Dog (Canine) Obedience Training
by Pearson’s Professional Pet Services, caring for your pet in Golden, Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Lakewood and West Metro Denver
I am a “certified” dog / canine obedience trainer in Arvada, and train dogs in Golden, Broomfield, Westminster, Wheatridge, Lakewood and West Metro Denver, Colorado. That and a couple of bucks will get you a cup of coffee (do you remember when a cup of coffee was a quarter? My, how times have changed.) The fact that I or anybody else is a “certified” canine obedience trainer is nearly irrelevant. The number of organizations issuing dog obedience training “certificates” is amazing. My particular training came from Animal Behavior College in California. They have a good program and it teaches the basics. But, when it comes down to it, I harken back to a comment made by a fellow graduate that I was interrogating as I was doing my due diligence in preparation for taking the course. He said, “Mostly I learned from the dogs.” I recently heard of a dog trainer, whom I assume was “certified” by someone/thing promoting getting on all fours (hands and knees) and biting a dog on the neck like it’s mom used to do. I’m not sure of the goal, but gimme a break!
The best way to select an obedience trainer for your dog is by referral. Do you know of him/her? Is he/she highly regarded by others with dogs? Do dogs like her/him? (This is very important, as dogs can tell if somebody is afraid of them or is nervous about them and will take advantage of the circumstance). Does he/she have pooches? Is the dog trainer nearby? (This is important because no matter how gifted the trainer, he/she is useless if inaccessible). I consider myself pretty good and train dogs in the Arvada, Golden, Broomfield, Westminster, Wheatridge, Lakewood and West Metro Denver area. Does the “certified” trainer dress up his or her dogs?
I am not sure why, but we humans go to extraordinary lengths to transform our dogs into little people. We should not do that, as they are nearly perfect as they are. They only put up with the sweaters, et al because they wish to please. One of my favorite dog quotes is “If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater. . . suggest that he wear a tail.” by Fran Lebowitz.
And that is a good segue back to the art of canine or dog training. I say art, because there is very little science to it. Either you (as a dog trainer) got it, or you don’t.
Now you hear and see folks running around spouting pseudo-scientific dog obedience training terms like “Operant Conditioning, Classic conditioning, Pavlovian conditioning, holistic methods, positive reinforcement only methods,” etc. That’s nice. But in the final analysis, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Will your pooch do as you ask when you ask in the way your trainer has suggested?
My particular animal obedience training certification required learning a bit about how animal training in general and dog training in particular evolved. It seems the formal genre grew out of necessity and was mostly fostered by the military that has a particular method of getting acquiescence. They must have figured that if intimidation, and threats worked with people, it will work with dogs too. And for many dogs it does. But for those that it does not work with, it leaves a broken, hollow pooch.
There is an easier way, and that is to take advantage of the dog’s natural instinct to wish to please. Rewarding a dog for doing something right usually works better than punishing him for doing something wrong. However, that is not to say that there should not be disincentives for doing the wrong thing, only that the dog’s actions, attitude, past experiences, breed, physical limitations and a whole plethora of other things need to be taken into consideration.
For example, when last I checked, dogs do not speak English (or any other human language), yet we expect them to understand human words. There have even been studies that speak to the size of a dog’s “vocabulary.” Well, their ability to understand our words comes directly from their desire to please us. And we should have the common sense to understand that they need a little help when it comes to our language.
So… looking for a good dog trainer in Arvada, Golden, Wheatridge, Broomfield, Lakewood, Westminster, and West Metro Denver, Colorado? Look for somebody who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk and wins the respect of your dog and his/her owner (You?). Call 403-421-7223 to see if you and I fit for free!
