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How to Select a Dog Trainer Guide for Veterinarians

Information owners should obtain before choosing a dog trainer * It is advised that clients call and interview a trainer prior to hiring them. If the trainer you are considering using falls into any of these categories, you should pick another trainer. · If the equipment recommended for basic obedience includes or is focused on choke collars, prong collars, or shock collars. · Trainers who ban head collars of any kind may rely unduly on force. · If the trainer instructs you to manage your dog’s behaviors by pinching toes, kneeing the dog in the chest or abdomen, hitting the dog, forcibly holding the dog down against their will, constantly yelling at the dog, frequently yanking the collar constantly, or using prong, choke, pinch or shock collars or electronic stimulation. · If the trainer believes most or all training is about encouraging the person to be “alpha” and teaching the dog to “submit”.

Good dog trainers: How to identify one and why this is important to your veterinary practice

The purpose of this brief article is to demonstrate the value of identifying “good dog trainers” and incorporating this knowledge into your veterinary practice. The following recommendations represent a consensus document compiled by the authors as one of the final projects in the Advanced Applied Clinical Behavioral Medicine course at the 2004 NAVC PGI. Many of the authors are now using these recommendations in their practices in ways that have increased their productivity and altered the way they now practice medicine.

Why Counseling Should Be Included During Any Dog Behavior Modification Process

“Perils of Punishment: Psychologists do not know for sure why get-tough treatments are ineffective and potentially harmful, but the psychological literature holds several clues. First, researchers have long found that punishment-based strategies tend to be less effective than reward-based strategies for lasting behavioral change, in part because they teach people what not to do but …

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Limiting Learning Potential When Training Dogs

  Here's an interesting point taken from a presentation found (Yale University School of Medicine) on learning. "If instruction is heavily based on one style of learning over others, "mismatched" students may often feel uncomfortable while "matched" students may not develop critical skills aligned with other ways of learning." This reminded me again of my experience …

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Who Speaks for the Dogs?

Who Speaks for the Dogs? Who speaks for the dogs? A lot fewer organizations than you might imagine!In the world of dogs, mixed motives, hidden agendas, and naked economic self-interest are the watch word.A lot of people, for example are shocked to discover that the American Kennel Club has a 50-year track record of profiting from puppy mills, embracing …

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