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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
Speaking at last year’s EG Conference in Los Angeles, animal behaviorist Ian Dunbar gave a talk on dog-friendly dog training. His training method emphasizes positive reinforcement as the key motivator. Dunbar’s talk tackles issues of dominance, classical training (which involves punishment), dogs learning English as a second language, turning distractions into trained behaviors, punishment without force, and human relationship skills as applied to puppies…and kids.
There are a few odd audio issues during the talk, but it’s definitely worth a look for dog owners.
Yes, he is the Daddy; and he’s got a note to prove it. I wonder how he feels about Cesar Milan.
Great post. Love these TED videos.
posted by Pete on 8-28-2008 at 6:08 pm
Great Post!
As an avid dog lover, I can’t say how wholeheartedly my fiance and I have embraced this approach to dog training. I’ve never heard of Dunbar, but we use the same method of POSITIVE dog training, in which bad behavior is ignored and good behavior rewarded. With an Akita mix at home (a notoriously hard breed to train) this method has been an unqualified success.
One of the things you learn right off the bat is that dogs primarily communicate with each other through body language, so human training, which relies on audio cues, is very foreign to them. First, you have to teach your dog to LISTEN, you have to teach them to hear what you are saying rather than watch what you are doing with your body. Once the dog has learned that the audio cues are the important ones, it is amazing how quickly and easily they learn. Dogs want to please us, to be with us, to be part of our families and ‘packs.’ Once you start communicating with you dog in a way he or she can understand it is simply amazing how rich and satifying the human/canine bond can be.
I could go on an on about how beneficial this training is, how it strengthens your bond with your dog, etc. How many of us spend lots of time YELLING at our dogs? Its about as effective as yelling at someone who doesn’t speak English. I would heartily encourage anyone who is interested in giving their dog the best quality of life possible to look into this. Simply Googling “Positive Dog Training” + the area you live in should bring up results with trainers in your neck of the woods.
posted by MRW on 8-29-2008 at 9:17 am