Can Dog Training Be Effective, Efficient AND Compassionate? #201
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 22 March 2023
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
We get a lot of great comments on our videos, and sometimes I come across one that inspires a podcast episode like this one. I’m answering a very thoughtful question that many people might have. Should you abandon one training philosophy for another when results appear elusive? And should you pick a dog training lane and stay in that lane? Professional dog trainers often forget what it’s like to be starting out. That can lead to learning overwhelm and students feeling less confident about the education they’re getting and giving their dogs, so it’s important for everyone to know the direction they are heading.
In the episode you'll hear:
• A listener question about abandoning a dog training method when results could be around the corner.
• Why compassionate, efficient, and effective dog training is the trifecta of my methodology.
• The difference between finding behaviors to praise vs. behaviors to punish.
• False assumptions that some balanced dog trainers make about positive reinforcement.
• That with enough time, any dog training method will work, but there are other considerations.
• Questions to ask yourself when your dog doesn’t behave as you expected.
• How my mentor Bob Bailey defines the difference between a good trainer and a great trainer.
• What “behavior is a function of consequence” means with dog training as an example.
• Why I believe the use of aversives to change behavior in dog training are antiquated.
• The two factors of mechanics and the other 23 hours of the day in dog training progress.
Resources:
1. DogsThat YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@DogsThat
2. Podcast Episode 185: I Tried That, It Didn’t Work - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/185/
3. Podcast Episode 195: Making Your Mind Your Most Powerful Dog Training Tool - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/195/
4. YouTube Playlist: Reinforcement, Permissions and Transfer of Value in Dog Training - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy1IUj_4P54q2PIuLNtnXjFO
5. Podcast Episode 193: Do Different Dogs Really Need Different Dog Training Methods? - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/193/
6. YouTube Playlist: Mastery of Positive Reinforcement Based Dog Training - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy20_Ko8p2SaE6B2IT4o6g6K
7. YouTube Playlist: Susan Garrett's Dog Training Philosophy and Training Processes - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy2An5_3KqDPqFVV6J6dYsYx
8. Podcast Episode 197: Outsmarting Distractions: How To Use Environmental Reinforcement in Dog Training - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/197/
9. Podcast Episode 74: Yes, Susan Garrett’s Dogs Sniff On Walks - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/74/
10. Podcast Episode 11: Episode 11: The Power of Permission in Dog Training - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/11/
11. YouTube Video: Understanding Your Dog's Reinforcement Zone (RZ) - https://youtu.be/OaUAScgaFAg
12. Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-tPwWEe18M
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | We get a lot of great comments over on a YouTube channel and my team and I try to answer each |
| 0:04.4 | and every one of them. But every once in a while, I come across one and think that would be |
| 0:08.4 | the topic of a great podcast episode and today's today. And to answer some of this question, |
| 0:14.8 | I decided to quote my mentor, Bob Bailey. |
| 0:35.0 | Hi, I'm Susan Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. And first, the question. This is a question posted by Mark Edwards. And it's a rather long question, but it's a good one. |
| 0:40.4 | Mark asks, the point you're making about mindset is spot-down. However, dog trainers across the |
| 0:46.4 | dog training style spectrum clearly underestimate how wildly overwhelming dog training information is |
| 0:53.6 | to people who don't do it for a living. |
| 0:56.5 | It's true. I can appreciate that because sometimes those of us who are professionals who've |
| 1:02.1 | been doing it for 30 years, we're too far removed from our beginner days. But ideally, |
| 1:08.0 | we're coaching people with empathy who are going through their beginner days. |
| 1:12.2 | Okay, Mark goes on. It's hard to know what's right for our dogs, specifically between positive |
| 1:17.4 | only and balanced training. It's a reality that's almost impossible for a dog trainer to |
| 1:22.1 | explain without oversimplifying regardless of where they fall in the spectrum. |
| 1:25.9 | If those of us want well-trained dogs |
| 1:28.8 | aren't getting their desired results, how are we to know when to abandon our current training |
| 1:34.1 | practices or stick with them longer? We have no way of knowing if we stick with what we're doing |
| 1:39.3 | an extra week or extra month or years that will achieve the success we're seeking. We also have no way of |
| 1:45.9 | knowing if our dogs would be more receptive to a different approach. But here's the biggest pickle. |
| 1:50.9 | It's impossible for us to know how much time is actually going to be necessary to make reasonable |
| 1:56.4 | assessments about the direction to go in. I appreciate you. I'm one of your members as well as a member |
| 2:01.6 | of a popular balance training program. All of you seem to care very much about the safety of |
... |
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