Dog Gone Doggies

There are many methods that dog trainers use to achieve training results. When all is said and done, though, there are two main training methods that are most common. Those methods are what I term 'Old School Trainers' and 'New School Trainers'. This article will examine in detail the pros and cons of these methods.

1- Old school dog trainers- These are the types of dog trainers that use an over-abundance of force. They are known for being harsh, heavy-handed, and can be brutal at times. They are known for yelling, smacking, and doing other things that can be harmful to the family dog. This style of training was made popular by a famous Hollywood trainer named Bill Koehler. While Koehler made many advancements and contributed a lot of methods to the dog training world there are several areas where his methods were too harsh or over the top.

This style of training is outdated and doesn't get the job done. This type of training is not recommended. While it is possible to get some results with this style most of the time you'll find that you lose the character of the dog and the relationship between the dog and owner. Unfortunately, there are many a dog trainer who prescribes to these methods. The end result, typically, are dogs who are depressed, down trodden, even fearful of their owners. When too much correction is used in dog training the results suffer.

2- New school dog trainers- These are the types of trainers that only use treats and refuse to use corrections or other deterrents for molding their dog's behavior. They believe that any sort of physical correction is cruel and uncalled for. They warn against using training collars or other devices that would give a physical correction to a dog.

The problem with this style of training is that it isn't complete. It doesn't follow the model that dogs themselves use for learning and it doesn't achieve a level of obedience that is very useful. It's easy to get a dog to do something for a treat, but not easy to do that when there are heavy distractions. Unfortunately, as well, there is many a dog trainer that prescribes to this method of training. These types of trainers love dogs and do great job in getting very basic obedience they tend to fall short in advanced obedience, fixing dog aggression, heavy destruction problems and more. I always tell people to picture a scenario in their head. Imagine a dog is running towards the street to chase a cat or a ball. The owner screams to the dog to come back because he or she recognizes the impending danger. What is the dog going to choose? To come back to get a treat? Or to continue chasing the ball towards the street and possibly get hit by a car? Most people realize that the dog is more likely to continue the chase because treat training will only go so far.

The best style of training is what I call a 'stabilized approach' to training. That is where we use corrections in training but we do so in a way that is humane and fair. Corrections can be a spray bottle, a training collar or other method that is designed to get the dog's attention and not cause harm or pain.

We also use a lot of motivation but we use more physical and verbal praise than we do use treats. In the place of treats we use patting the dog, showing affection, and verbal rewards.

The ideal is that we have a dog that learns that obedience is a necessary rule but that it's also fun to be obedient. This allows for more balance in the training methods and isn't too polarized on either end of the spectrum. One ends up with a dog who is not only obedient, but is obedient even with bigger distractions. Using this method of training we've been very successful in fixing things like aggressive dogs, behavior problems, destruction problems, separation anxiety, off leash obedience training and so much more.

When it comes to dog training, remember that it is never good to be too extreme on one end or the other. Proper balance and stability is the key to having the best trained dog.

Ty Brown is a Salt Lake City dog trainer and the owner of CommuniCanine Inc., recognized as Utah's #1 dog training company. CommuniCanine specializes in fixing aggressive dogs and advanced obedience training.

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