[QUOTE=wendy;5798558]
keep in mind that “reinforcement-based” training doesn’t necessarily mean treats. Many dogs would rather work for toys, or praise, or petting, or games; and most good trainers incorporate “life rewards”, things the dogs wants now (like going outside or getting supper or being allowed on the couch) into training.
CM’s “training” is, in general, based on old-fashioned “voodoo dominance rituals”. These are petty little behaviors that one is told to engage in on a regular basis that will, somehow, convince the dog you are “dominant” over the dog, and the idea is that if you can continually convince the dog you are “dominant” the dog will, mysteriously, somehow get “trained”. These ritual behaviors include things like: standing up straight, never letting the dog walk in front of you, never letting the dog go out doors before you, never letting the dog eat before you do, one’s attitude of purpose (CM’s “energy”), and some go so far as to insist you never let the dog’s head be higher than one’s own head. The idea is that you must constantly engage in these rituals or the dog will attempt to “seize control”. This concept was totally debunked decades ago- dogs don’t go around trying to challenge humans for “dominance”, nor do they understand the purpose of these “rituals”. The primary effect of engaging in these rituals, most of which are traditionally enforced by using punishment and force, is to produce a shut-down dog- one who is confused and scared to the point of not-doing-much. What CM calls “calm submissive”, which is NOT a desirable state for a dog.
Anyway, whether or not you manage to convince your dog you are “dominant” doesn’t mean much when it comes to dog behavior. You can be the most “dominant” person around and I can assure you it won’t improve your dog’s understanding of basic obedience commands OR basic manners. Only training does that. Might as well just use your time on training and forget about the “voodoo dominance rituals”.
One of the key aspects of training is called “proofing”- teaching the dog that variations in environment don’t matter, the command is all that matters. “proofing” means the dog obeys you no matter what. A “proofed” dog will heel even if you are slouching and ignoring the dog in favor of chatting on your phone. A “proofed” dog will sit and stay even if you are lying on the floor. A dog “trained” using “dominance rituals” won’t because they learned the human aggressive body posturing is part of the “cue” to behave in certain ways.[/QUOTE]
Very good explanation, thank you.
I think it was in the mid 80’s when Bob Bailey and others started explaining these theories.
Before, the good, sensible trainers were already using something similar naturally, just didn’t put it together as a theory of learning.
Slowly, as that kind of greater understanding of more diverse ways of communicating with our dogs were explored, we learned where we had been assuming big time and, as CM still does today, we were really barking up the wrong tree.
Sometimes, what seems to make sense to us, it is, if we really think this thru and watch our dogs, not at all the way the dog is understanding it.
Thank you for explaining those theories so clearly.
