Before explaining the difference between pure positive training and balanced training let us say a few words on why we write these articles. I dedicate most of my free time to write these articles, with your needs and questions in my mind. Iphigenia ( Mina Sila) dedicates her free time to translate and edit the articles before we post them. It is a time consuming procedure for both of us. We gladly dedicate the time and effort because we have a purpose. Our purpose is to raise awareness about the Bull Terrier breed and Dog Training in general.
We could just present our dogs and only the positive traits of the breed like most breeders do. But for us, that is not enough. We believe that the better people are informed ,the better living with their dogs will be.Probability of accidents that could bring negative publicity to the breed is reduced the more well informed dog owners become. We want potential Bull Terrier owners to have enough knowledge to decide for themselves whether they are suitable to own a Bull Terrier and to be able to tell a respectable breeder from someone who just bred their dog to make money.
Back to sharing information now. Many have asked if we are positive trainers, if we use shock collar, if they should alpha roll their dog to gain their respect and many more questions about dog training. Others ask about “pure positive trainers” and whether any kind of training that is not 100% pure positive training is considered abuse and so on.
We will present the dialogue between dog owner and dog trainer. This dialogue is the same 9 out of 10 times. Nine out of ten “positive trainers” introduce themselves the same way.
Trainer: “ I am X and I am a positive dog trainer. We will work on training your dog with 100% positive methods, only with treats , a lot of reward and a lot of love.”
Note: All well, however the dog owner has NO IDEA what the trainer is talking about. What the dog owner understands is that they will give a lot of treats and a lot of love. The dog owner does that already without being a trainer.
Owner: “ Sounds great. My dog is like a kid to me , I don't want to put pressure on him, I want him to learn in a pleasant way. Explain to me how your method works and what kind of results to expect at the end of training.”
Trainer: “ Yes, of course, I will explain. Well, “others” use obsolete methods, they use choke collars, prong collars , e-collars and other tools that cause pain. Let me show you a photo of the damage a prong collar can cause. Who would use a tool like that on their dog, it's like a medieval torturing tool. Unacceptable, training has moved forward, there is no need to use obsolete methods.”
Owner: “You are right , I agree. But tell me some more on the way you train.”
Trainer: “ Yes, of course. I'll give you an example. The training dolphins and orcas get in sea parks has the same principles as the methods we use. Since we can train a big wild animal like the orca do all the things they do without using correction, the same can be done with your dog.”
Owner: “ Yes, I understand,you are right. When do we start?”
This is where I come in. It all sounds good with some minor but very important details. To begin with, blaming and diminishing “others” in an effort to appear advantageous is a major mistake. They all use the word “others” as if referring to a different , inferior race. They never refer to others as “colleagues” of different opinion.
Now, as far as dolphins and whales are concerned. Nice, impressive training BUT! No1. It is a different SPECIES.No2. NEVER have I heard of a dolphin or orca run away from their owner to attack and kill a child or injure a passerby. Never have I - personally nor professionally - visited a house/office where a dolphin caused problems . I am trying very hard to remember the last time I heard a dolphin jumped on the dining table to steal somebody's pizza or seriously injured a family member , or disturbed everybody with their incessant barking.
You will say “ well, dolphins do not bark, they do not live in the house, orcas do not walk in the park. Good. Then WHY take as an example two species that have NOTHING to do with dogs and the environment they live in? It is a good advertising trick? Just saying, I honestly don't know.
And why oh why, if 100% positive training is so superior have we never seen 100% positive trainers in dog sports like MondioRing, IPO, French Ring or Police duties? Because you cannot trust and you cannot train a dog in Police work based on 100% positive methods.
As for dog sports , let me say this: In life there are theories and there are facts. The fact that the aforementioned dog sports require very high standards of training is a given .The fact that it takes a high drive dog with a very strong temperament to train for MondioRing and participate in a notable event is a given same stands for police dogs and that is why there are very few dogs suitable for police work.
“Positive trainers” theories about abusing or oppressing the liberties of dogs are just theories circulated by people who do not have the ability to work with dogs of high standard and strong temperament. Dog training has highly advanced over the years thanks to those who train for dog sports and working dogs in general whether that be police or search and rescue dogs. Dog training has not progressed by making private citizen dogs not pull at walk or poop on diapers. That is a given.(Progression definition :the process of developing or moving gradually towards a more advanced state.)
Why balanced and not positive. Simply because life has proved we need to be balanced. Because in nature there is balance, no extremes. Declaring to be positive makes you extreme. It does not matter which extreme you chose, you are extreme. You are therefore imbalanced. Without intention to offend anyone, things are what they are. If you are not balanced then you are imbalanced.
Stating to be positive is in my opinion, a nice advertising trick. It works like that : By saying I am positive I imply the “others” are negative. Whatever that means to any one of us.
One basic difference with our 100% positive colleagues is that we do not feel the need to accuse anyone of anything to prove our worth. We do that through our work.
And even though we will use positive methods to train and teach we also recognize the value of correction. We know there are cases where a tool that will be used for an effective correction will make the difference between euthanasia and problematic behavior modification.
If all problems in life could be solved solely with positivity and love , shelters would not be full and correctional institutions would not exist.
I love and understand dogs and I will risk my physical integrity to save a dog with problematic behavior from being euthanized because I understand the animal's needs and nature, is one thing.
I love dogs but I realize that with the positive methods I use I cannot change anything and I am afraid to risk my physical integrity so I suggest that the dog be euthanized, is another thing.
Up to the moment this article is written I am missing one cm of my middle finger on the left hand, I have a fang bite mark on my left bicep, a hole mark on the right leg by a fang bite and I only mention some of the bites I have taken while working with dogs on protection work and behavior modification.
I have never met a positive trainer to have been injured while working on altering problematic dog behavior. Because excessive barking and peeing in the house are not the only problematic behaviors and no dog ever risked losing their lives because of them.
Redirected aggression,food guarding aggression,extreme dog to dog aggression are some of the real problems that can cost a dog their life.
Rhetorical question: Is it barbaric to use a certain training tool to correct a behavior but it is not barbaric to euthanize an otherwise young and healthy dog because of a problematic behavior that in most cases we have let appear and settle?
“Positives” , come to your senses. Nothing is more barbaric than to have a young healthy dog pay with his life for our mistakes.
It does not make sense to compare a prong collar correction to euthanasia!
Here is an extract from an article I found on positive dog training:
'' If you ignore or redirect a behavior you do not like, it is more likely that incidences of that behavior will decrease.''
Quite right and it works if ,for example, my dog bothers me while I am eating. I ignore him, never give him food from my meal until the dog eventually gets bored and stops it. Up to here, we agree.
Let us see now some examples of why this is of no use in everyday life.
What happens in the case of redirected aggression? ''Ιgnore or redirect the behavior you don't like''.Ignore the bites? Redirect how? Does it make sense to you to ignore being bitten by the dog in the hope that you will not get seriously injured and after he is done give him reward? Let the dog bite you and give him some treats when he's done to reward his change of behavior, does that make sense?
The dog acts aggressively towards your 5 year old kid. Try to redirect, give a command, present a ball, something to distract the dog's attention. And if none of these works, ignore the behavior until it is gone. What if meanwhile the aggression progresses and your kid is injured or gone?Never mind, you'll have another kid and if you're lucky the dog will be have gotten over the aggressive behavior by then. You can always give your kid for adoption to avoid accidents from happening. The important thing is to train the dog with absolute respect and never use them weird tools for correction and other inhumane training methods.
With Balanced training we will use positive training methods to achieve the desired outcome. But if there is a need for correction for the dog's sake and the safety of the public , they will be done without anger, without stress, knowing exactly what I am doing, why I am doing it and always with respect to the dog I am training. With respect to the dog's nature and temperament.
As for corrections, anyone who has lived with dogs even for a while , knows very well that dogs use corrections to communicate among them. The female corrects her puppies. If a dog tries to take another dog's toy he will be corrected. Dogs use corrections all the time in many ways. A dog will never sit and wait for an unaccepted behavior to go away on its own. A dog will never seek to redirect unwanted behavior. And the greatest respect you can show an animal is to respect their way of thinking, their way of being.
If you have any doubts about this, you can just go near a high temperament adult dog you do not know with intention to take some of his food. There will be : 1. growling , 2. more intense growling with raised upper lip and hair, 3.if that did not turn you away he will snap as a warning / first correction, 4. if you insist he will correct you hard enough to make sure you learn to never do this again.
If you go near a high temperament female you do not know ,while feeding her puppies the possible reactions will be two: 1. no growling, straight to snapping.. and that was a warning. Her next reaction will be an immediate and intense correction!
What we have learned from dogs about corrections.
A correction should be proportional to the behavior we wish to correct. If we need to correct a behavior that has not escalated and poses no danger , we give a warning that if the behavior continues, a correction will be applied. If the unwanted behavior is severe and needs to be corrected right away, we correct immediately and effectively.
Correction is not the first choice. When to correct, if there is need for correction,what we put up with and what we do not, how to correct etc. is an other issue. Always depends on the occasion, the dog and other factors. It is not the purpose of this article to promote the use of corrections. Neither to explain when they are acceptable or not.
Wishing you balanced and successful training sessions,
the Working Bull Terriers Kennel Team
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