The Debate! Confrontational Dog Training Methods

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There is so much confusing and contradictory information out there these days on training animals.  Some well known dog trainers would have you believe that you need to dominate a dog to get any lasting results.  They suggest you really need to understand your dogs need for you to be a pack leader and the alpha.  While I believe there are certain truths to that some take it to far.  You can see my complete thoughts on that here in a webinar I did entitled Alpha Myths Revealed.

Then you have others who suggest that you use dog friendly training methods.  These utilize positive reinforcement and do not stress dominating your dog.  The belief is that those techniques may work short term but the results will not be lasting.  With so much confusion information out there Eric Goebelbecker decided to write a blog post on the subject. It’s worth the read and you should check it out!

December 6th, 2009 by Eric Goebelbecker

A few months ago the Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science published an article titled Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors”. Two of the researchers participated in the research regarding children and dog bites that I wrote about earlier, so I decided to plunk down my $31.50 and read it for myself.

Similar to the research on canine aggression directed toward children, the researchers had access to people seeking helping from a veterinary behavioral service. This time, rather than examining records, surveys were distributed to families requesting information about the methods that had been used prior to common to the veterinarian and whether they had a positive, negative, or no, effect on the dog’s behavior. The survey also asked whether aggressive behavior was seen in association with the particular method. One hundred forty surveys were completed in one year’s time.

Read the entire article on DogStarDaily.com’s blog

Please leave your thoughts in the comments!

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6 responses to “The Debate! Confrontational Dog Training Methods”

1. Werner from housebreakingapuppysecrets.com writes:
   

   great article and it just shows once again that using aggressive methods to train your dog will not be as effective.

   [Reply]

   @ December 10th, 2009 at 02:50
2. Lucille Iacovelli writes:
   

   I thoroughly agree that aggressive training is not as effective as dog-friendly methods. My favorite training book is The Loved Dog: The Playful, Non Aggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior By Tamra Geller
   .-= Lucille Iacovelli´s last blog ..Life’s Little Paws ~ Happy Endings 2009 =-.

   [Reply]

   @ January 31st, 2010 at 13:31
3. Rozanne Cutsinger writes:
   

   Great info here. Still looking for additional info on natural health and would appreciate any recommendations. Thank You!

   [Reply]

   @ October 23rd, 2010 at 15:27
4. Diane writes:
   

   OK, I give up. What are “alpha roll” and “dominance down”? Is DD that thing that Cesar Milan does, where he kind of pins the dog down?

   [Reply]

   

   Minette Reply:
   February 2nd, 2012 at 10:08 am

   Yes and rolling an aggressive dog onto its back.

   Can you imagine rolling a 150 # aggressive Rottweiler to his back?

   [Reply]

   

   Diane Reply:
   February 2nd, 2012 at 1:39 pm

   Heh. The only time I roll my little lab/rat terrier onto her back is when I’m ready to give her a tummy rub!

   [Reply]

   @ February 2nd, 2012 at 09:51