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Lately, I've watched a TON of YouTube dog training videos. The most popular trainers seem to be Caesar Millan and Zak George.
Millan's techniques seem to work quite well but I find his methods a bit harsh (ie: what he calls "a bite," which is using his hand to jab a dog in the side).
George's methods are much gentler--more to my liking--but I wonder if his techniques really work. Unfortunately, he appears somewhat inept in many of his YouTube videos.
I've read about "balanced" training and "positive" training. This seems to be a really hot topic. Some "positive" trainers view "balanced" as physically abusive (Millan style or worse?) Some "balanced" trainers view "positive" training as rewarding the good, ignoring the bad (George style?). I watched some Victoria Stillwell "positive" training videos where she turns her back or leaves a room when a dog is misbehaving. Sounds good in theory, but have you ever been around parents who ignore their children's bad behavior? Personally, I find it to be horrible parenting, though not as bad as beating a child into submission. Seems to be that there has to be an in-between style of dog training but if there is, I have not yet found a name for it.
In another thread, someone mentioned Dr. Ian Dunbar. From what little I've read in his free PDF, "BEFORE You Get Your Puppy," his Sirius training style is positive. https://www.dogstardaily.com/node/646
Several years ago, I had the chance to watch a local trainer. He used a forceful, leash-jerking method. On his website, he says he uses a "praise-oriented "balanced" style of training derived from Koehler and Woodhouse methods. (I am not familiar with Koehler or Woodhouse.)
So, if I don't want to ignore my dog's misbehavior and I do not want to use physical punishment, what type of training or trainer should I be looking for?
Maybe I should learn from a positive trainer and use my own style of gentle punishments: As puppies, I used a squirt water bottle and a firm "ehh" sound -- kind of like a human buzzer. Later, when they were a little older, all I needed was a quick "ehh" sound to make them stop and think about what they were doing.
Millan's techniques seem to work quite well but I find his methods a bit harsh (ie: what he calls "a bite," which is using his hand to jab a dog in the side).
George's methods are much gentler--more to my liking--but I wonder if his techniques really work. Unfortunately, he appears somewhat inept in many of his YouTube videos.
I've read about "balanced" training and "positive" training. This seems to be a really hot topic. Some "positive" trainers view "balanced" as physically abusive (Millan style or worse?) Some "balanced" trainers view "positive" training as rewarding the good, ignoring the bad (George style?). I watched some Victoria Stillwell "positive" training videos where she turns her back or leaves a room when a dog is misbehaving. Sounds good in theory, but have you ever been around parents who ignore their children's bad behavior? Personally, I find it to be horrible parenting, though not as bad as beating a child into submission. Seems to be that there has to be an in-between style of dog training but if there is, I have not yet found a name for it.
In another thread, someone mentioned Dr. Ian Dunbar. From what little I've read in his free PDF, "BEFORE You Get Your Puppy," his Sirius training style is positive. https://www.dogstardaily.com/node/646
Several years ago, I had the chance to watch a local trainer. He used a forceful, leash-jerking method. On his website, he says he uses a "praise-oriented "balanced" style of training derived from Koehler and Woodhouse methods. (I am not familiar with Koehler or Woodhouse.)
So, if I don't want to ignore my dog's misbehavior and I do not want to use physical punishment, what type of training or trainer should I be looking for?
Maybe I should learn from a positive trainer and use my own style of gentle punishments: As puppies, I used a squirt water bottle and a firm "ehh" sound -- kind of like a human buzzer. Later, when they were a little older, all I needed was a quick "ehh" sound to make them stop and think about what they were doing.