Posted on 11/06/2009 8:10:32 AM PST by scottdeus12
Hi all, I've been interested in dog training for quite some time now, and am wondering what the industry standard is (if there is one)....such as - which books to read, training methodology, etc.
I'm also wondering if that it's a profession where you get licensed?
Any info would help - thanks in advance.
Scott
Read Cesar Millan’s book “The Dog Whisperer”.
I have read that - thanks. He seems to deal more with rehabilitating unbalanced dogs vs. training....
But it is good.
There is a book on the market called ‘Dog Speak’ that I would strongly recommend.
You have fascial expressions, a wide vocal range (that is inverse to how a dog uses his) and a brain that can reason and think faster and more articulate than his.
This books helps you understand why yelling at the dog confuses it, why the dog does what it does, how a mother dog (bitch) punishes a misbehaving pup, how to assert authority without instilling fear, how to use love to motivate a dog; and the absolute worst punishment a dog can bear (use with EXTREME caution).
None of this inflicts physical pain, it uses the same psychology that is found in a wolf pack; something that is built-in to our best friends instinctual behavior. Once you understand how your dog speaks to you, in body language, posture, attitude - you can train it, as your dog gradually learns to understand the way we act.
Dogs have no idea what a smile is; there is no collary in the dog world. But, they rapidly learn.
When we get mad, our voices get high and shrill - whena dog is angry his bark drops down to a growl. A high shrill pitch is a dog’s submission howl, an indication of pain, or of begging. So, this is why yelling at a dog just confuses them.
Dog Speak is in paperback, and is availalble on Amazon.
Check out these monks in New York State:
http://www.newsketemonks.com/catalogue.htm
Their book on how to raise puppies was wonderful for me when my wife and I were thinking of getting dog, and then in training the puppy.
Positive rewards, plenty of attention, extreme consistency in expected behavior.
Take classes at local YMCA.
Thanks Hodar, I’ll have to check that out.
Scott
bump to read the answers..
Depends on what type of training you are interested in. If behavior type training and you are interested in a franchise, contact Bark Busters. What you will find, however, is that in most of the families you work with, it will be the adults/owners who need training more than the animals.
Back in the ‘80s I bought a Doberman and took him for professional training. The owners of the school told me about a book, ‘The Koehler Method of Guard Dog Training’. Half of the book is dedicated to basic obedience training and the other half guard/protection dog training.
William Koehler is a proponent of old school animal training meant to work with ALL dogs. I have personally trained over a dozen dogs since, including several friends dogs using the methods learned from his book. Everyone who knows me remarks on how well behaved my dogs are. I still have four.
My son is now an adult and has started to practice Koehler’s methods. His dogs are the best trained dogs I know of, even better than mine. I strongly suggest you obtain a copy of Koehler’s book.
This is the edition I was referring to.
"DogSpeak: How to Learn It, Speak It, and Use It to Have a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Dog (Paperback) ~ Bash Dibra (Author), Mary ann Crenshaw (Author)"
or
"Dogspeak: How to Understand Your Dog and Help Him Understand You (Dog Care Companions) (Paperback) ~ The Editors of Pets: Part of the Family (Author) " 
Okay thanks
pinging you to a dog training thread
If you think religious debates get heated, arcane, and involved, wait till you start asking about dog training.
Cool, I will look into that thanks for the info!
So far so good...no flamewars....
This is not a book on generalized training, but thought I’d pass on the title anyway. The book is called Mine and it’s about dogs who exhibit guarding behaviors. We adopted a dog who had some food aggression, so I wanted to make sure I was approaching that in the right way. But what I discovered was that, in one way or another, our other dogs exhibited some sort of guarding instinct. We had one who would guard a certain toy, and even though he would give it up, he was reluctant to do so. We had another who actually would guard a certain member of the family. Anytime we’re at a dog park, or with other dogs, this dog when standing in front of the particular person would growl an approaching dog and chase them away from that person.
All that to say, really interesting stuff, and extremely helpful in interpreting day to day actions of our dogs.
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