The most endearing phrase used to describe the domestic dog is, “Man’s best friend.” This is a title that has been earned over thousands of years in countries all over the world.  From the companion of kings, to driving sheep with the shepherd, from tracking game beside the hunter, to guarding the home and family of his master, our “best friend” has filled many roles faithfully and willingly. Whatever the dog’s role was to be, it was defined by his human friend who then went on to teach (train) the dog for that role. In this process, the dog’s needs were also met and the relationship flourished.   This very special relationship continues to this day and is the reason most people continue to bring dogs into their homes.  For their part, the dog is more than happy to fulfill the role, "companion for the family," and with just a small amount of guidance, understanding and structure on the owners part, the dog will hold up his end of that relationship.    The desire for companionship is something that is shared by both the dog and his owner and does not need to be trained into the dog. What is needed however is training that will help him understand the boundaries, rules and expectations with which he must abide.  Once we bring a dog into our home, our lives are forever changed. He starts off living in a small corner of our house and ends up occupying a very large part of our hearts. If you consider the history man and dog share, the millennia spent developing literally hundreds of breeds to perform thousands of specialized jobs and the sheer success of that relationship, you must conclude mankind knows how to live with, raise and train the dogs entrusted to his stewardship.  This body of knowledge has been growing as more information, tools and ideas (having proven their worth) have been added to it.

Approximately 20 - 30 years ago we saw the beginnings of a shift which has begun the alarming trends I mentioned earlier.  The dog culture, steeped in it's rich history, began to see the arrival of hordes of new idealistic "trainers" claiming to offer the latest of what science has to offer.  Even though their claims were (and continue to be) false and misleading, they persist with an almost ideological zeal.  Like any malignancy, their ideology has been growing rapidly while contributing almost nothing to the overall welfare of the body and ultimately can prove fatal.   Whereas this body of knowledge (living with, raising and training dogs) has been growing for generations by adding new ideas, tools and information THAT HAVE PROVEN THEIR WORTH, this new wave seeks to limit, ban and destroy.  Practitioners of this ideology seem to have generally coalesced under the "Positive Dog Training" label of which the more radical elements have clearly been influenced by the push to humanize pets and the "Animal Rights" agenda.  Rather than attempt to prove the value of their ideology through a demonstration of better, more reliable results, they attempt to take their cause to the legislatures and have laws passed to make all but themselves illegitimate.   Why take such a tactic?  Because the results simply aren't there.  If they were then traditional, balanced dog trainers (being a very pragmatic and eclectic group) would have embraced the positive dog training ideal - sort of the "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door" principle.  The fact is however, what we see today is a 25 year failed experiment - contrast that to the thousands of years of success.  If you then want to maintain such a narrow-minded, idealistic, moralistic cause and you cannot compete (because of a failing product) then you don't compete.  Instead, you attack and attempt to abolish the successful product so you can replace it with your own offering.

 

So, where do we find ourselves and our dogs today?  Where has just one generation of "fur kids" and "pets are people too," brought us?  Unfortunately after thousands of years that has seen the human/canine culture flourish, develop and grow, the past twenty-five years has put us into a period of rapid decline.  We now find ourselves in an age of breed bans, organized attacks designed to marginalize and eliminate dog breeders.  We witness attacks on people attempting to participate in dog shows, the promotion of "designer" breeds, severe limits on dog ownership and the elimination of almost all spaces where well-mannered dogs can be allowed to run free of their leash.   In addition we are seeing attacks on dog ownership itself as the more politically correct terms "pet parent" and "guardian" are promoted.  We see efforts to distort the historical and correct role of obedience, leader, commands and limits...and while we're at it, when was the last time you heard the concept mentioned of dog and their master?    We are seeing mandated, "spay and neuter" programs which, if truth be told, have nothing to do with population control.  We see petitions and lobbying efforts attempting to eliminate effective training methods and training tools and we see animals being put to death every day because the claim is they are untrainable.

Interesting indeed is the fact that when any of these so called "untrainable" dogs are fortunate enough to be taken to a good traditional trainer utilizing a balanced approach, most (if not all) can be quickly turned around.  Personally, I see clients all the time that have spent countless hours and thousands of dollars working with "Positive Dog Trainers" only to be told that they will have to learn to live with and/or manage the behaviours the owners had been hoping to change.  Generally, after only a few sessions here, the owners will feel they have gained what they had been told was not possible.  Instead of being honest with the owners and telling them that their philosophy limits their ability to help, they tell the owner that the problem lies with their dog.   It is very important to note that nothing much is new under the sun when it comes to dogs and how they behave.  It is very unlikely that you have stumbled across a behaviour that has not been observed and dealt with many times before - dog training did not just begin 30 years ago.  If you seek out a "balanced training" solution from trainers that have schooled themselves in results based training, your chances of finding a method that works are really good.  Always remember: humane training must also be effective training.

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