales, dolphins, apes, birds, elephants, . . . wolves  ). I find it highly dubious that dogs are somehow more difficult (and therefore requiring of P+) to train than these. |
The difficulty with dogs versus zoo animals is that they are kept in a rich environment, form a closer social relationship with people, and are allowed privileges to the point that many are under the impression they run the household and can therefore do whatever they want. Some, sadly, are often even today, trained behind the scenes using harsher P+ than any of us could tolerate watching, though!
Many of the most effective P+ for dogs are actually displays of dominance that they can easily understand. When BenMax walked directly INTO the dog, the dog was not physically or mentally harmed in any way, but what she did still qualifies as P+.
If you allow a bear, ape, elephant, etc. the run of your house, permission to sniff your kitchen cupboards and sleep on your bed and so forth, you will find some very difficult problems. If you confine your dog to a cage, bring food and water twice a day and let him out a couple times to do tricks, you will find him only slightly more likely to challenge you as an equal than those other species.
Cats, of course, do believe in P+ and will use it on a misbehaved human.