There are currently 2 main categories of dog training
- compulsion method - based on the pack leader dominance/submission model
- the "positive" behavior modification reward system
They work well enough for a lot of dogs, and both miss the deeper energetic dynamic of dogs.
If you are interested in what really does on, and want to work with your dogs innate energy and beingness, Natural Dog Training might be for you.
And so it seems to me that this is true for training dogs: depending on time, place - dogs and people, dog training methods vary.
- and this is what I think: there is NO ONE WAY to train a dog - and whatever works for you and your dog - works for you and your dog.
WAIIIIITTT: the headline says: why train your dog?
These days – for the sake of the dogs as well as people – some basic training seems to be necessary. Most dogs don’t just hang around on farms with jobs to do anymore, let alone have hunting jobs. They are living in crowded urban environments. Notice though that “coincidentally” since dogs have been bred to be friendly and domesticated rather than be a working dog that had to earn its living and people have been “training” dogs with the commonly used methods or treating them as playthings - dog aggression and other behavioral problems have been on the rise. Not the “positive” reward training, or the dominance/pack leader based training or the combined training methods get to the root of canine behaviors. As per Kevin Behan: It is in police dog training that you quickly realize where those methods fail.
What do I want from training my dogs?
Well, then: I live in a semi rural area with cattle at the fence, lots of people coming and going, neighborhood dogs visiting, koyotes howling and I also don't want to have to muzzle any of the dogs when we go to the vet or go to town and I want it to be save when an unsuspecting kid runs up to it. I also want them to get along with cats and chickens, as well as, potentially, a grazing goat.
I would like barking when strangers come onto the property...and if I where to have to fight with one ...would want them to naturally help me. Once I greet a visitor - the barking should stop. I want them to come EVERY time when I call them.
If I open the front door, even IF they where to run out, - there is no nearby road....meaning: some things are not as important to me to train for as if I lived in town. Them not chasing the pregnant cattle of the neighbor is a much higher concern.
Should anything deadly happen to me and they be left in this world, I would want them to be very easily adoptable.
If I were younger, I would be interested in search and rescue, or service dog training, but such as it is - eventually being able to foster shelter dogs is my other goal.
Now it is YOUR turn: why do you want to train your dog?...what does it mean to you, and what is important to you in that regard?
So this might help to understand the: TIME - PLACE - DOG - AND PEOPLE concept a little more, as part of it is what you and the dog need to be able to do.
Then there is a question of: HOW do I teach my dog what I want him/her to do? Or: what does he/she need to know to be safe and be safe around - and - be "happy"?
This then leads to the investigation of various training methods, which also have varied greatly with time, place and people, and so far I have come up with these criteria for dog training:
Training your dog will take time, energy and commitment and I take it as a given that you are willing to give those.
What to want from Dog Training
I don't know about you, but I want dog training
- to be effective - if it does not work, I don't want to spend the time, energy and resources on it, in fact, I don't have the time or energy to waste.
- to NOT be harmful - if it hurts the dog, I don't want it. And by hurt I don't mean a correction, but actually physically or emotionally hurt.
- to honor and respect the deepest nature of the dog to be trained.
"The dog to be trained" is intentional, because even though, say, dogs are predator animals, a pointer and a German shepherd and a husky and a dachshund also have different genetically determined qualities. Just because a GSD can be taught to retrieve - it would not be "him".
- be fun for me and the dog and energetically and physically easy to do for me.
I think that not all currently commonly used methods work for all dogs all the time - and that a dog trainer ought to be open and knowledgeable about various methods in dog training.
"My" prey driven adopted GSG/husky could not care less about food, and looked away at my treat offerings unless I starved her, and she got seriously dejected at corrections, even though she did learn. The little rat terrier could not care less about biting a toy. It has ZERO desirability for him, in fact, he will not bite any at all - but will do just about anything for food. He is quite resilient to corrections.
How on earth can I think the exact same methods will work for each dog and respect them at the same time?
So, you may have to diversify, use whatever works in YOUR life with YOUR dog to train him to be able to do what you need him to do to be safe and to behave in the way he needs to behave.
However, working with my German shepherd husky, I had a deeper question: who is she and what does she need to be dog-happy, or fulfilled? What made that girl tick? What is it that your dog needs and what is it you need him/her to do?
What is the deeper nature of the dog? How can I train my dogs working with their energy channeled in a way that does not just tire them out (like this GSD/husky, though she was not afraid, got equally offended at trotting next to a bike for "exercise" but played running with the other dogs or dug for hours for rodents.) - but satisfies their inner dog-ness, the wild animal in them and their deeply social, cooperative and "in tune" with each other nature? How do I work with their emotional nature? How do I get them to WANT to come with me over running after a cat?
What IS the latest research on learning in dogs? What role does play have in raising puppies? What ARE the latest findings about the hierarchical dominance structure versus the cooperative group nature of a wolf pack?
So far the closest thing I have found is Natural Dog Training.
Having watched a number of videos where Kevin Behan works with dogs, I see him use choke chains, and food - and my impression is: this guy draws on whatever is needed to keep the dogs safe. (Because, lets face it: if you were not concerned about the behaviour of your dog, would you be reading this?)
AND - he is working with the energy of dogs, - reestablishing the dog's ability to conduct and channel energy like they were meant to do - to be able to handle all that emotional energy, prey drive and allow them to be social and playful, happy to be with us, confident in their beingness and abilities and actually wanting to do what we would like them to do....using what is natural to them on the deepest level.
At the same time I wish to honor all who are able and willing to get "red-zone" dogs off death row and actually rehabilitate them to be able to live as sociable dogs with their families.
It is very interesting to read about why dogs are truly most like us humans than any other animal on land.
It is indeed their deep social, cooperative and emotional nature that allows us to connect with them the way we do. - and - they are dogs.
That is almost it for my ramblings this evening. ON the horizon I see things like:
How can Natural Dog Training inform current popular ways of training?
Like, instead of: be your dog's leader - ....be your dog's mouse? hm...how about: be the most attractive to your dog?
How to you explain to others this unity we are with our dogs on an energetic level? We are not actually dominant leaders, we are 2 poles of the same unit...and not only that, we can flip-flop.
Are there similarities in the various training methods? Or is the basis so fundamentally different, that it will be it's own camp of dog training? - will the future of the best dog training really be a diverse method training?
My sense is that Natural Dog Training gets more underneath it all - or rather: it honors the way of the dog on a deeper level than other training methods I have so far encountered. That is why I am drawn to it.
So: how can I learn to actually use Natural Dog Training? A- Z? Will it work for dogs with behaviour problems when I don't have a balanced dog pack of my own?
Other kinds of questions are arising: is it possible to train a dog to be honest and honorable?
How does all this apply to training of dogs bred to be service dogs?
...but more importantly, practical questions: how do I get my terrier to relax on an outing, like when going to the post office?
To this end, I have started to use one of the fundamental techniques in Natural Dog Training: Pushing.
It has been FUN, and it is having the effect of having this little terrier turn towards me and run to me and trust me more than I have ever seen him do.
more thoughts here - in case you missed the other post
If you are interested or intrigued, please check out the Natural Dog Training links - on the sidebar.
and - I don't in any way profit from this - I just so loved this dog and entered into this world - and I want to do the dogs justice. I truly feel that Natural Dog Training has something to offer for any dog owner anywhere using any dog training method.
And then there is this other aspect to Natural Dog Training which may be difficult for some dog owners to face - dogs are emotional beings, they are all heart - and that has a consequence.
Energy, emotion, instinct, thoughts, feelings ... - a proper study of dogs will reveal these fundamental differences and then you can see your dog as your emotional expression.
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