Boxergirl
Well-Known Member
I think the kick to the golden was hard, abusive and completely unnecessary. Would you kick your child in the gut, hard enough for it to create a loud thud just because your child was overly excited? They are studying dogs brains and the way they learn and have found they are unlike other animals and actually learn things the same way a 2yr old would.
I had the perception that "positive" trainers were 100% positive and did not use one because of my perception. I figured, while my dog is biting my child do I really want to be trying to shove treats in his mouth? Once my Dane got to the point that I could not trust him with my children at all I called the nearest trainer who is certified and only uses "positive methods". What I found is yes, she uses treats for training but when he is misbehaving she is firm and does not stand for bad behavior. It was completely the opposite of what I thought it would be. I really don't consider her to be all positive. She is balanced. She is firm when needed and uses positive methods instead of force to train. I look at training completely different now. In the case of the goldens there are many other methods that could have been used that would not instill fear in the dogs or require kicking them into a calm state. The resource guarding could have used desensitizing instead of pushing the dog over its breaking point giving it no other choice but to bite. Yes, the other methods would have taken longer and made for much more boring TV but they would have yielded the same results in the end without use of force. There are a million ways to train something but I feel going the path of least resistance with the minimal negative effect on the dog is the best choice....but that is just my opinion. A leader gets respect because they deserve it not because they force it. A leader creates confidence not fear.
This. Absolutely this.