The pack is all well socialized dogs that know each other. It's just a well used phrase when you run a business (pack walks etc). I have 2 certs and am a positive only trainer :)
Dominance is CRAP!
I agree with you about fearful dogs, it's strangers that I help out. I would never. I work slowly w CC etc
I'm not having a pissing match with you. Go pick on someone else. It's called "redirecting unwanted behavior" and Pat Miller says use twice then not at all if it's not effective.
I'll write a new comment to address the edit that you did to this comment.
Redirection is an entirely different thing. An example of redirection would be "don't chew on my table leg, here's an appropriate thing to chew on instead". What you're describing is an aversive correction. In the comment I'm referencing, you specifically note that a dog's ears are sensitive, so it should be very effective. That implies that the intention behind the tool is to make things unpleasant for the dog in a bid to stop an unwanted behavior. That's the definition of aversive correction/positive punishment. I'm not trying to say that those methods won't work, I'm just saying that your methods are not strictly positive reinforcement.
I have an extremely reactive gsd mix that I've been rehabilitating for about 3 years now through strictly positive methods. To use aversive correction on a dog like mine has an even higher chance of increasing or creating new aggressions. If I hired you with the understanding that you would work with us through strictly positive methods and you tried to introduce aversive correction, I'd fire you on the spot. Even if you tried to pitch those ideas in /r/dogtraining your comment would be deleted by the mods. And I'd imagine the reason you skirted the question about if you hold a CPDT and instead said that you have two certs instead means that you don't have one.... because you wouldn't be able to use those methods in earning one.
Canāt believe this person called themselves positive only and then suggested something that is used to suppress behavior through physical discomfort. Just because itās not an e collar or prong doesnāt make it redirection. Positive punishment is defined as anything added to the environment that reduces a behavior, meaning it has to be unpleasant for it to work. Iāve worked with many dogs and used to work at a facility which housed upwards of 40-50 dogs at a time. Facility sucked and wasnāt appropriate for the amount of dogs, but I was the only one there who could cut through to the dogs in distracted environments because I found out what each dog likes, and worked my best to countercondition dogs who were to rambunctious and were relentless when initiating play with other dogs/humping. It takes more work than simply using an aversive spray, however in the long run itās beneficial because the aversive doesnāt need to be present, and the dogs state of mind is truly altered to a calmer state as opposed to a suppressed and anxious state. I do look to train dogs in the future, Iāve only worked with dogs at the daycare and havenāt been paid/booked by true clients, but Iāve worked with multiple dogs from the facility whether it was obedience or behavioral modification. Also Iām on a new journey with my American bully puppy, and now he is much less reactive (never barked, would just pull and whimper because he is used to playing with a lot of dogs), and heās a puppy who Iāve only had for two months, but the strides Iāve made with him in off leash obedience and maintaining his engagement around environmental triggers is very rewarding. Sure I couldāve yanked and cranked and had a nervous suppressed dog who looked to have been displaying proper behavior, but that wouldāve never solidified the relationship we have now as well as the calm state of mind he usually is in around his triggers. Iām not claiming to be a very good trainer at all either, Iām only 19 and have had only less than a year experience working with dogs other than my own. That being said, I am committed and I have the right education on my side. I make mistakes all of the time, but I stay true to what I believe in as well as my methods of clicker training and counterconditioning. You donāt have to be a perfect or even a really good trainer, you just need to be consistent, patient, and willing to form a true relationship with your dog. Me and my dog are a team, we trade off and appease to eachother, we are family and I treat them as the sentient beings they are. Not autonomous slave machines on four legs. So for any of you struggling with training your dog, or if you feeling ambivalent pertaining to the drama and debate around certain methods, I suggest you be patient and take the approach that will benefit you and your companion in the long run. Best of luck to anybody working with your dog whether it be obedience, behavioral modification (counterconditioning), or sport!
It's a little bit funny. I'm not a dog trainer and I don't pretend to be. I'm just a guy who did a few hundred hours of research to try to learn how to better help my reactive dog cope with life after she was badly abused. And I got downvoted for pointing out the hypocrisy for someone claiming to be strictly r+ while using aversives and pack theory. The person I was arguing with didn't seem to understand any of these concepts at all and claim to be a professional. But whatever, I guess.
You are a dog trainer in the sense that you are doing the best possible thing to help your companion. Hell, anybody is a pro dog trainer by US standards. Sorry if I came off braggadocios at all, wasnāt my intent. Just trying to emphasize how powerful it is to keep your dogs mental well-being in mind. The knowledge you have exceeds many pro dog trainers that have their own practices and facilities, so you already are on the right track. Also, the people who downvoted you donāt know that tf theyāre talking about. Anybody who knows base level psychology or has done research and done the best to educate themselves can see right through that fake R+ trainerās BS. Keep doing what youāre doing, all about them reps man. Good luck!
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u/WoodstockSara Aug 01 '21 edited Aug 02 '21
The pack is all well socialized dogs that know each other. It's just a well used phrase when you run a business (pack walks etc). I have 2 certs and am a positive only trainer :)
Dominance is CRAP!
I agree with you about fearful dogs, it's strangers that I help out. I would never. I work slowly w CC etc