So why would I be telling you to be careful about group obedience classes?
Here’s the deal:
The overwhelming reason people sign their dog up for a class is because they want their dog to STOP doing certain behaviors. They want their dog to stop jumping, chasing and chewing on the kids, stealing food off the counters and blowing a gasket every time a visitor comes to the house.
The problem with most group obedience classes is that the instructor has probably been indoctrinated by the “positive only” dog training ideology and can’t help you.
They can’t help you because you CAN’T use positive reinforcement to STOP a behavior. They will tell you that you need to redirect, counter condition and other technical terms. Two months later, you’ll still be dealing with the same problems.
Training requires you to teach certain behaviors and to stop others. I know it sounds crazy but there are thousands of trainers that will tell you that you can’t use negative consequences to train your dog.
One of the most important words you can ever teach your dog is “NO.” A dog that understands and responds to the word NO is much safer than a dog that doesn’t.
Don’t believe me? How do you stop a dog from dashing through a door?
How would you use treats or a clicker to stop the dog? You can’t because a positive consequence WILL NOT STOP A BEHAVIOR.
You stop a dog from dashing through the door by saying, “NO,” and applying a negative consequence. Do this a few times and you’ll have verbal control when your front door opens.
I would rather teach a dog the word NO and apply a negative consequence than stick to a flawed philosophy like “all positive” training and see the dog get hit by a 3000 lbs. vehicle.
If you are looking into group obedience classes, make sure you check them out and ask how they deal with behaviors that you’d like to stop. And don’t worry, if you get frustrated, come back to your old friend The Amazing Dog Training Man.
I’ll show you how to teach your dog “YES” and “NO” in The Dog Training Inner Circle.
You can get started for just $1.00 by going here NEXT:
Best,
Eric