There's not a legitimate sport organization in the world that allows tools at competitions, as that's part of the test.
So what about dogs on behavioral drugs? Should this be addressed by governing bodies?
AKC rules in the comments
Change my mind.
Just for fun, don't get your panties in a twist
I'm talking about dogs that have extreme, obvious, universally recognized aggression towards other animals or humans.
The current trend of trying to rehabilitate these animals and perpetuating the idea to the public that this is something that can be turned around to make an acceptable pet is really chilling to me. Trainers have been learning their lesson from hubris in this situation from time out of mind. Cesar Milan comes to mind, his "balanced" pitbull that he used as a demo dog attacked a child unprovoked.
So the question for this debate is whether or not this intense focus on rehabilitating these disastrous dogs needs to be corrected. The resources dumped into these animals is unbelievable, considering how many non-aggressive animals are homeless.
It seems we need a banner and an icon for our sub. If you have any designs or suggestions, please let us know. The winner gets a pat on the head, or something.
And this is what you get when you take advice from a bunch of people who can't fix their own reactive dogs.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Posting this as an example of how force free and positive only training make people believe that their dog cannot be changed. A balanced trainer can sort this out in less than a month and more often than not in just a couple sessions. But positive only adherents want you to believe that you have to put up with this for years and years and years because it's impossible to change it. Well, you don't and it's not.
Why do they want you to believe this? Personally I think it's because they can squeeze every last dime out of you if you take lessons from them for years and years and years and the slower your progress, the more money for them. They will earnestly tell you that it's a long process because it is good for their bank account.
Don't fall for it, and don't fall for the fallacy of taking advice about reactive dog training from people with reactive dogs of their own. If they knew what they were talking about, they wouldn't have a reactive dog anymore.
I have always been interested in French Ring but am never near a club to try it out. I also like dock diving but not enough to drive more than 30 minutes to do it.
What other sports are tough to access?
This thread is for discussions of the practical definition of the word "reactivity."
Endless social media accounts, check
Self satisfied videos made talking to the camera while driving, check
Pathological need to "respond" to every other social media trainer's self satisfied videos, check
Hyper focus on promoting oneself not for training, but for influencing, check
Appearance of spending more time making videos and reels than training dogs, check
This is off the rails, what is going on? Please choose trainers who just train dogs and don't indulge in this weird social media competition.
Who are some good trainers who just TRAIN?
This thread will be pinned as a highlight. The purpose of this thread is to provide ongoing documentation of cases of actual or recommended euthanasia by force-free trainers or handlers.
Cases can include dogs that were recommended for euthanasia that ultimately were saved by balanced training, and cases that sadly ended in the dog's death without even trying methods other than force free or positive only.
You may post stories of your own dog or others' dogs; you must have some sort of documentation to support the latter. This can include social media posts, posts from other subs, or cases witnessed first hand by the commenter. Please do not include rumors or "friend of a friend" type of accounts. We want to accurately document the scope of this issue.
> using aversive tools will only mask the problem temporarily. Our dog became dramatically more reactive 6 mos after a 7 week board & train that used aversives.
I'm boggled. Do these people really think that training is a "one and done" and that a B&T is a magical lifelong solution and that every behavior problem the dog has is directly related to the B&T they did months or years ago?
Slays me that the dog was in their own hot little hands for SIX MONTHS and when they failed to prevent reactivity they are still blaming the trainer, who had the dog acting just fine for six entire months in the inept hands of the owner.
(just another reason I have zero interest in the pet dog world, these people could not be more delulu)
Hey Team - let me know if this isn't appropriate here and would be better in r/Dogtraining.
I'm not a trainer. I have a genuine question and would like y'all to drop some knowledge on me about something that keeps coming up with my current pup (19 months, male, Australian Shepherd). I preface this by saying - my guy is an incredible dog. He is well-tempered, biddable, and smart. His needs and my lifestyle are compatible. So I know I have a leg up already. I also definitely use "pressure" to correct my dog, whether it's pressure from my body, pressure from his collar, or physically removing him from dangerous situations (like counter-surfing near a hot stove).
We started out working with a FF trainer when I needed support to teach things I really didn't know how to teach myself. Things went fine, though not 100% successful. I love to reward my dog, but jeebus, I was giving him a zillion treats per training session, and relying on them strongly to support behaviors when we got home. My dog patterns VERY quickly and complexly. So giving a treat for getting his paws off my desk equals "jump on the desk, then get down, then get a treat." We recently started agility training. He's the best student in the class. But he's also disruptive while "waiting his turn" (barking and restless). The trainer suggested I check out the Absolute Dogs "Sexier than a Squirrel" video series as a method to help re-orient his attention toward me during "passive" times. Again, it's food-based. In fact, the foundation of the program is that you never feed from a bowl again and you use your dog's regular meals as rewards in all training exercises.
I'm not actually opposed to this entirely just on principle. I'm wondering - when does it end? My dog is food-motivated (but also motivated by toys), so it's definitely an effective tool. But my entire relationship with my dog cannot center around food and treat rewards. Definitely when I teach the basics like a down stay or place I can space out those food rewards more and more over time and eventually phase them out, and that does work for my dog. But I don't see how I can apply that to all situations. Am I overthinking?
Thanks in advance.
There seems to be a significant amount of people with " my recactive dog " Instagram pages .
If your dog is still reactive and you are putting it In stressful situations for likes and follows not not improving the dog's life .. is this abuse some people over 5 yrs
...
Hello fellow aficionados,
I just got a hotpop and like the way it evenly cooks the popcorn. However, the flavor seems boring compared to stovetop. I put in about 1tbsp of oil and a bit of salt or flavacol, but the pop seems dry and doesn't take the flavor. Any tips?
Hi fellow aficionados,
I just got a hotpop and like the way it evenly cooks the popcorn. However, the flavor seems boring compared to stovetop. I put in about 1tbsp of oil and a bit of salt or flavacol, but the pop seems dry and doesn't take the flavor. Any tips?
I make popcorn almost every night on the stove, but recently I started using the microwave with good results. But today, my first batch didn't pop. I stopped it way too early thinking it was going to burn, with tons of unpopped kernels. Forget this, I thought, and went back to the stove. Well, I burned my first batch! I almost never do that. Then I went back to the microwave with moderate success. I should give up for the evening but dammit I want my giant bowl of popcorn!
Anyway it seems I have found my people.
Featuring the OG Barbra Woodhouse and a bunch of serious fools, including Victoria Stilwell advocating for - surprise! - euthanizing a pet dog after her "training" resulted in a small child being mauled by a cocker spaniel.
Lots to talk about here! Let's start with the very clear demonstration of DOMINANCE in part 2.
Are people really going to still claim that dOmInAnCe Is DeBuNkEd after watching that?
Feel free to start threads on other topics generated by these videos.
I'm doing a code of conduct report regarding moderators allowing and encouraging doxing in their sub. How can I include the messaging conversation with those mods where they refuse to address the issue, if we cannot include screenshots in our reports? There doesn't seem to be a way to link to a direct message conversation.