![]() ![]() For many owners, like the exasperated lady on the promenade who was obviously at the end of her own tether, any method that solves the problem is OK with them, cruel or not. Realistically the sheer act of training a dog to comply with our selfish demands is an act of dominance whatever method used to make it comply with our will. One side of the argument maintains that the positive approach leads to them being spoilt and entrenches bad behaviour whereas those against the punishment approach believe it causes mental trauma and impacts long-term welfare. We now live in a world of dog behaviourists, clinical animal behaviourists, psychiatrists, counsellors and a variety of trainers to make dogs compliant and contented with our modern lifestyles. It seems to be human nature for us to always complicate issues and so we have established a new science: the science of animal behaviour in which we can become professionals, get diplomas and degrees, put letters behind our names, carry out research, argue, debate, write papers and come up with exactly nothing conclusive or tangible. Whether this is scientifically sound or not, common sense dictates that hitting, yanking and electrocuting dogs is probably not the most humane course of action. using punishment showed signs of stress such as mouth licking, shaking and whining compared with only 8% of those trained by “positive” or reward and praise methods. using a bit of brute force like Mr Gellman and Barbara Woodhouse is cruel and counter productive and stress dogs out compared with “positive reinforcement” where dogs are bribed with treats and praised to toe the line.Ī recent study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour indicated that 65% of dogs trained with “aversive” or “negative reinforcement” (note we must have technical terms for all this) methods i.e. The main division between the “experts” is whether “ aversive” or “negative reinforcement” training i.e. The argument over negative and positive reinforcement. But then everybody likes to think they are a dog expert. Every self proclaimed dog behaviourist and trainer has their own ideas or choose the in fashion dogma of the day. Genuine and sincere dog trainer or another showman – you to decide.īut his methods highlight the great division that still exists after decades of research and debate regarding the best and most humane way of training a dog to fit in with our modern lifestyles. Dog training is big business and very lucrative but as always totally unregulated. Owners queue up willing to pay £750 for a session with him, but the Scottish SPCA were not happy about his visit or his methods and there is even a petition against him. He has become another showman celebrity with tens of thousands watching his YouTube videos. ![]() The use of such instruments of torture are much used in North America and are readily available on the internet in the U.K. He is alleged to hit dogs with a rolled up towel and uses prong collars and remote control shock collars to keep dogs in line. History often repeats itself and recently there has been controversy about an American dog trainer named Jeff Gellman visiting a seminar in Scotland. ![]() Dog training is big business and lucrative. But others looked upon her as heavy handed and cruel with her domineering methods. This was mainly because of her perceived eccentricity which always makes good TV, but she was regarded by many dog owners with misbehaving dogs as a saviour. ![]() My wife gave her a parting comment that the days of Barbara Woodhouse were long over, but are they?įor those too young to remember Barbara Woodhouse was a highly celebrated and regarded dog trainer across the world in the 1970’s and 1980’s with TV programmes, books and documentaries about her methods. I replied that I would be glad to do so, but I was sure he hadn’t quite told her to be so violent. She suggested I should have a word with him. After half a dozen of these actions she finally yanked the poor cowering dog so hard she almost took its head off and lifted it off the ground even though it was a big dog.ĭeciding enough was enough we caught her up and admonished her, (not always a good plan), but she turned her frustration and anger on us saying she was doing nothing wrong and that her dog behaviourist had advised her to do it. While enjoying a walk along my local seaside promenade the other day we spied an exasperated woman screaming at her dog and violently pulling its head back whenever it got more than a foot in front of her. ![]()
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