Need your opinions - is this training method okay?

[DebraDownSouth]

Me too– We could all do with kinder folks around. Lord knows I wish I were more like you.

[suzee]

Oh my goodness. That is INSANE. I would have walked out. That is NOT okay.. I know that my boy is very sensitive. I don't know his past as I only adopted him in July and he's been through so many homes. High stress situations make him anxious.. I have had GREAT success just training him myself. He now knows sit, stay, down, no, roll over, high five, low five, back, and spin. Positive reinforcement is key!! And tasty treats haha!

[Kipawa]

I still think about that class, and know that I am lucky Kipawa and I left when we did.

Kipawa has come along marvelously. I remember that trainer saying that by the end of our classes, our dogs would be walking beside us with our leashes forming a nice loose "J". I wonder what sort of method she would have used for that. A broom? Okay, that is a little catty of me, but probably something like that would not be that out of line for her training methods.

I found it quite simple to do with Kipawa, using positive reinforcement. I usually carry a few treats in my pocket, but now he thinks I always have treats in there. It works very well.

It would have been nice to know how things worked out for the couple that had Kato. Perhaps I will see them in a dog park one day. They were really nice, as was their dog. Their dog just needed to be worked with more.

[eeeefarm]

I know this is about horses, but I think the same would apply to dogs. I like John Lyons three guidelines for training. 1. The training must be safe for me. 2. The training must be safe for the horse. 3. The horse must be calmer after the lesson than before it started. (which tells you the animal understands and is comfortable with what you are trying to teach him). I also like his "three second rule", and would apply it to any biting dog. ;-)

[Kipawa]

Agree 100% eeeefarm, that this would apply as well to dogs, especially rule #3.