These kind of people make my skin crawl.
Ami Moore
Having worked with some of the top people in the world in two very different dog sports (Agility and Schutzhund), and having spent the last 11 years training, trialing and titling (with top honors) 4 different dogs, I have a plea:
If you have a dog, or your good friends/relatives have a dog, and see someone offering training where the dog is boarded and trained, and in 10 days, or even a month, is "completely reliable" ...... PLEASE.......... run far and fast.
The learning process takes time, in dogs as in people. Would it seem a bit odd to you if I told you that in 10 days (or a month), I could take your 6yr old who has NO knowledge of math, and promise complete fluency in Algebra??
This is what idiots like Moore do. They promise the world and people are willing to pay for it. In the meantime, the dog suffers.
If you look at the top competitors in any sport (dog or human), you will find that they spend YEARS practicing, adjusting and honing their skills. It takes MONTHS of proofing against all sorts of distractions to have a dog be considered "reliable" on a behavior .... and proofing is not done until a dog is well versed in said behavior (i.e. sit) already.
When working with living, sentient beings, there are NO short-cuts. You must put in your time on the field, or in the ring, and build a trusting relationship. If a dog is to return "trained" in short time, you can believe that the dog has been very harshly trained and is working out of fear and avoidance of correction. I am not saying that prong collars or e-collars are evil, I've worked with both and fully understand them. However, any tool can be mis-used and it is this mis-use which quickly leads to abuse. :frown:
If this rant gets even one person to reconsider using a "board and train" for quick turn-around basic training, I'll be very happy. :smile:
Ami Moore
Having worked with some of the top people in the world in two very different dog sports (Agility and Schutzhund), and having spent the last 11 years training, trialing and titling (with top honors) 4 different dogs, I have a plea:
If you have a dog, or your good friends/relatives have a dog, and see someone offering training where the dog is boarded and trained, and in 10 days, or even a month, is "completely reliable" ...... PLEASE.......... run far and fast.
The learning process takes time, in dogs as in people. Would it seem a bit odd to you if I told you that in 10 days (or a month), I could take your 6yr old who has NO knowledge of math, and promise complete fluency in Algebra??
If you look at the top competitors in any sport (dog or human), you will find that they spend YEARS practicing, adjusting and honing their skills. It takes MONTHS of proofing against all sorts of distractions to have a dog be considered "reliable" on a behavior .... and proofing is not done until a dog is well versed in said behavior (i.e. sit) already.
When working with living, sentient beings, there are NO short-cuts. You must put in your time on the field, or in the ring, and build a trusting relationship. If a dog is to return "trained" in short time, you can believe that the dog has been very harshly trained and is working out of fear and avoidance of correction. I am not saying that prong collars or e-collars are evil, I've worked with both and fully understand them. However, any tool can be mis-used and it is this mis-use which quickly leads to abuse. :frown:
If this rant gets even one person to reconsider using a "board and train" for quick turn-around basic training, I'll be very happy. :smile: