The Balanced Approach to Dog Training
In 1986 at the age of 30 I acquired my third dog, a little Bichon Frise. I had taken my first two dogs to a few neighborhood obedience classes and had been very pleased with them, but this time I wanted more. I had seen a few AKC obedience trails and decided that this is what I wanted for this dog. So I found a very successful and prominent trainer and started taking weekly private lessons.
My Bichon Frise did earn her Utility Dog Title at the tender age of two years and one month. That is, even by today’s standards, remarkably quick. Very few dogs get their UD before the age of four, and some owners struggle with their dogs for years and some give up. It’s a very difficult title to achieve.
However, in my case I learned that the end did not justify the means. I used, as most people did back then, a force method of dog training. Hard jerking, pulling, ear pinching, were the norm in this method. Positive reinforcement was never stressed. And praise really became, for the dog, a sign that something bad was NOT going to happen. Food, play, and putting the accent of rewarding what the dog did RIGHT, instead of punishing what the dog did WRONG was NEVER a part of training.
I knew inside of myself that this was not the way I wanted to train my dogs in the future, and in reality many people have changed their training methods. But some of the die-hards still exist.
Today I have a BALANCED approach. Yes, this means I use positive training, but positive is NOT permissive. Of course I will stop, or correct the behaviors I don’t want. But I create what I call ‘rewardable’ behaviors, which when highly reinforced become part of the dogs life and habits. No, the dog does not, and should not, only work for food. That is part of balanced training. But why should your dog only work because he is afraid of being punished?
Now, twenty years, and eleven dogs and many AKC titles later, I see that I was right. The balanced approach is the way to go, and my dogs love me for it!