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Old March 23rd, 2011, 05:36 PM
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babymomma babymomma is offline
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my .2 cents .

I do not like the "dominance theory" my dogs know i am a human. They know i am not a dog and they do not treat me as i am a dog.
Its not that i dont agree that sometimes, you have to take control of your dog, because they tend to think they can do whatever, but it is not because they are trying to "dominate me" or be a "packleader"
I certainly will never agree with the neck jabs and the alpha rolling. And i will NEVER use anything but positive reinforcment on a dog showing agression. Ive done it once before and now realize why its so bad. It set us back months on training.

If you use agression to treat agression, the agression will only get worse.
I know dogs arent humans, but this is the way i see it .

Say you are mad at somebody, and you try to talk to the about it but you are so mad you start yelling, well that other person is likely going to yell back because they get defensive and angry as well. They start yelling and that p*sses you off even more so you start yelling louder and it escalates. Its an endless cycle until somebody gets mad enough that they just leave. And both are left fuming.

You try to alpharole a dog, or give it a neck jab, or whatever other techniques that could be considered agressive or uncomofortable for a dog, the dog is likely going to get worse.

Now using cesar millan as an example, he uses these, and things ALWAYS get worse with the dog, it escalates into a big explosion from the dog then BAMM, the dog is suddenly fixed.Problem solved right? erm, no. It isnt. The problem has been masked, a sort of "sweeping it under the rug" situation. The dogs frustration, causes the dogs to shut down. I dont know if you've ever watched the show with the volume off so you can recognize the dogs body language instead of listening to all the carp CM is pumping out. These are NOT happy dogs.
There is a reason the disclaimer comes on the t.v before the show starts "Do NOT try these techniques at home"
Dont get me wrong, I thought CM was a god at one point. But certain things in life that i have experienced has taught me otherwise. Actually learning more about it from MANY experienced trainers has helped me.

That said, when im training, i use a scattered collar pop, but its with certain dogs. Certain dogs need it, not because they try to "dominate me" but because they are more, Hardheaded and "stubborn" i will say. They need little more hands on type stuff. Take keely for example, if i try a collar pop on her, she shuts down immediently. which means training session over because my dog has officaially shut down.

Training should be a FUN and enjoyable situation for all thats involved. A dog shouldnt be made uncomfortable.

I am a positive based trainer, but i do not always use treats, but there is ALWAYS a reward for good behaviour. Your dog should WANT to work for you and want to please you. How else can you honestly expect them to want to if rewards arent envolved? Sure they will do it if trained a different way, but in my experience the dog is not close to half as eager to please you.

Treats are used in our actual training sessions, time that i take out of my day specifically to work on tricks, or recall, down stays etc.

But its not like my dogs dont listen to me the other 80 % of the time when we are outside and i want them to come back, they certainly do not look back when i call them and be like "You haz no treats silly human, i dun want no parts of this" . My dogs all come bounding back happy as clams if i call them. They get no treats but they sure enjoy a "good dog" and a pat on the head.

Thats just what i have experienced and what they have taught me.
Thanks for reading
Now... Click/treat! for actually getting through it.

Ask me something if it is unclear. I LOVE discussions about training
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Keely - Yorkie
Haley - German Shepherd
Casey - version 2.0 - Black lab
Jasper - White cat

R.I.P Casey #1.
Gone but never ever forgotten.
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