He was happy to say he had expected to find him to be aggresive, but really just found him to be dominant.[/qoute]
Yikes! how I hate that kind of thinking.
See my post on the
The Sporn and the Gentle Leader ...not happening
but I do take solice in thes words by Ray Coppinger when it comes to trainers using such teminology
A Talk with Ray & Lorna Coppinger
Barbara: Among your new views of the dog is a rejection of the trainer as the "alpha wolf" and the dogs as the "submissive pack member." Why have you rejected what has essentially become dogma in the dog training world?
Ray & Lorna: The alpha wolf model of dog training certainly does appear frequently in print, but we wonder if it was ever really incorporated into serious dog training. We suspect it was never very useful in training dogs, and that almost everybody intuitively knew that. It was "say one thing, do another."
...Training dogs is fun for me and for the dog, as it should be. Our sled dogs ran because running is fun and feels good. Endorphins are released, social interactions are increased. Try running while you're being submissive. Dogs aren't pulling sleds because they are forced to or are submitting to some person's will. Everybody who ever drove dogs knows that you absolutely cannot force them to do it.
Barbara: It will be hard to get that alpha wolf/submissive wolf thinking eliminated from the parlance of dog training, but for starters, how should people think about their relationship with their dog?
Ray & Lorna: It won't be hard to get the wolf pack mentality to go by the board simply because we don't think many of the experts ever really believed it. It is through social play behavior that animals learn from one another. Further, it is fun to play with our dogs even if none of us learn anything. It will certainly make more sense to the dog than to be tumbled onto its back and growled at by a human. "
Not meant to demean the trainer because obviously he is doing a good job. It is just these types of myths in the wrong hand leads to conclussion by many owners that often result in harsh treatment of dogs in the name of training. These dogs often end up with serious behavioral problems that result in eventually the dog being euthanised. This is a large problem in the country.
The other point I would Like to make is I think it was wise to seek out a professional to help you out. Just as you said "He basically is saying what every one says, but his aproach is very kind", you can read the word but human beings learn much better by observing. Just a little time with a professional can make thing better much faster than trying to implent what some one has wrtten, Something always get loss in the translation.
Good luck and continued success with your trainer and better behaved companion.
[ February 23, 2006, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: Mikey T ]
