P&I Dog Training and Pet Services

Introduction: Three basic categories of dog trainers which I place on a sliding scale. The first category on the left is the group of people who beg or bribe and lure their dogs to do something by offering a food or toy reward. Don't get me wrong, I use food and toys in training, but I also use distractions and corrections. The people in this first category use neither. All of the large pet food warehouses (i.e. Pet Smart, Petco , or the Monks of New Skeet etc) sponsor this category of ineffective training because they feel it's politically correct. The problem with this group is that the dogs often choose to not do what's asked because they don't think the reward is not high enough in value to them. These dogs end up being pushy, dominant and often antisocial aggressive animals. These are the dogs that are turned into animal shelters as being unmanageable when in fact they act the way they do as a result of ineffective dog training. At the other end of the scale, on the right side, is the second category of dog trainers. These are trainers who intimidate or force their dogs to do what they want (the William Koehler trainers). I call them the old school "yank and crank" trainers. They put a choke collar on a dog and force it to do everything. Most professional dog trainers use these methods because for them "time is money" and they can get a dog trained much quicker by forcing the dog to perform. The bottom line is with enough force a dog can be trained to do almost anything. The problem with yank and crank trainers is the dogs seldom like their handlers. In fact softer dogs are often afraid of their handlers. These are the dogs that tuck their tails or lay on the ground when asked to do something. These are dogs that look nervous when they are near their owners. That's because they never know when the hammer is going to fall. The problem with both categories of dog trainers is that their training produces inconsistent results along with dogs that don't like or respect their owners. You will never reach consistency in training if you don't have a good bond with your dog, or if your dog does not respect you as a pack leader. The third category of dog trainer is the where I strive to be. Category three dog trainers want to be in the middle of the other two categories. They balance in the middle but are always prepared to move one way or the other depending on what's going on in their dog training at a given moment or point in time. The third group uses motivational methods (food, toys or praise) to take a dog through a learning phase. The most effective motivational method is called training with markers (read my article on this) This is where the dog actually learns the meaning of a command – for example it learns the meaning of the word "COME." Once the dog understands the meaning of the command the trainer then adds distractions to the program. A good example of this is a dog that has learned the meaning of the word "DOWN" but now must learn that "DOWN" means stay down until the handler gives a "RELEASE COMMAND". This means the dog must stay down even if the owner or someone else tosses a ball in front of the dogs feet or drops a hot dog 4 feet from where he is lying. If a dog is disobedient under distraction or does not follow directions this third category of dog trainers teaches a dog that there will be correction for being disobedient. The key here is that corrections are never given unless the owner 100% knows the dog understands what is being asked of him but refuses to follow the command. I love seeing dogs enjoy the training process. Dogs learn very quickly when they are motivated and have clear communication. I love seeing owners excited and surprised at how smart and willing there dogs truly are.