[PugClipsz]

Long story short, this man is saying he is an ex marine dog trainer. This situation has got my GF and I furious and I want to make sure I am not crazy for this suggested training advice. I love my dog and could never imagine doing any of these things to "train him" or in my mind, scare him out of doing anything.

We have a GSD that is sometimes very excited and anxious and this is some of the awful advice;

He has told me to hit him on the back, and nose when he is doing something bad or won't drop a ball.
If he is barking at the fence he instructed me to shoot him in the back with a BB gun? Like what??
He told me if a dog is digging holes, to drown it until it "learns its lesson"
He also threw a rock at my dogs back to get him to stop barking.

All of this made me sick to hear and It can't be normal, right? Especially if he was an ex k9 trainer for the marines? Unless they beat the #### out of their dogs.

Just confused and looking for answers.

Thanks!

 

[DaySleepers]

Unfortunately, these kinds of techniques were held up by dog trainers in the past as totally acceptable and even preferable methods. Drowning a dog in a hole they dug particularly reminds me of Keohler, who sadly still has some followers these days even though the trainer himself has passed and his books are thankfully out of print. It was essentially all justified extreme dog abuse. I don't know if that's where your girlfriend's stepdad got everything, but I wouldn't be surprised if he knows about the guy.

It's abuse, legally and morally. It's brutal, and it's godawful. People like this tend to claim they don't believe dogs have emotions, or 'feel pain like we do', but none of it is an excuse and directly contradicts what modern science tells us. Anyone who clings to these methods these days is willfully ignorant and enormously unkind at best (I could say worse, but I'm trying to be tactful and stay within forum rules, lol). Even most people who use physical correction methods like collar pops, shock collars, etc. find these methods abhorrent and abusive. Not my personal training style, but I've seen trainers like this speak out against abusive training and Keohler methods in particular.

I can't speak to how the military trains their dogs, historically or now, but I'd be really surprised if they use methods these days that teach dogs that humans - especially their handlers - are threatening, unpredictable, and aggressive. Sounds like a great way to create dogs who can't work or are outright aggressive back in defense, especially with the temperaments and breeds military dogs frequently are. All conjecture, but it sounds really unlikely to me.

 

[pandora]

I think you need a strong E-collar... Put it round your GF stepdads neck and everytime he suggests such out of date torture methods shock him until he learns to stop giving stupid advice. Hey its training right?


As for you... Grow up stay away from this man and at all costs keep you dog away from him..

 

[LeoRose]

Some people are just... off.

No, you don't need to abuse a dog to train it. While MWD are trained using a fair amount of aversive techniques, they are also trained with a lot of positive-based training.

I would keep your dog as far away from him as possible, and ignore any "advise" he give you.

 

[Aussie Love]

Also, next time he throws a rock at YOUR dog, tell him you're filing a report against him for animal abuse.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

Those are really bad ideas. They are all about punishment and nothing about teaching the dog or rewarding good behavior.

To get your dog to drop anything simply trade for something better. If it is a ball, start with great food and trade for the ball and immediately give the ball back so he knows he can let it go and not lose it.. but will get it back. This can also be taught with two balls.. after he will drop a ball for food.. just trade for the second ball.

If your dog is doing something "bad" figure out what you want him to do instead and teach him to do that.

Assess WHY the dog is barking and teach the dog a different behavior.

FWIW K9 handlers (Police and Military) often are not dog trainers and many are not very good handlers. You need to tell this ex military person to stay away from YOUR dog if for no other reason than the dog is YOUR PROPERTY.