Oh absotively! I can't count the number of complete flakes that call themselves horse trainers that I had to weed through before I stumbled on a guy who just tries his best to make a living doing what he loves, and always willing to learn more. I imagine it's worse with dog trainers and "whisperers" (no offense to Cesar there, although I disagree with some of his ideas, who can argue he knows what he's doing 1000%? No way would any of his ideas hurt your dog. I also like a guy that calls himself Uncle Matty.). We lucked out with Pixie's breeder. She's been in the game since she was a kid, and knows dachshunds better than the back of her hand.
Finding someone to trust is key, and it's really the toughest step.
How I did it, and no I was no professional, just someone who liked starting out young horses, was that I'd read up on equine psychology, mix it with my own understanding, read about new methods, pick and choose what I agreed and didn't agree with, and just take it slow. I never went in not knowing what I was going to do, and when a hurdle appeared, I end the session on any good note I can find (really important for you and the horse IMO), and then go back and have a think about it. I was never afraid to ask advice, never afraid to invite someone I trusted to watch. If there was a dangerous problem I couldn't handle (like a mare who was deathly afraid of bugs, and so was I so I completely sympathized, but it was really really dangerous), I refer the owner on to someone who can help. I'm not going to make the situation worse for me or the horse.
With Beau, (my parent's doxy), I got him started with leash training with a big but the lightest I could find choker chain (because IMO the small ones pinched the neck too much. I wanted him to be comfortable). Now the thing about this is you need to put it on correctly, and you need to be aware of where you are and where the dog is, and you need to use the appropriate amount of pressure. This is true for a horse's mouth as well. In Beau's case, being a nice puppy, using your pinky finger is really enough. He understood what I wanted, and was prancing along with tail up and ears ****ed in no time. The important thing was that I switched to a normal
dog training collar once he got it, and that was two sessions. I know the choke chain is controversal, but I think any leash can be ill-used and servere. Much like even a snaffle bit can be rough in the hands of an idiot. His only quirk is holding the leash in his mouth for the first block. But hey, he's a dachshund, you gotta allow for some of that.
With Pixie, she learned early what to put in her mouth and what not. We always diverted her attention with a toy, which worked great, and a toy and a "thank you!" was always the reward for "leave it" and "cut." The result is I can trust her with my stuff. Once in a blue moon she'll loose control of her bladder if she meets someone that gives her that feeling. It happens often when headfiers would come over, but not at all otherwise. No sense yelling at her though. She doesn't want to soil her territory anymore than you want her to.
But long story short, keep it short, fun, positive, be consistent in your actions, but if you or the pet start messing up, end it quickly on a good note and go back to the drawing board for next time.
Yeah, spray collars are one thing, but shock collars are just
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Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You are a gentleman. I will be calling them this weekend. Cheers!
On one hand, absolutely yes. On the other, it depends. I've seen some... curious extensions of tried-and-true dog training via a friend of mine. To be fair, I think she's quite good and, bizarre as some methods can seem, they do work. At the same time, however, I've seen her put into action different "versions" of her own training that have absolutely no basis in animal psychology or proven methods. Matching her own personality, these tend to be bastardizations of her mentor's training based on her own opinions - many of which I vehemently disagree with. Shock collars (and liberal use of) is one such example.
Long story short, I agree that a trainer can be an invaluable asset in the ongoing training of your pets, just like a human would pick a suitable psychologist and doctor, I think it's important that the same care be taken in selecting a trainer.
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