So, a little tidbit about training:
Today, I was totally floored by the juxtaposition of the two different training methods that are used. First, we have my method. In our internship, we use solely reward based training, this means reinforcing the behaviors that we do want and removing our attention (or whatever the reward is) for the behavior we do not want. We NEVER EVER use yelling or forcing a dog to do what we want. Instead, we keep them willing and choosing to do the behavior we ask of them because a) they want to please us and more importantly b) they will be rewarded at the end with delicious food. So there I was walking Benji to the library, when a little puppy and his owners were walking perpendicular to me, so that they'd be passing behind me. I asked Benji to leave it, and he did. Of course, the little puppy was pulling at the leash and wanted to investigate this newer, bigger dog that he saw. Benji left it long enough so that we were out of the puppy's way, but then he became keenly interested in the puppy again. I made myself even MORE exciting than the puppy and Benji decided that I was better because I was acting crazy AND I had treats. However, the puppy, never being told to leave it, was quickly jerked back to his owners and told to shut up. They never told him to leave it or even offered him a chance to do the right thing to be rewarded. Instead they just used force to try to show the puppy what they wanted. That made me truly sad because that puppy will eventually become just as frustrated with his owners as his owners are with him. He will stop trying to please his owners and their relationship will not be as good as it could've been. It is VERY important that you make training of a dog brief, safe, fun, and successful. If you ever notice that you're getting frustrated with your dog, your dog can sense that and it will no longer be fun for you or the dog. You want to end training with a positive (so that it's successful). Take a break and come back to the training later, when both you and the dog have had the chance to calm down. Just like we don't learn when we're stressed or not enjoying something, dogs won't learn anything when they aren't having fun. You need to make sure that the dog stays willing the whole time and that you reward them for the behavior you want and remove what drives the behavior that you don't want (each and every time), it may be something as simple as your attention
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