See training links and highly recommended training books below

Time to stop knocking the Collie

by Wendy Beasley       26 Jun 2008 

Have-a-go attitude
It seems that the North West Club inspires a real have-a-go attitude in their members and their enthusiasm has certainly paid off. Unfortunately Pam also added the rider, ‘please notice how thin on the ground the Collies are’, which sadly demonstrates how pleased people are to see any breed but Collies doing well. I wonder why this is? As a Collie owner myself I am always delighted to see other breeds achieving success, and really enjoy the challenge of finding out what makes them tick and how to get the best from them, for they are all different. However, I do not belong to the school of thought that thinks that Collies are easy, and therefore their achievements are somehow of less value than those of other breeds. And yet I encounter this attitude from many non-Collie owners and I do not think it is limited to my sport.
I am in the fortunate position of having worked other breeds, both my own and other people’s, and so can make an informed decision as to whether Collies are an easy option, and in my opinion what you gain in enthusiasm and willingness to learn can be outweighed by sensitivity, obsession and excitability which, in the wrong hands can turn to hysteria and madness. Yes they are quick to learn, but as I try to explain to new puppy owners, they learn all the wrong things just as quickly as the right and, unlike most other breeds, they need input almost from day one otherwise they can have invented their own entertainment and be lost by the time they are six months old.
Very much creatures of habit, Collies can almost be programmed, and this can be an advantage as obedience handlers have no doubt discovered but, as with computers, a bad programmer equals a crashed machine and correct programming can be a complex and time consuming procedure.
In the world of horses you will often see adverts, which state ‘not a beginner ride,’ and I think this equally applies to Collies. Unlike other breeds, if you make a mistake when training your Collie it is likely that you will struggle to put it right. Whereas it seems to me that other breeds just get over it and re-learn the right thing, with the Collie it is ‘once learned, never forgotten.’ Their speed and high drive can leave a new dog owner perplexed, and as a very wise dog man once said to me, “With Collies you have to make sure that the brain is on the right end of the lead!”
It is this very brilliance that makes the Collie either a winner or a nightmare and which seems to cause the love/hate divide which applies to this breed more than any other. That said, there is no doubt that to their devotees (and I count myself among them) that there is no other breed to match them, and very few of us change from our Collies to something else.
However, like all dogs they are individuals within the breed, and with so many being bred as show dogs and pets, much of the high drive and enthusiasm has been diluted, so it is possible now to get something that looks like a Collie but does not behave like one. Unfortunately for the unwary pet owner, what they bought as a fluffy black and white pup like the one their friend has, could be straight off a farm and bursting to work, and these are the ones that fill the rescue centres or at worst the vets’ surgeries!

Ultimate canine
All in all, for me the Collie is the ultimate canine athlete, and although I admire many of the other breeds, love to see them working and believe that any dog of any breed should be given the opportunity to do something, the Collie suits me best, and I think that is what it is all about.
We should all choose a breed that suits our temperament and ability rather than one that is known to win. I have seen good handlers do wonderful things with dogs of any breed and I have seen good dogs ruined by bad handlers so, at the end of the day, let’s all stop knocking the Collie and enjoy seeing good dogs of any breed achieve success with good handlers.

Reprinted from Dog World June 2008 with written permission of author : Wendy Beasley

Haynes Dog Manual   by Carolyn Menteith

Review by Shirley Budgen :  March 2007

There are a lot of basic training books out there, but this one shines through as a really useful addition to anyone’s book shelf.   Although aimed at educating a first time dog owner (very good section on choosing the right dog for the job!), it also has excellent coverage of common behaviour problem solving and an extensive range of fun tricks to teach your dog (including closing doors, ’waving’ through to skateboarding!). 

The author pushes home how much time and effort goes into taking on and looking after a dog, all explained in an easy manner, but with no punches pulled if necessary.   All the exercises are taught using fun & reward based training (clicker training is covered in its basics).  There is no pulling, pushing or yanking recommended at any stage.  Agility has a couple of pages, sadly no mention of competitive obedience, or other dog sports. 

I did find one paragraph worrying however, where the author recommended trying out erratic, provoking behaviour in the company of a friendly dog – the aim was to prove how unpredictable a dog can be around children.   This one paragraph aside I found this an excellent book, supported by appropriate beautiful (often cute) photographs. 

Separation problems, resource guarding, chasing behaviours are all covered in this book;  along with that wonderful habit of ‘poo eating’ where one of the author’s comments was ‘a cat litter tray is virtually a fast food restaurant to your dog’.

Humour and fun in dog training, how wonderful!

A book highly recommended for yourself or doggy friend.

Shirley 100% recommends the dog behaviour/training book 'Control Unleashed' by Leslie McDevitt .. its available on the link below

CONTROL UNLEASHED by Leslie McDevitt

CLICK HERE TO SEE CONTROL UNLEASHED AND OTHER 'POSITIVE' TRAINING BOOKS

Using “dominance” to explain dog behaviour is old hat

Press release issued 21 May 2009

Paper in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research

The blanket assumption that every dog is motivated by some innate desire to control people and other dogs is frankly ridiculous. It hugely underestimates the complex communicative and learning abilities of dogs.

Dr Rachel Casey

A new study shows how the behaviour of dogs has been misunderstood for generations: in fact using misplaced ideas about dog behaviour and training is likely to cause rather than cure unwanted behaviour.  The findings challenge many of the dominance related interpretations of behaviour and training techniques suggested by some TV dog trainers.

Contrary to popular belief, aggressive dogs are NOT trying to assert their dominance over their canine or human “pack”, according to research published by academics at the University of Bristol’s Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research.

The researchers spent six months studying dogs freely interacting at a Dogs Trust rehoming centre, and reanalysing data from studies of feral dogs, before concluding that individual relationships between dogs are learnt through experience rather than motivated by a desire to assert “dominance”.

 The paper “Dominance in domestic dogs – useful construct or bad habit?” reveals that dogs are not motivated by maintaining their place in the pecking order of their pack, as many well-known dog trainers preach.

Far from being helpful, the academics say, training approaches aimed at “dominance reduction” vary from being worthless in treatment to being actually dangerous and likely to make behaviours worse. 

Instructing owners to eat before their dog or go through doors first will not influence the dog’s overall perception of the relationship – merely teach them what to expect in these specific situations.  Much worse, techniques such as pinning the dog to the floor, grabbing jowls, or blasting hooters at dogs will make dogs anxious, often about their owner, and potentially lead to an escalation of aggression.

Dr Rachel Casey, Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare at Bristol University, said:  “The blanket assumption that every dog is motivated by some innate desire to control people and other dogs is frankly ridiculous.  It hugely underestimates the complex communicative and learning abilities of dogs. It also leads to the use of coercive training techniques, which compromise welfare, and actually cause problem behaviours.

“In our referral clinic we very often see dogs which have learnt to show aggression to avoid anticipated punishment. Owners are often horrified when we explain that their dog is terrified of them, and is showing aggression because of the techniques they have used – but its not their fault when they have been advised to do so, for example by unqualified ‘behaviourists’ recommending such techniques.”

At Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, rehoming centre staff see the results of misguided dog training all the time.  Veterinary Director Chris Laurence MBE, added: “We can tell when a dog comes in to us which has been subjected to the ‘dominance reduction technique’ so beloved of TV dog trainers.  They can be very fearful, which can lead to aggression towards people.

“Sadly, many techniques used to teach a dog that his owner is leader of the pack is counter-productive; you won’t get a better behaved dog, but you will either end up with a dog so fearful it has suppressed all its natural behaviours and will just do nothing, or one so aggressive it’s dangerous to be around.”

Please contact Joanne Fryer for further information.

Training dogs the Woodhouse Way 'makes

 them more aggressive'

By Fay Schlesinger
Last updated at 1:35 AM on 22nd May 2009

When Barbara Woodhouse ordered us to bark out ‘sit’ or ‘walkies’, we all obeyed.

But perhaps we shouldn’t have followed her lead so faithfully.  Experts now believe that ‘ dominance’ dog training methods championed by Mrs Woodhouse in the 1980s do more harm than good.  Efforts to gain the upper hand could actually cause aggressive behaviour, they said.

Sit! The way Barbara Woodhouse trained dogs (above) could make them anxious

The late Mrs Woodhouse became a household name with her TV series Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way.

She famously said that there were ‘no bad dogs’, only owners who lacked experience at asserting the pecking order.

Her ideas have been carried on by those such as Victoria Stilwell, who presented the family and pet counselling show It’s Me or the Dog on Channel 4.

But the researchers at the University of Bristol rubbished the idea that dogs always try to assert dominance over a canine or human ‘pack’.

Therefore forceful control by owners simply frightens animals and leads to anxiety, they said. The team spent six months studying interaction at a Dogs Trust re-homing centre and re-analysing data from studies of wild dogs.

Dr Rachel Casey, senior lecturer in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare, said: ‘In our referral clinic we very often see dogs which have learned to show aggression to avoid anticipated punishment.

‘Owners are often horrified when we explain that their dog is terrified of them and is showing aggression because of the techniques they have used. But it’s not their fault when they have been advised to do so, or watched unqualified  "behaviourists” recommending such techniques on TV.’

The team said that pinning a dog to the floor, grabbing its jowls or blasting hooters could make the animal anxious.

And having owners eat before their dog or go through doors first does not influence a dog’s perception of its relationship with the person, according to the study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, Clinical Applications and Research.

Dr Casey said: ‘ The blanket assumption that every dog is motivated by some innate desire to control people and other dogs is frankly ridiculous.

‘It hugely underestimates the complex communicative and learning abilities of dogs.’

Dogs Trust veterinary director Chris Laurence added: ‘We can tell when a dog comes in to us which has been subjected to the “ dominance reduction technique” so beloved of TV dog trainers.

‘They can be very fearful, which can lead to aggression towards people. Sadly, many techniques used to teach a dog that his owner is leader of the pack are counter-productive.’