Training Myths debunked

Still brooding over my Tuesday ordeal in the Honmoku dogrun: their Japanese website mentions Ian Dunbar and his K-9 Games in their blurb, but to my mind Ian Dunbar would be horrified at what happened in the run this week. The Dog Star Daily offers some insight in "The Macho Myth": 

"Instead of being educational, many so-called “training” methods are just downright adversarial if not abusive; the dog is often viewed as our enemy, rather than as our best friend. Why on earth would we ever treat our best friend like our worst enemy?

Many playful, greeting and fearful gestures are misinterpreted as being aggressive, providing the unthinking owner with a convenient excuse to abuse the dog under the guise of “training”. ...

Certainly, we need to control dogs — but mental control is what is required, not physical domination. Even though an ill-experienced, middle-ranking dog “handler” might be able to jerk, hang, roll-over, and/or beat a dog into submission, what is the point of winning the battle and losing the war? What possible advantage is there in converting a so-called “dominant” dog into a fearful one? Both are equally as worthless as companions or working dogs."

This article is based on Dr. Dunbar's Behavior column in the August 1989 issue of the American Kennel Gazette. Reprinted with permission of the author and the American Kennel Club.

Photos by KyouSK