I, in my infinate inability to keep my mouth shut, offered someone training advice on a public forum for their resource guarding Rat Terrier. I told them that when he does the growling bit, calmly walk over, pick him up by the scruff of the neck, and put him in his kennel for a few hours. In my own experience with Ratties, this works pretty well because the dog learns that if you attempt to guard something, you will be corrected and then removed from your treasure and the rest of the pack.
I didn't think that this was in any way controversial. Oh, how wrong I was!
I found out that I might as well have told her to punt the dog like a football across the room, because that is what "scruffing" is to the "All Positive" fanatics. Of course, their suggestions would lead to reinforcement of the behavior or out and out terror.
There were two camps - the first camp said to "redirect the dog's behavior by offering it a treat to give up it's treasure." Are you f*%^ing kidding me? The dog soon learns "hey, if I growl, I get a cookie, and then I can go back to my treasure, growl some more, and get another cookie!" Talk about creating a cycle of psychosis. I could not believe that these armchair experts couldn't see what they would be creating.
The other camp seemed to come straight from Bark Busters. Their "training technique" involved shaking a can of coins (or something else that had a loud noise) whenever the dog growled, and then yell and say GAAAA! or something like that at the same time. Supposedly this would break the dog of resource guarding. No one could actually explain how, though. In my mind, all I could see was a dog learning that if I am chewing something and a human comes by, be scared! Run! They might do something completely irrational!
Of course their reasoning for discounting my advice was that scruffing was harmful to the dog, could lead to injury, could make the dog scared of human hands, would "break" the dog, etc. Never mind that I had actually spent the previous weekend catching small dogs in a terrier race by, you guessed it, picking them up by the scruff of their necks. It was fast, easy and safe for all those involved. And could you believe that NOT ONE terrier owner objected to the way we were all handling the dogs? *eye roll*
Oh, and from one touchy-feely person - the kennel should never be used as "punishment." I don't see how putting a dog in its kennel is punishment - you are putting the dog in his little "house" and leaving him there to ponder the mysteries of the universe because he probably can't see his navel. Okay, actually you are just removing him from the pack. Kennels are boring unless you want to rest - and it is no fun to be in there when everyone else is out of theirs. Put punishment when there is no screaming, kicking, slamming of doors? No, I don't buy it. The removal is the punishment, not the place he was removed to.
I was also pointed to this article more than once. It is entitled "If You're Aggressive, Your Dog Will Be Too." Aggressive acts in the study were defined as hitting or kicking dog, growling at dog, physically forcing the release of an item from a dog's mouth, alpha rolls, staring at or staring down, dominance downs and grabbing the dog by jowls and shaking.
Is anyone surprised at the result that the above actions "elicited an aggressive response from at least 25 percent of the dogs on which they were attempted." No kidding? You mean causing harm and doing violence to your dog will cause it to try and defend itself? /sarcasm. What surprised me most was that this was a self-reporting survey. Even if I did kick a dog, I certainly wouldn't write it down!
My favorite part of the article was this part:
“This study highlights the risk of dominance-based training, which has been made popular by TV, books and punishment-based training advocates,”Herron said. “These techniques are fear-eliciting and may lead to owner-directed aggression.”
Now, I don't know about you, but I haven't seen one television show that advocates punishment and dominance based training? Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that this comment is directed toward one person in particular. I've never seen that person hit a dog, growl at a dog, stare at a dog, or take it down unless it was trying to attack him. What I have seen are quick corrections using a slip chain, amazing timing, control of his own body and mind, and lots of dog sense. It seems that his critics have seen nothing of his actual training or ways and assume that, as Terrierman points out, a 30 second clip on YouTube is totality of a trainer's methods. Do a little search for those clips, and prepared to be horrified about how out of control these animals have been allowed to get.
So my secret is out - I scruff my dogs. I don't redirect their behavior, I quickly correct their misdeeds. I have certain expectations regarding their behavior - with seven terriers, any waivering in leadership could get someone mauled. And Cesar Millan is to me what Justin Beiber is to the preteen girl set.
Cesar's new book is out, and it is called Cesar's Rules. You can read some excerpts here.
And Cesar - call me.
I didn't think that this was in any way controversial. Oh, how wrong I was!
I found out that I might as well have told her to punt the dog like a football across the room, because that is what "scruffing" is to the "All Positive" fanatics. Of course, their suggestions would lead to reinforcement of the behavior or out and out terror.
There were two camps - the first camp said to "redirect the dog's behavior by offering it a treat to give up it's treasure." Are you f*%^ing kidding me? The dog soon learns "hey, if I growl, I get a cookie, and then I can go back to my treasure, growl some more, and get another cookie!" Talk about creating a cycle of psychosis. I could not believe that these armchair experts couldn't see what they would be creating.
The other camp seemed to come straight from Bark Busters. Their "training technique" involved shaking a can of coins (or something else that had a loud noise) whenever the dog growled, and then yell and say GAAAA! or something like that at the same time. Supposedly this would break the dog of resource guarding. No one could actually explain how, though. In my mind, all I could see was a dog learning that if I am chewing something and a human comes by, be scared! Run! They might do something completely irrational!
Of course their reasoning for discounting my advice was that scruffing was harmful to the dog, could lead to injury, could make the dog scared of human hands, would "break" the dog, etc. Never mind that I had actually spent the previous weekend catching small dogs in a terrier race by, you guessed it, picking them up by the scruff of their necks. It was fast, easy and safe for all those involved. And could you believe that NOT ONE terrier owner objected to the way we were all handling the dogs? *eye roll*
Oh, and from one touchy-feely person - the kennel should never be used as "punishment." I don't see how putting a dog in its kennel is punishment - you are putting the dog in his little "house" and leaving him there to ponder the mysteries of the universe because he probably can't see his navel. Okay, actually you are just removing him from the pack. Kennels are boring unless you want to rest - and it is no fun to be in there when everyone else is out of theirs. Put punishment when there is no screaming, kicking, slamming of doors? No, I don't buy it. The removal is the punishment, not the place he was removed to.
I was also pointed to this article more than once. It is entitled "If You're Aggressive, Your Dog Will Be Too." Aggressive acts in the study were defined as hitting or kicking dog, growling at dog, physically forcing the release of an item from a dog's mouth, alpha rolls, staring at or staring down, dominance downs and grabbing the dog by jowls and shaking.
Is anyone surprised at the result that the above actions "elicited an aggressive response from at least 25 percent of the dogs on which they were attempted." No kidding? You mean causing harm and doing violence to your dog will cause it to try and defend itself? /sarcasm. What surprised me most was that this was a self-reporting survey. Even if I did kick a dog, I certainly wouldn't write it down!
My favorite part of the article was this part:
“This study highlights the risk of dominance-based training, which has been made popular by TV, books and punishment-based training advocates,”Herron said. “These techniques are fear-eliciting and may lead to owner-directed aggression.”
Now, I don't know about you, but I haven't seen one television show that advocates punishment and dominance based training? Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that this comment is directed toward one person in particular. I've never seen that person hit a dog, growl at a dog, stare at a dog, or take it down unless it was trying to attack him. What I have seen are quick corrections using a slip chain, amazing timing, control of his own body and mind, and lots of dog sense. It seems that his critics have seen nothing of his actual training or ways and assume that, as Terrierman points out, a 30 second clip on YouTube is totality of a trainer's methods. Do a little search for those clips, and prepared to be horrified about how out of control these animals have been allowed to get.
So my secret is out - I scruff my dogs. I don't redirect their behavior, I quickly correct their misdeeds. I have certain expectations regarding their behavior - with seven terriers, any waivering in leadership could get someone mauled. And Cesar Millan is to me what Justin Beiber is to the preteen girl set.
Cesar's new book is out, and it is called Cesar's Rules. You can read some excerpts here.
And Cesar - call me.
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