You can try this at home: modern dog training
Prepared for NorCal Collie Rescue's newsletter, the Rescue Reporter, Winter 2008.
Dog whispering seems to be a popular trend these days. Whispering started with horse trainers and originally meant a trainer who was empathetic to the needs and feelings of horses and understood horse psychology. These early horse whisperers deviated from the training of the day, in the 19th century, when horses were ubiquitous and trained with often severe force.
Today we also want to be empathetic to the needs and feelings of dogs and knowledgeable of dog psychology as we train our dogs. But what does whispering have to do with anything? Well, nothing. We are blessed with the rich science of animal behavior that now informs our training of dogs. We use positive reinforcement, a formal method by which we reward dogs for doing things we want them to do. We help them make the right choices by managing their world just as we do small children. We spare the rod, because use of punishment only causes dogs to fear us and to act out their stress.
To find out more about positive reinforcement (R+) dog training, you can visit my web site, which I created for the purpose of providing information about modern dog training: http://www.r-plusdogtraining.info.
So, what about those dog whisperers out there? Cesar Millan, of the National Geographic channel, is arguably the most famous of all. Millan is more of a dog shouter however than a whisperer. Many essays have been written about this controversial man. You may sample them at this web site: http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm. The 4 Paws University is a dog training facility here in northern California run by the well-respected training Lisa Mullinax CPDT (Certified Professional Dog Trainer) and her colleagues.
Perhaps you’ve read Millan’s books, such as the popular Cesar’s Way. Most professional dog trainers, myself included, would say that we support his four major tenets of dog training. These are: 1. dogs are dogs and not humans, and dog psychology is different from ours; 2. dogs thrive on structure and guidance by their humans; 3. dogs need a lot of exercise, more than most pet dogs get these days; and 4. you should be calm around your dog no matter what your dog does.
Sticking to these four tenets will get you a long way, but still you need to know more. Most importantly, you need to know what a dog’s psychology really is, and you need to know specifically how to provide the structure and guidance that dogs need. We doubt very much you can learn much about these two important areas of dog training by living on a farm. Rather, you would study animal behavior and learning theory, perhaps in college and certainly in a dog training curriculum of some kind.
For example, the concept of dominance is vastly misunderstood by the public and Cesar Millan. I’ve written about this concept in previous Rescue Reporters and these articles are reprinted on my blog. Dogs and wolves don’t alpha roll each other; humans aren’t dogs or wolves and the dogs know it. You can change your dog’s behavior far more effectively by applying modern principles of learning theory than by effusing calm assertive energy.
If you watch Millan’s TV show, keep in mind that most professional dog trainers find many of these shows so violent and disturbing that we cannot bear to watch them. Dogs are screaming with stress, and any change in their behavior has resulted from the dogs shutting down with fear and confusion. Pay attention to the disclaimer that is shown at the beginning and end of the shows: do not try this at home. You can be severely bitten, and you risk damaging your relationship with your dog. Millan is actually helping the businesses of R+ dog trainers as dismayed owners turn to modern science-based training to reverse the behavioral problems caused when they emulate Millan’s methods with their dogs.
I encourage you to take your collies to dog training classes. Collies love to work and to spend time with their humans! I urge you to be discerning and choose only positive reinforcement dog trainers. Whatever they teach you, you can try at home. If you’re not sure where to find a qualified trainer, I can help you: email me at cathy@calcollierescue.org or cathy@r-plusdogtraining.info.
Dog whispering seems to be a popular trend these days. Whispering started with horse trainers and originally meant a trainer who was empathetic to the needs and feelings of horses and understood horse psychology. These early horse whisperers deviated from the training of the day, in the 19th century, when horses were ubiquitous and trained with often severe force.
Today we also want to be empathetic to the needs and feelings of dogs and knowledgeable of dog psychology as we train our dogs. But what does whispering have to do with anything? Well, nothing. We are blessed with the rich science of animal behavior that now informs our training of dogs. We use positive reinforcement, a formal method by which we reward dogs for doing things we want them to do. We help them make the right choices by managing their world just as we do small children. We spare the rod, because use of punishment only causes dogs to fear us and to act out their stress.
To find out more about positive reinforcement (R+) dog training, you can visit my web site, which I created for the purpose of providing information about modern dog training: http://www.r-plusdogtraining.info.
So, what about those dog whisperers out there? Cesar Millan, of the National Geographic channel, is arguably the most famous of all. Millan is more of a dog shouter however than a whisperer. Many essays have been written about this controversial man. You may sample them at this web site: http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm. The 4 Paws University is a dog training facility here in northern California run by the well-respected training Lisa Mullinax CPDT (Certified Professional Dog Trainer) and her colleagues.
Perhaps you’ve read Millan’s books, such as the popular Cesar’s Way. Most professional dog trainers, myself included, would say that we support his four major tenets of dog training. These are: 1. dogs are dogs and not humans, and dog psychology is different from ours; 2. dogs thrive on structure and guidance by their humans; 3. dogs need a lot of exercise, more than most pet dogs get these days; and 4. you should be calm around your dog no matter what your dog does.
Sticking to these four tenets will get you a long way, but still you need to know more. Most importantly, you need to know what a dog’s psychology really is, and you need to know specifically how to provide the structure and guidance that dogs need. We doubt very much you can learn much about these two important areas of dog training by living on a farm. Rather, you would study animal behavior and learning theory, perhaps in college and certainly in a dog training curriculum of some kind.
For example, the concept of dominance is vastly misunderstood by the public and Cesar Millan. I’ve written about this concept in previous Rescue Reporters and these articles are reprinted on my blog. Dogs and wolves don’t alpha roll each other; humans aren’t dogs or wolves and the dogs know it. You can change your dog’s behavior far more effectively by applying modern principles of learning theory than by effusing calm assertive energy.
If you watch Millan’s TV show, keep in mind that most professional dog trainers find many of these shows so violent and disturbing that we cannot bear to watch them. Dogs are screaming with stress, and any change in their behavior has resulted from the dogs shutting down with fear and confusion. Pay attention to the disclaimer that is shown at the beginning and end of the shows: do not try this at home. You can be severely bitten, and you risk damaging your relationship with your dog. Millan is actually helping the businesses of R+ dog trainers as dismayed owners turn to modern science-based training to reverse the behavioral problems caused when they emulate Millan’s methods with their dogs.
I encourage you to take your collies to dog training classes. Collies love to work and to spend time with their humans! I urge you to be discerning and choose only positive reinforcement dog trainers. Whatever they teach you, you can try at home. If you’re not sure where to find a qualified trainer, I can help you: email me at cathy@calcollierescue.org or cathy@r-plusdogtraining.info.
Posted by Cathy Toft at 11/24/2008 12:27 AM 
Categories: Dog Behavior, Dog-friendly training, NorCal Collie Rescue
Categories: Dog Behavior, Dog-friendly training, NorCal Collie Rescue
Quite inspiring,
Thanks for sharing,
Keep up the good work
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I agree, I think dog training classes are a great idea. You, as the owner, learn so much about how to properly teach your dog. The dogs usually love it too! If you're in a group class, they get to play with other dogs and run down their energy. I checked out your website and love it. There is so much useful information that I have bookmarked it so I can come back. Thanks for the help!
Brandy T.
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