From a Different Perspective

spiritdogs

So, I'm interested in how your own profession, whatever it is, colors your assessment of dog training and behavior, and how life in general competes with the welfare of your dogs, or your friends' dogs, in ways that you think are ok, or in ways you think something should be done about.

Well, I'm a dog walker/pet sitter and, as you know, I'm interested (someday) in becoming a positive dog trainer. When I got Apollo I realized he needed much, MUCH more than just a few walks a day and some play in a fenced yard. So, I quite my job in the financial/stock world and started dog walking and pet sitting- how's that for dedication?? LOL! I have to say I really love what I do now. I love the play groups the most- I take a few dogs that get along very well (Apollo being 1 of them) and take them to the state park (where dogs are allowed off leash) and just go hiking with them, let them swim and get dirty and play rough and bark, let them be dogs. BTW, their owners know what I do w/ them and sign a waiver.

I see a lot of people who buy a breed of dog or adopt a dog that doesn't really fit in their family just because they like the look of the dog or the idea of having that breed. It's sad because the dog suffers. Ex: a busy family bought a Lab puppy. They thought "Labs are friendly, smart, etc, etc"...except nobody bothered to train the dog from the begining and nobody gave the dog the enough exercise and mental stimulation. The dog basically lived the first year in the crate and in their small yard. The dog knocked of their kids, chewed things up, excessively barked. The family ends up resenting the dog and therefor giving it less attention. It's a sad cycle, but I see it often. That's usually when people call me to walk their dog to get it out more. And when I get that dog it's usually bouncing off the walls w/ energy the first few weeks. Those are the dogs I give the most attention and keep out the longest and go the the longer hikes. Because I know nobody else will.

I wish more people would spend the time and effort in training, socializing, and exercising their dogs. I wish more people enjoyed their dogs and didn't see them as a hassle (ugh, I have to clean up after my dog....have to feed my dog....etc). I clean up after dogs all day (mine and others), and I take care of cats too, I get dirty at the park- I love my job and smile all day. Many of my clients are very wealthy and will pay to have their Springer Spaniel or Golden to look like a show dog (especially for those family photos!) but won't let that dog run in a field for a few hours because it will get dirty.

I'm a legal secretary ... that means I don't trust NO buddy, NO time, NO where -- and if anyone can deliberately misunderstand something because they don't want to afford it, or bother with it or can get away with it ... they likely will.

 I believe the word is 'jaded' -- and yeah, I am. 

So I talk things to DEATH and I explain ad nauseum trying to make sure that my explaination was completely and completely un-wrigglable-out-of.

 Does it work?  Someitmes.  But generally, in my book, most people tend to like to misunderstand if it justifies them being able to do something the easy or cheap way out. 

Some of these people love their dogs but still can have a tough time deciding that they want to make the effort.

 Yep ... jaded.  That's what I IS!!!!

BlackLabbie

Ex: a busy family bought a Lab puppy. They thought "Labs are friendly, smart, etc, etc"...except nobody bothered to train the dog from the begining and nobody gave the dog the enough exercise and mental stimulation. The dog basically lived the first year in the crate and in their small yard. The dog knocked of their kids, chewed things up, excessively barked. The family ends up resenting the dog and therefor giving it less attention. It's a sad cycle, but I see it often.

It is no different here. It is so so sad. I counted that over 40% of the dogs in my neighbourhood were like that.:)) The other thing we have here is the idea that Labs should ideally be very overweight and that "cruel" people like me that actually keep their labs at working weights are the ones that have it all wrong....

poodleOwned

The other thing we have here is the idea that Labs should ideally be very overweight and that "cruel" people like me that actually keep their labs at working weights are the ones that have it all wrong....

OMG tell me about it! Apollo is older (6-8 years old, maybe) and he out runs MANY younger Labs soley because those Labs are F-A-T. And I noticed many of these chubby labbies have no real interest in swimming, water, retrieving.

spiritdogs

So, I'm interested in how your own profession, whatever it is, colors your assessment of dog training and behavior, and how life in general competes with the welfare of your dogs, or your friends' dogs, in ways that you think are ok, or in ways you think something should be done about.

Well, i am a bit unusual for a dog trainer in that I am a research Engineer working in Power Electronics. It is hard to translate my experience into USA terms (our college degrees are all different) but i have tried to stay a bit of a generalist. I have over my life done two 4 year what we call honours level degrees, obviously in Engineering and also in Maths/Statistics. I have a long history of innovation.

I tend to be pretty good at observing things, small details. I don't worry too much if i have to change a theory or an idea to match reality. My dogs are a big part of my life, and they want for very little. They often come to work with me.I just love being with them, training them. I often hear people talk about training their dogs as if they have to make themselves, and if that is so, it really is the wrong hobby!!

I am excited by the convergence of some of the knowledge that i have to do with Math and Control Systems, and the research into Affective Neuroscience  which tells us a whole lot more about how our brains work, and how our companions brains work.At the same time i am frightened by the close mindeness and mis-information given out by many in the dog world, and have decided to go pretty quiet on this stuff. It really is a waste of time dealing with people who i find lazy intellectually and bullying in nature. I have been in the situation of having to debate how e collars work with people that haven't done high school physics... really i can't be bothered.

As a graphic designer, I am very visual. That is my starting point when it comes to selecting a dog. I can't help it. If I am visually attracted to a particular dog or breed then I weigh the pros and cons as they apply to my particular life style. Certain breeds that I find absolutely gorgeous I know I would not be happy with. Other breeds that may be a perfect match, I pass on because they just aren't my cup of tea.

As an artist I love to mold and shape but find it extremely difficult to know when to stop. It is difficult to put down the brush, put a frame on your work and be satisfied with the end result. There is always something to tweak or improve on whether it is a watercolour of your dog. However, there does come a point where you have to except the fact that you are as close to perfection as you are going to get, take pride in what you have done and enjoy the beauty. It is the little flaws that make for uniqueness. Perfection is elusive.

I am a dog groomer, and like many of us, I try to connect with every dog that I groom. I am an honest groomer- being in mobile, I dont have to worry about what my co-workers will say behind my back if I say EXACTLY what Fido's behavior was that day. I will tell mom if fluffy or poopsy tried to take my hand off  and try to give me a Van-Goh look, when I was doing his nails, and what they can do at home. Most of the time, the owners are very willing to work with them. The only times I have had a problem with the owners are ones who think their dog can do no wrong- the celebrity purse puppies who dont let their feet touch the ground.

 I have also bit my tounge and cried over dogs that hadn't been groomed in years that were so matted they developed cataracts because the hair was matted over their eyes for so long. These owners usually are the ones that only get them groomed because neighbors complained, or they were having company over. I am livid over how people can let their animals get sticks and twigs and burrs caught in their fur and make it so matted it cuts off the circulation, but get their own hair and nails done every 6 weeks.

They are so happy when I'm done, they look and feel younger and I have had dogs that would not get out of my van to go back to the house once I was done grooming them. 98% of the time, they bolt out of there!

I have learned so much since I began this career- about both dogs and their people. You could say it has jaded me though- so many dogs I thought were cute I see at their worst and I'm like "hmm. like it but wont own it!"

spiritdogs

So, I'm interested in how your own profession, whatever it is, colors your assessment of dog training and behavior, and how life in general competes with the welfare of your dogs, or your friends' dogs, in ways that you think are ok, or in ways you think something should be done about.

My occupation hasn't colored my assessment of dog training.  It's helped facilitate my time with dogs but not affect how I feel about dogs. I feel strongly about the level of training and committment required to be a good dog owner.  I don't always assume people are lazy because some people just don't have a clue.  I have changed people's thinking when it comes to their dogs and dogs in general.  Not a ton of people but enough to keep me talking to people about their dogs.  I enjoy training and it's hard for me to understand people who think it's a chore but that's why we call ourselves "dog people". :)

The welfare of my dogs is never in competition with any part of my life, except going to the bathroom alone.  :)

I work in IT but to be honest my job is basically there to pay my bills and provide me with the money I need to own and train dogs!

Before I was into dogs, I was into gymnastics for decades and was a competitive gymnast.  I ate, slept, breathed gymnastics.  In college I had to quit because I could barely afford to buy my notebook paper let alone continue with training along with school and work.  I have always been somewhat "obsessive" in that I can't really do something halfway, and for several years during college there was an indescribable void in my life where gymnastics had been.  It was hard to follow the sport without being able to DO the sport, so over time I transferred that obsession to dogs.

Now, doing Schutzhund with German Shepherds, I hear all the time "you need thick skin!" "you need to act confident!" and have to laugh to myself because for years I was subjected to training where every flick of your finger is nitpicked and ridiculed.  I think that is why I appear so unaffected when trialing my dogs.  I am nervous inside, and part of me needs that to have my edge (when I did gymnastics, if I felt *too* comfortable, my focus would slip and I would make mistakes), but doing a heeling pattern on a large open field is not any more nerve wracking than flipping my half-naked body on a wooden plank!  I know *exactly* what it takes, and how to fake it, lol.

Also it never ceases to amuse me how similar these things are.  The politics, the fights over training methods, the preferences for one body type or another, the people that won't train certain skills until physical maturity, do you train by praising or by correcting....and at the end of the day your fate/score/title is in the hands of one person who gets to evaluate you or your dog for all of one minute at a time.

Having done gymnastics, I understand a lot about myself that carries over to how I train my competition dogs.  I know I work better under pressure.  I cannot be the best because I need someone above me to keep me motivated.  It's not personal, I just need that in order to keep my edge and focus, wanting to knock that person off their spot.  In gymnastics I was team captain and MPV even though I was only the best on one of four events.  But I use those ahead of me to keep the pressure on myself, and in turn when I am focused it puts the pressure on them.  Gymnastics is an individual sport like SchH and other dog sports, but in gymnastics you are on a team, and with dogs you belong to a club.  You are there to encourage and motivate and pressure each other, it's not just the coach and you or the trainer/helper and you. I know how much pressure I need to keep on myself and I've learned how to set goals that are not unrealistic but do challenge me and the dog.

Well, dog training doesn't have much to do with actual electrical work. But it has a lot of similarity to human interaction. I have used the principles I have learned with operant conditioning in interacting with crews of people that I have led and I will continue to do so in my new job as a an electrical trade instructor. With some of the toughest challenges there are. A number of the students come from broken homes, gang activity, or even a general desire to be a gangster because it looks cool. While there is some correction in getting them to dress right, etc., I think my main focus is to find what motivates them and use that. Some of the students, especially the older ones, already have the motivation. Ambition and focus. They pretty much teach themselves with just a few helpful hints from an instructor. And some, sadly, won't make it. They will terminate on either lack of performance or a bad infraction of the rules. But at the root of it all, I aim to find what it is they seek and lead them to it. In that regard, learning to train Shadow helps me understand humans a little more.

On the opposite side however, i have known cops that are tough in the streets with delincuents but they get home and they are as permisive as they can be with their dogs

One would assume that they get home and the last thing they want to do is having to display the same behavior at home, the problem is that they are so permisive that the dog starts developing behavioral issues

JackieG

I enjoy training and it's hard for me to understand people who think it's a chore but that's why we call ourselves "dog people". :)

So true 

The way I relate to my dogs is very much coloured by my occupation. I was doing field research on wild birds and I was constantly having it drummed into me to consider the effect of everything I planned to do on the birds I was working on. It became second nature to consider my actions and what it might mean to birds before I did anything. This literally invaded my life. How could I spend all day in the field thinking about the effect my very presence was having on birds and then go home and turn it all off around my dog? And then around the time this was happening I ended up with this baby hare and I HAD to consider every action with him. Just walking across the room could startle him too much. I learnt to always be aware of what he was doing and what mood he was in and how touchy he was feeling today. Suddenly I had the field in my home and this animal that was every bit as flighty as a small wild bird (probably more so). Everything had to be carefully planned and I'd think about things for days, or weeks, before I got up the courage to do it.

So having seen what could be achieved with a wild, solitary, flighty animal, my imagination took off with me and all I could think was that I wanted to raise a dog the same way. 

Working with wild animals also causes me to become quite frustrated when people want to do things to dogs that you can't do to a wild animal. I know that dogs are different, but why take it for granted that it's right to do something to one animal that you can't do to the majority of animals? Dogs are still animals. I also get frustrated when people talk about dogs as if they aren't animals. As if they are something special that is its own thing. It drives me to distraction that people are very uneasy about comparing dogs to any other animal on the planet. Even wolves, sometimes! I try to work my way down to the bottom of things, and distill something to its most minimalist state. When I do that with training I'm like "the differences between the way a dog learns and the way a hare learns are insignificant. Reward-based training is thoroughly sound for any animal. Punishing animals is not. Training a hare and training a dog is essentially the same."

People like to say "all dogs are different", and it's true, but when you get down to their basic nature, they are all the same and they are the same as any other animal with a brain. To me, the differences are in the details, like what they find rewarding and what they find punishing. I tend to think that is so bleedingly obvious that I don't mention it, and then I spend ages assuring people that I do understand a dog is not a hare and that some dogs have a harder temperament than others, and that just defines what you use as rewards and what you avoid as punishments. A minor detail. If my method ain't working it's because my reward regime ain't right.