Can you believe that there are trainers out there that actually disagree with me?
Yes, I am as shocked as you are but yesterday’s email struck a cord and the backlash was fast and furious. ADTM was under fire yesterday taking it from all sides.
BUT…..
…….no worries.
I’ll stay the course and promise to continue to clear the confusion about dog training and help you out.
Yesterday I made some recommendations about finding a group obedience class. My observations were on point, succinct, timely and incredibly useful. And I still recieved email from other dog trainers that disagreed with me. Some were nice, some not so nice. Here are some of the nice emails:
“Friendly advice:
Are there really positive reinforcement only trainers out there in your world, cuz I’ve never met one in mine. And further, I don’t believe it is possible. When you make such statements you are leveling unfair criticism towards others in your line of work and confusing an innocent public in the process.
Don’t you think there is enough animosity between trainers and their styles already without using misleading or partial statements in your marketing?
Be the Pro I think you are and the world will come to your door.
Best,” J T
Another email:
“You as a “trainer” need to go and learn about the science behind force free training. You need to educate yourself about the fact that it can be used to stop behavior.” L F
Let’s address JT first: Here is what he said: “When you make such statements you are leveling unfair criticism towards others in your line of work and confusing an innocent public in the process.”
Sorry JT, it’s not criticism, I am stating fact. When I help someone train their dog I use ALL FOUR behavior quadrants depending on the situation. If the situation requires me to STOP a behavior I won’t use or attempt to use Positive Reinforcement because the very definition of PR is: the addition of a reward following a desired behavior.
Please tell me how you keep a dog in a yard without a physical fence or the use of a negative consequence. No amount of treating the dog for staying in the yard is going to keep the dog in the yard UNTIL a negative consequence is applied when a boundary is passed.
NEXT….
…..I am working hard to clear up the confusion. If you want to see confusion, please go to my blog and read the article I wrote about one of the most respected trainers in the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. He INTENTIONALLY misleads a room full of trainers wanting to learn about aggression. Instead, he pushes a flawed agenda. Watch his video, read my comments, come back and we can discuss who is confusing who. Here is the article: Dog trainer misleads room full of dog trainers
MORE….
JT tells us that their are no force free trainers and LF is instructing me to learn the science behind it.
LF stated: “You as a “trainer” need to go and learn about the science behind force free training. You need to educate yourself about the fact that it can be used to stop behavior.”
I love how the “force free,” “ all positive” crowd thinks they have the monopoly on the term, “scientific training.” Here’s the deal. There is nothing scientific about “force free” or “all positive” training. It is flawed because as much as LF tells me that I need to educate myself about force free training, you can tear apart their theory in seconds.
Give me a big rib eye steak and let me put it on a counter. Bring a dog in and show me your “scientific training methods” and use positive reinforcement to stop the behavior.
You going to give the dog something else to do? Are you going to ask the dog to sit in the corner?
Good luck. As soon as you leave the room that dog is going for that steak. Scientifically, the way you would stop the behavior is to use the P+ quadrant and apply a well-timed negative consequence WHICH DOES NOT HAVE TO HURT THE DOG.
Show me how to keep a dog in the yard using positive reinforcement and I’ll promote it from the top of the hills.
Because you can’t.
So please, if you decide to write, don’t tell me that I am confusing or misleading dog owners. Don’t tell me that I need to educate myself on force free training because I’ve seen it all up close and personal. I am the guy leading baffled dog owners through the wilderness of murkiness and despair, through the maze of flawed dog training theories and opinions. The one guy that gives it to you straight in a humble and unassuming way.
Haha!
And I’ve said it before, dogs are dying because of the “all positive,” “force free” agenda being pushed everywhere. What is more important to you people? An ideology or helping dogs live long, happy lives.
Excluding negative consequence from training is NOT helping. Let your emotions and feelings go and use your brain to make the right decisions and start helping more dogs.
Okay…..
….let’s wrap this up. If you’d like to be part of The Dog Training Inner Circle you can join for just $1.00!
Why so low? Because by the time many dog owners find me they have spent a lotta dough with little or no results. I’ll let you jump in for just $1.00 and you can see for yourself if I’m a chump talking smack.
How can you go wrong for just $1.00? You can’t even get a small Dunkin Donuts coffee for a buck. Here’s where to go NEXT:
Best,
Eric