Re: [pyrnet] not sure about trainer's methods

["kdbooth" <kdbooth@mindspring.com>]

Katie,

I agree with your feelings that the trainer was confusing the dogs.  I
thought the way to break bad habits is to catch them in the act, not
necessarily set them up for it.  Had he sprayed anything in my dog's face, I
would have walked out.  I've had loads of success getting my dogs to behave
themselves with just pats and sweet talk.  Maybe you should look for a
trainer who uses positive reinforcement instead.  I'd feel like a worthless
heel if my dogs only minded me out of fear.  Trust your gut feeling; we
women are good at that unless it involves a man ;-)

Kim


----- Original Message -----
From: Katie Allison Granju <kgranju@yahoo.com>
To: <pyrnet-L@pyrnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 7:52 PM
Subject: [pyrnet] not sure about trainer's methods


>
> > Last night Leo and I attended our first obedience
> > class since his puppy k-garten class. We signed up
> > for
> > a class local to me with a trainer who raises and
> > trains Pyrs and has had excellent success in
> > obedience
> > with his champion male Pyr.
> >
> > So we arrived there and I met the kennel owner and
> > the
> > trainer and then the six or seven other handlers and
> > their dogs all filed into an indoor training area.
> > The
> > trainer began his first night "lecture" on what to
> > expect from the class. All was going along smoothly
> > until he asked us if any of our dogs have nuisance
> > behaviors. A woman with a gorgeous young Australian
> > cattle dog said that her guy jumps up on people. So
> > the trainer approached the dog speaking to him in a
> > sing songy sort of voice that seemed to me to sort
> > of
> > encourage/tempt the dog to jump up on him. When the
> > dog jumped up, the trainer swiftly raised his knee
> > and
> > knocked the dog backwards on the floor! I was
> > aghast.
> > If he had done that to Leo, I would have left
> > immediately. Leo is a very balanced dog --neither
> > dominant or submissive, but he totally trusts that
> > humans will not intentionally frighten or hurt him.
> > He
> > would have been very freaked out if that had
> > happened.
> > So anyway, I sat there feeling very uncomfortable (I
> > could tell the other dog's owner felt unsure of this
> > as well but she wanted to trust that this guy knows
> > what he is doing). So the trainer goes on to ask if
> > anyone else's dog has any nuisance behaviors. The
> > owner of a young Rott said that his dog barks too
> > much. SO the trainer got a spray bottle of bitter
> > apple and walked toward the dog (who had already
> > demonstrated that he was nervous and feeling
> > aggressive) and as the dog began to bark at him, the
> > trainer said "good speaking" in a soft, kind tone
> > and
> > then he squirted the dog directly in the face! When
> > the dog cowered next to his owner and stopped
> > barking,
> > the trainer said in the same tone "good hushing!".
> > The
> > cattle dog then barked (because the other dog had)
> > and
> > got the same treatment. By this time that dog was so
> > frightend of the trainer that he tried to hide
> > behind
> > his owner any time the trainer came near him. I
> > found
> > this approach incredibly confusing and I think the
> > dogs did too. There was NO WAY I was going to tell
> > the
> > guy that Leo barks like a madman way too much of the
> > time.
> >
> > The final thing the guy did that made me
> > uncomfortable
> > was to suggest that every dog in the class would
> > work
> > better with a pinch collar. He said that he strongly
> > discourages the use of a buckle collar when working
> > any dog. Leo does not need a pinch collar and I am
> > not
> > getting him one.
> >
> > So anyway, how does all of this sound to those of
> > you
> > who are more experienced with trainers?
> >
> > Oh yeah, one final thing, it was interesting for me
> > to
> > see that Leo is WAAAY bigger than either of his show
> > Pyrs (both adults -- one male, one female)
> >
> > Katie
> >
> >
> >
> > =====
> > The Great Pyrenees as Pet Page at:
> > http://hometown.aol.com/oxymomkate/index.html ***
> > Giant Breed Agility at:
> >
> http://www.egroups.com/subscribe/giantbreedagility***Jack
> > Russell Terrier Agility
> >
> at:http://www.egroups.com/subscribe/JackRussellAgility
> >
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