Training
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Adrienne Believes. . .
that dog trainers need to know and understand a variety of tools. The most important one is knowing how to communicate with the dog on the end of the leash at this very moment of training. . .not the one you trained yesterday. A good trainer must understand how to break down an exercise to its smallest parts for both the dog and the student trainer.
that the dog is trying his/her hardest to do what you want. Rushing stages of training cause the dog to "guess wrong" and become confused. The trainer's job is to help the dog be inevitably right.
the hardest part of the dog and handler team to train is the handler.
corrections can be a valuable part of the training session, but do not need to be harsh or cruel. They just need to convey, "don't go there/try that" and "that behavior can not earn you re-enforcement." Some dogs cannot manage the information "I AM WRONG," and do not benefit at all from this information. Dogs do not need to understand what was wrong. Wrong is a concept that they are unable to understand (just like the word "no").
re-enforcement through eye contact, treats, toys and play helps the dog begin to figure out if "I want the reward, this is the way to earn it."
dogs can find some behaviors "self-rewarding" and cannot wait to do them again. These are the exercises that you find easy to train. Dogs can also find some undesirable behaviors self rewarding, too. These are the hardest to stop. You must devise a management system that will eliminate them, while teaching the dog a different and desirable response.
when a trainer aggressively confronts a dog who is behaving aggressively the dog's aggression will likely increase.
dogs in training stay younger, both mentally and physically than those who are couch potatoes.
it is impossible that any dog is "trained" in 8 weeks or 4 days or some of the other claims that are made, usually by someone trying to sell you the latest training collar, book, or DVD. Training is accomplished over time. Dogs can "suppress undesirable behaviors" through harsh corrections. This will work in terms of your management of the dog as long as it is consistent and as long as the dog is afraid of being corrected. To consider a dog trained (as opposed to well managed) he must do what it is asked with out a training collar and/or leash.
much can be accomplished in as little as 4 months with a small daily commitment of 15-20 minutes per day.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, training dogs is FUN! Ask anyone who has trained one; a dog that can earn a UD is the most lovely dog to spend time with in the entire world!