|
|
By Adam C. Stone
From Yank &
Jerk, To Spiritual Healing. Discover why dog trainers have evolved from
punishment oriented 'controllers'
to well meaning 'naturalists'.
 The topic. . . puppy training; what could be less
controversial than the topic of training your puppy? I know: the
movement of a butterfly's wings. Oh, wait a minute, there are probably
two entomologists fighting over that topic right now.
Puppy training is a vast topic that has had the world of puppy trainers
feuding for years. Some trainers believe that puppies are pack animals,
descendants of wolves that need to be trained with a rigid adherence to
pack social structure. Famous trainers like Carole Lee Benjamin, Job
Michael Evans and Caesar Millan use terms like "alpha", "leader", and
"domination", to help puppy owners better control their puppies.
Then, on the other end of the spectrum we have equally famous trainers
like Ian Dunbar, Karen Prior and Jean Donaldson who use a much more
academic approach. Although these trainers respect the fact that puppies
are social animals, descendants of a now extinct variety of wolf, they
do not hold the 'humans must dominate their dogs' views. Rather, they
focus on ways to motivate dogs with fun, food, and toys.
There are also a great many puppy trainers who share the 'anything goes'
point of view. These trainers believe that all dogs are different and
therefore call for a vast number of training methods. On one hand these
puppy trainers will advise you to reward your dog with love and fun, but
when that does not work they are quick to break out more hard-hitting
dog training devices such as shock and prong collars.
This brings us to the million
dollar question. . .
Is There A Right Or Wrong Way To Train
A Dog?
To some degree we all recognize that beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. I just so happen to think that Janet Jackson is the most
beautiful woman alive. One of my best friends strongly disagrees and
admires the look of any tattooed "babe" that he sees.
I like smooth brown skin; he likes barbells in the nose. Interestingly,
our views on dogs are equally different. He likes dogs that look like
his women. He owns a Rottweiler and a Bulldog. I guess I also like dogs
that look like my women; I own a Greyhound.
If we follow this topic further down the road, we soon discover that
almost everything we have in our lives has to do with what we have in
our heads. We create our own reality by pulling together whatever dream
bits we can afford to gather. Your car, your home, your husband, and
even your dog are reflections of you. Consider the breed that you
purchased. Why did you purchase it? Because you like the way it looks.
Now consider the way it behaves? Why does it behave that way? - because
your belief systems, when imposed on a dog, create the caliber of canine
behavior with which you are living.
Our Dogs Mirror Our Own Beliefs
An acquaintance of mine owns a Borzoi that refuses to come when it is
called. She believes that it is because her dog loves to run and play
and that he cannot help himself. Because she believes that the dog
cannot help himself, it follows that she will do little to alter the
behavior. The end result: she owns a dog that will not respond when it
is asked to "come".
Another acquaintance of mine has an uncanny reputation for teaching even
the most
wayward dog to come when called. When asked to reveal the
secret to her success, she calmly explains, "I know that dogs can come
when called, and so they do." In her mind there is no excuse for a dog
not responding to the word "come". Consequently, she continues to work
with a dog until she gets an end result that matches her belief system.
Jean Donaldson, a well known dog trainer and author of The Culture
Clash, writes in her book that she has never met a dog that possesses a
desire to please. Since she believes that she has never met such a dog,
she resorts to training methods that lure and reward dogs with food
treats. She believes that the strongest motivation for most dogs is
food, so it follows that she goes to great pains to teach people how to
use treats to modify canine behavior. Here again, because she believes
that dogs have little or no desire to please, she has not been in
contact with a dog that wants to please her. Her expectations create the
reality that she experiences.
As Human Perceptions Evolve, Our Dogs
Evolve As Well.
The evolution of dog training has everything to do with the evolution of
human perception. One hundred years ago most white people living in the
U.S.A. could hardly perceive that black people had the same potential as
whites. And in much the same way that perceptual evolution creates
commonality in people, it also bridges the gap between humans and
animals.
Author Jeffrey Masson writes about the emotional lives of animals in his
best selling book When Elephants Weep. In this controversial book,
Masson explores the perceptual evolution between people and animals. He
argues that while scientists continue to deny that animals 'feel' as
humans do, a forever growing body of research is pointing us to a great
truth: animals do feel and they have rich emotional lives.
 Identify Your Own Beliefs Before You
Train Your Dog.
Few dog training authorities will ask you to identify your own
perceptions and beliefs before you consider what training method will
work best for you. However, getting to know your own feelings on the
subject may be the best thing you can do for your puppy. It is a great
mistake to believe that any single trainer is right or wrong. Most
expert trainers can rationalize their chosen methods with astonishing
appeal. They can do this because when they try to validate their dog
training methods they are also validating their own perceptual level.
The problem with adopting a training method before you consider your own
perceptions is that you may fall into a training style that does not
match the stage of understanding you are in. Should this become the
case, you will begin to train your dog in a mechanical fashion,
following instructions without truly relating to them.
Dog and puppy training should be like music to your ears. When you hear
a tune that you do not like, for whatever reason, you turn it off and
tune into something to which you can relate. Choosing a dog or puppy
training program should be the same. Surprisingly, a high percentage of
dog owners do not listen to their inner voices and become involved with
dog training programs that do not jibe well with their innermost
feelings.
Respected psychotherapist Cindy Stone writes about how she transformed
an aggressive street mutt, Harry, into a trustworthy companion dog in
her best selling book The Incidental Guru. In this wonderful book Cindy
details how her perceptions of Harry were enhanced with the help of an
eccentric dog trainer. What makes this book special is that Cindy talks
about the damaging effects of using training methods that did not fit
her own personal and spiritual beliefs. It was only when she discovered
a training method that validated her own gentle views that she was able
to almost completely transform Harry from a biting dog, into a
trustworthy pet.
Our experience working with dog and puppy owners has lead us to believe
that there are four distinct areas of development into which dog owners
fit. We call each stage of development a 'mind set' because it can be
difficult to change your basic beliefs and adapt to training methods
that are contrary to those beliefs.
 Mindset One - The Controllers
This mindset is experienced by people who believe that dogs are outdoor
pets who should only be kept so long as they have a purposeful job.
Although these people care very much for their dogs, their ability to
love their animals is different from their ability to love people.
Controllers make no connection between dogs and children, and possess an
uncanny ability to divorce themselves from feelings of sympathy for
dogs. This is not to suggest that controllers are inherently cruel; they
are not. They provide their dogs with food, shelter, water and
companionship, but feel no need to spoil or indulge the dog with any of
these.
Controllers often have very well behaved dogs for two reasons: 1) their
pets are never given the freedom to develop behavior problems in the
first place, and 2) when their dogs do develop problems they are quickly
put to death and a new dog is obtained.
Dog training practitioners in this mindset often resort to harsh
physical discipline to discourage unwanted dog behavior. They want their
dogs to be obedient no matter what, and will not shy away from severe
forms of physical punishment as a means to achieve their goals.
The most popular Controller is William Koehler, well known for his
"Koehler Method" of dog training. Koehler's training methods were used
by Walt Disney Studios for more than 20 years. Among the films his dogs
appeared in were "The Shaggy Dog," "Big Red," and "The Incredible
Journey." Born in 1911 William Koehler was raised during a period in
which corporal punishment was a common aspect of life for children and
dogs. He grew up to become a military man and father. There can be no
doubt that William trained his dogs with an iron fist, and during a time
when few people had even heard of dog obedience training, William was
teaching dogs to be movie super stars.
Koehler's training methods evolved while working with military dogs. For
William it was essential that he create a dog that could perform in the
most brutal circumstances, without fear, and with total loyalty to the
handler. His focus was therefore on precision obedience. He was a man
who believed in the power of dogs, and often pushed dogs to the highest
levels of training. At the core of William's training philosophy there
exists the notion that dogs are tough - so tough that they possess the
ability to recover from even the most severe forms of physical
punishment without holding a grudge. And his work with more than 25,000
dogs seemed to validate his philosophy.
With sales in excess of one million copies of his book, The Koehler
Method Of Dog Training, the Koehler method of dog training may be the
most widely used method of dog training in the world. If you have ever
seen anyone use a check chain collar (also known as a "choke chain"),
then you have seen the Koehler method in action.
The Koehler Effect
It could be suggested that William Koehler played an important role in
transforming dogs from animals that live in back yards to household
pets. Albeit true that his training methods were sometimes harsh, he was
one of the first dog trainers to encourage people to have a relationship
with their dogs. This relationship entailed taking your dog out for
neighborhood walks and allowing your dog to spend time inside the house.
Common practices accepted today by most dog owners, these were unheard
of during the time that William was training dogs. He introduced us to
basic things like leashes, collars, and the importance of exercise. As a
direct result of his work, billions of dogs, generation after
generation, were liberated from their back yards and given the
opportunity to live as well-behaved companion animals.
The Koehler method of dog training is the backbone of the most basic dog
and puppy training methods in use today. It is a blend of firm
discipline and lavish praise. William's work influenced such acclaimed
trainers as Barbara Woodhouse, of "walkies" fame (once voted England's
favorite television personality), and probably contributed to many of
the things that you do with your dog today. Koehler's method is readily
adopted by people in 'the controller' mindset because it gives them the
opportunity to take fast control of their dogs with the use of simple,
yet firm, corrections.
 Mindset Two - The Naturalist
Although William Koehler died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of
82, he lived long enough to see his training methods evolve into the
next stage of popular dog training.
It is unclear what trainer first made the connection between the
behavior of dogs and wolves, or why the connection was ever made, but
with the impetus to find a less coercive dog training method, dog
trainers shifted their sights away from the work of Koehler and onto the
natural behavior of pack animals.
In the Naturalist mindset we find a group of people who possess a
genuine affection for the outdoors. These individuals are not so much
concerned about the rigid control of their pets, but more in
understanding the natural rhythms of canine culture. These people look
to nature for examples of natural dog training and attempt to mimic the
behaviors of canine teachers to shape their own pets.
The first of these trainers to win the public’s attention were The Monks
of New Skete. The Monks of New Skete began in 1966 as a small group of
monks who were originally members of the Byzantine-Rite Franciscans. The
brothers sought to live a more explicitly monastic life within the
Eastern Christian tradition. To do this, they left the Franciscans and
established New Skete as a separate monastic community. There they
developed a love for the breeding and training of German Shepard Dogs
and authored How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend, a dog training book that
won the hearts of dog owners all around the world.
Dog training Naturalists are perhaps the most charismatic dog and puppy
trainers alive. Their passion for dogs and natural training methods
often propels them into high profile positions as authors and public
speakers, and they frequently develop strong loyalties amongst their
clients. They promote the idea that your dogs is a pack animal and as
such is best educated with training methods that mimic the way dogs
teach each other.
This mindset was extremely popular in the early 1980s and is responsible
for the way many people train their dogs and puppies today. It is a mild
evolution from the Controller mindset, and in some cases this evolution
is only achieved so that people can justify why they punish their dogs.
Seen at their best, people in Mindset Two are extremely fair dog owners
and trainers. They adhere to a very simple premise: like wolves, dogs
are pack animals and as such they need clear leadership. This leadership
is often manifested by way of domination. People who fall into this
mindset believe that their dogs should always walk behind them, that
their dogs should not be allowed on furniture, and that their pets must
learn to become submissive members of the family.
This mindset works well for many people because it presents a ‘class’
system similar to that seen in human communities. Some people feel
better because they have more money and education; these are the people
who control global development and popular political view. Some people
feel downtrodden and 'poor' because they have no money and little
education. This class hierarchy promotes people who feel like leaders
and creates followers out of those who feel they need leadership. It
makes sense then that people in general feel comfortable with a system
of dog training that creates a similar hierarchy: leaders and followers,
dominant and submissive, alphas and betas.
Perhaps the most well know naturalist practitioner is The Dog Whisperer,
Ceasar Millan. Also in this category we find respected trainers like
Carole Lee Benjamin and Jan Fennel. Although these three trainers do not
use the same dog or puppy training methods, they all share the belief
that dogs are pack animals and are best trained using natural training
methods.
The Naturalist Effect
Within the dog training community there exists a tremendous degree of
controversy surrounding the idea that dogs are pack animals and should
be dominated. In the early eighties, thousands of puppy owners were
instructed to "Alpha Roll" their puppies. Internet writer, Krista
Mifflin, writes about the Alpha Roll saying, "The Alpha Roll, once
hailed as the premier way to prove to your dog who’s "Alpha" (Boss) in
the family, has been replaced by a gentler, more successful way of
training. Now the Alpha Roll, besides being obsolete, has proven to be
detrimental to the health and mental well-being of your dog, as well as
downright dangerous to the "Roller". Whether or not this method has been
"proven" to harm dogs is questionable. Still, the basis on which this
method was developed is greatly flawed.
The Alpha Roll was used by people who wanted to act like dogs. The
belief was that a dominant dog will roll more submissive dogs on their
backs as a way to manifest its authority and leadership. However, later
research showed that it is not the dominant dog that does the 'rolling',
rather, it is the submissive dog that willingly rolls over as a sign of
respect. When a dog or puppy is forcefully rolled over onto its back
(Alpha Roll) it can cause the dog to panic and learn to distrust its
owner.
These kinds of egregious training mistakes have delivered a great blow
to trainers who fall into the Naturalist mindset. While there may be
great merit in understanding dogs as pack animals with a special culture
of their own, this merit becomes weak and even dangerous when trainers
fail to interpret dog behavior correctly.
Notwithstanding the few mistakes that have been made by trainers in the
Naturalist mindset, overall this group of trainers has introduced the
world to a multitude of teaching methods that are extremely effective
and humane.
 Mindset
Three - The Analyst
At the time of this writing, people who fall into this mindset also fall
into the most popular form of modern day dog training. This mindset
sidesteps the truth that dogs are, in fact, pack animals and as such
have a clear system of educating each other.
Mindset three immerses us
in the world of academia. Believed to have been started by Dr. Ian
Dunbar, and then later clarified by Jean Donaldson, Pamela Reid, and
Karen Prior, this mindset does not have us simply look at dogs as dogs,
rather, it includes dogs in a larger picture, calls them 'animals', and
leads us towards a deeper understanding of 'animal learning'.
Dr Ian Dunbar was perhaps the first accredited, highly educated, PhD, to
adopt a position as a common dog trainer. He was like a glowing ball of
yellow entering a room of blue. Until his arrival, dog and puppy
training was very much a skilled trade that one expert handed down to
another. To this day there is not a single school or government body
that educates or regulates professional dog trainers. Although Dr.
Dunbar does not have a PhD in dog training, since there is no such
degree, his presence in a profession where most experts were tradesmen
created an overwhelming ‘awe’ effect.
The History Of Analyst Dog Trainers
The plight of most people who are not formally educated is that they
often stand in awe of people who have been to university. This is a flaw
which is illustrated in an entertaining manner by the case of the Loch
Ness Monster.
"Cryptozoologist", is a term used to define people who study animals
that have not yet been discovered. They study Bigfoot, Moth Men and
other legendary creatures such as The Lock Ness Monster.
 The modern legend of "Nessie", The Lock Ness Monster, began in 1934 with
Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London physician, who allegedly
photographed a plesiosaur-like beast with a long neck emerging out of
the murky waters (pictured left). However, in 1994, more than 50 years after the
legendary Dr. Wilson photo was taken, the truth emerged. The photo was
not taken by a doctor at all; rather, it was taken by a film-maker, Ian Wetherell, who simply asked Dr. Wilson to say he took the photo because
it was known that a doctor would give the photo "stature and integrity".
Wetherell was right. By simply saying that a doctor took the photograph
of a lake monster, few people, laymen and academics alike, questioned
the credibility of the photograph, and consequently a legend was born.
Today, millions of people know about and believe that the Lock Ness
monster is real as the direct result of a doctor taking credit for a
photograph he never took. The monster seen in the photo was really a
submersible toy submarine with a fake monster head attached.
In the case of dogs, for those of us who have carefully researched the
history of modern puppy and dog training, we can see that the pet
training industry has its own "Nessie".
In 1988, “Dogs In Canada” magazine, as well as most other nationally
recognized magazine and book publishers, promoted a consistent dog
training theme: Do not use treats to train your dog. From as early as
1956, dog trainers such as Frederick Jones and Charles Eisenmann
(trainer of the littlest hobo), warned people not to use food to bribe
their pets. This same warning was issued throughout the seventies, and
later in the eighties, by such respected trainers as The Monks of New
Skete and David Dikeman.
Then, suddenly, Ian Dunbar appeared and changed the face of dog
training. He created a whole new mindset and generated a system of
self-promotion that would change the way modern people live with their
dogs.
 The Dunbar Effect
For as long as I can remember people have been giving their dogs treats,
and even as far back as 1933 we can see The Little Rascals handing their
dog "Pete” treats under the table. However, it was not until the 1980s
that Dr. Ian Dunbar used treat rewards as an extremely effective dog
training tool.
Make no mistake. Dr. Ian Dunbar is an academic Juggernaut. We researched
his credentials and were given this bio:
"Ian Dunbar PhD, BVetMed, MRCVS, CPDT is a
veterinarian, animal behaviorist, dog trainer, and writer. He received
his veterinary degree and a Special Honours degree in Physiology &
Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University), and
a doctorate in animal behavior from the Psychology Department at the
University of California in Berkeley, where he spent ten years
researching the development of hierarchical social behavior and
aggression in domestic dogs. For seven years Dr. Dunbar ran a behavior
clinic specifically for biting dogs. Dr. Dunbar is a member of the Royal
College of Veterinary Surgeons, the California Veterinary Medical
Association, the Sierra Veterinary Medical Association, the American
Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, and the Association of Pet Dog
Trainers (which he founded)."
Dr. Dunbar appeared as an impeccable example of what dog trainers could
be, and won the attention of most young trainers, usually young women,
who looked up at Dunbar with big dreams and starry eyes. However, beyond
his academic achievements, Dr. Dunbar was one of the first dog trainers
to promote genuine kindness. He gave dog owners the opportunity to
indulge their need to spoil dogs with treats and toys, and transformed
the simple act of giving a dog a treat into an educational curriculum.
A Tragic Turn:
By the early 1990s Dr. Dunbar's training methods had been widely
accepted by dog trainers around the world. And like most things
wonderful, mass consumption watered down his original brilliance and
generated a nation of inexperienced trainers who simply used food as a
bribe to control dogs.
Trying to fashion themselves in the image of Dr.
Dunbar, thousands of dog trainers attempted to earn their back yard
PhDs. After attending one or two Dunbar workshops, trainers with little
or no real world dog experience started teaching puppy kindergarten
classes. Unlike Dunbar himself, who used a rich blend of food treats and
genuine leadership, his followers often adopted only the most obvious of
his characteristics and twisted the art of food lure training into the
crude act of animal bribery. Millions of dog owners across the country
learned to simply dangle bits of food in front of their pets’ faces. In
turn, millions of dogs never fully developed a desire to please their
people. The sight of a dog working in a robot-like fashion for food
rewards became the norm. Millions of dogs in dog training classes across
the country could be seen following their owner’s hands up and down,
left to right. The presence of these food motivated robot dogs became so
prevalent that dog trainers simply forgot what dog training was like
before the advent of food lure training.
 Mindset Four - The Supporter
Mindset four brings us up close and personal with the newest and perhaps
most experimental form of modern dog and puppy training available today.
This mindset has its practitioners adopting a more family, relationship
oriented, almost spiritual form of dog and puppy training.
Unlike the Annalist point of view in which scientific research guides
the collective mind, dog training Supporters have a great deal of faith
in the spiritual energy of dogs and are concerned with creating canine
inner peace. Here we find such respected trainers (animal
communicators), as Linda Tellington-Jones, inventor of T-Touch, Rachael
Resk, and Penelope Smith. All three women are reported to have an
uncanny spiritual connection with animals.
Supporters like to support and are deeply offended by training methods
that cause dogs to feel badly about themselves. They believe that dogs
can talk, and that serious dog problems often result from a dog's
'words' going unheard. Supporters often focus on training methods that
help dogs relax, reduce anxiety and minimize communication boundaries.
Supporters stand firmly on the side of our pets and are commonly
involved with canine rescue. In many ways, Supportive dog trainers are
like Annalists, except that Supporters do not need popular science to
uphold their views since they strongly believe that modern science is
unable to explain everything all the time.
Rev. Nedda Wittels, M.A., M.S., writes about his ability to communicate
with animals saying, "For most of my adult life I thought I was just
pretending that I could have conversations with animals. It was
something I did as a game or did without thinking. That was because I
was sufficiently programmed as a child to accept the idea that the
communications I was experiencing telepathically were 'just your
imagination, my dear.' After reading Animal Talk, by Penelope Smith, I
came to the startling realization that I had been rejecting what my
heart knew was true: I could communicate with animals and they could
communicate with me."
Penelope Smith writes on her website that, "I have communicated with and
counseled thousands of animals and their people during consultations
(in-person or by telephone) to assist them toward a more ideal
relationship. We have successfully worked together to resolve
misunderstandings, behavior problems, and the psychosomatic aspects of
illnesses or injuries that do not respond well to veterinary care."
Understanding that our dogs have spiritual lives forces us to view them
less like animals and more like spiritual persons that are not unlike
ourselves. Moreover, a deep understanding of canine spirituality also
affords us the opportunity to grasp many concepts that traditional
trainers (Controllers), and academic trainers (Annalists), never
consider. For example, while it may be fantastic to believe that people
can communicate with dogs and puppies, it is even more fantastic to
realize that dogs also possess the ability to communicate with us
telepathically!
For those who claim to possess the ability to talk with dogs, the
conversations they have with our pets often reveal many insights into
the way our dogs think. Controllers and Annalists alike often believe
that dogs are incapable of feeling guilt. Guilt is widely regarded by
dog behavior experts to be a 'human only' feeling. However, most animal
communicators will readily tell you that during their conversations with
dogs, dogs often express feelings of guilt for things they have done in
the past. If this is true, then most modern training methods, which base
much of their teaching on the premise that dogs only live in the moment
and cannot think about the past or future, are severely limiting the
potential of our dogs by failing to understand the depths, insights and
intelligence of the canine mind.
 What Group Do You Belong To?
Now that you have an understanding of the four basic mindsets that
govern most dog trainers, ask yourself? What mindset do you feel most
comfortable with? This is perhaps one of the most important dog or puppy
training questions you may ever be asked. And it is also a question that
will only serve you when you answer honestly.
Your dog will respond best to a dog training method that suits your own
belief systems. If you truly believe that dogs can communicate
telepathically, seek out a teaching style that will assist you to tap
into your dog’s secret, spiritual world. If your faith is found in a
scientific journal and you feel more comfortable with training methods
that can be substantiated with scientific data, then you may be well
served with clicker training, an Ian Dunbar approach. Or perhaps you
don't have time for complicated puppy training methods and you simply
want to establish fast control of a wayward dog. If this sounds like
you, perhaps the Kohler Method is your best choice.
In the end, the best training methods are those that have withstood the
test of time and have proven to be effective, decade after decade, with
millions of dogs. Although less experienced dog and puppy trainers will
vehemently argue that some training methods are inferior, and that they
have stumbled on what is best for you and your dog, the truth is that
all of the training methods talked about on this page have achieved
great success, and were founded by people who possessed a genuine
fondness for our canine friends.
In summary, dog training methods fall
into four
distinct groups.
 1) The Controller
Those who adhere to the basic rules of punishment, these people have a
no-nonsense attitude and believe that dogs are dogs and should be
treated as such.
 2) The Naturalist
These people believe that dogs are pack animals with a special canine
culture of their own. The naturalist dog or puppy trainer teaches people
how to act like dogs. In doing so the goal is to transform people into
good leaders for their pets.
 3) The Analyst
The Analyst is the academic. In this group we find trainers who do not
altogether believe that dogs are pack animals, rather, the Annalist
turns to science to catalog animal behavior. These trainers often use
complicated scientific language to justify their training methods and
they regularly use food lures to 'shape' animal behavior.
 4) The Supporter
In this group we find people who believe that dogs are spiritual beings
that are able to communicate telepathically with their owners
Written By Adam C. Stone
If you have any questions about this article, or wish to
point out any historical corrections, please contact Puppywishes.com. We
will forward your inquires to Adam C. Stone. Thank you.
Send Email Here
|
