Giving And Receiving Constructive Feedback About Your Dog Training

[@DogsThat]

Check out Shaped by Dog Episode 21: The 5 Critical Dog Training Layers for Confidence with Anything for all the layers of the 5C Pyramid dogsthat.com/podcast/21/ You can Download our DogsThat / Shaped by Dog Business Cards as a PDF dogsthat.com/business-cards/

[@azogal53]

When I was 11, I had a riding instructor who was harsh and sarcastic. I loved horses and spent my allowance on those lessons. I can still recall some of the insults she hurled at me, and other students (those of us that stayed and weren't driven off). And that was more than 50 years ago. Love your honesty and willingness to grow. You and your team have made such a positive difference in our lives. My husband mentors international students in biology and field work, online. He takes your suggestions to heart as well. 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

[@katerina5460]

OK, so the the main difference in training people and dogs is that with people you do not need cookies that often. :-))) Kindness, clarity, success - I wish we were all shaped this way. ❤

[@heidipoage5918]

I teach Kindergarten as well as train my dogs. There are so many parallels between being a good dog trainer/student and being a good teacher. I agree that it all starts with the base of your pyramid- connection. Add in compassion and curiosity and avoid shame and humiliation and you are going to get more learning from both dogs and people! Thank you for all you do!

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Excellent! Our retriever club hosts an 8-week retriever class to recruit newbies into our club. Great tips and perspective! THANKS.

[@JennyYasi]

This was great! I'm a crier, cried around a few different trainers, and I've probably upset a few students too. Sometimes I've scared people off by being too frank about my opinion of a method they arrive with. One thing you used to say that I argued about with you in person (I think this was 2007 or 8 when I came up to Canada) but you said "your dog's behavior is a reflection of your abilities as a trainer" - and I felt that some issues (such as prey drive) are so much easier to train in some dogs than in other dogs. And Tigerlily was SO preydriven, I felt that her wildness wasn't a reflection of me, and that my challenges WERE different. I was comparing her with good old dogs paraded around by others while I had a dog who leapt off my boat to chase after fish while a mile out to sea. Anyway, I wanted you to acknowledge that my training "job" was more challenging, and it wasn't my fault that my dog - unlike other dogs --went crazy at the sight of a squirrel. Today I understand much better what you meant. Last night teaching I thoughtlessly told people to run back to their stations. In my video, I see a student who actually made a spectacular running effort that was much more challenging for her than for any other student in the class. Every effort is different for each person and dog. Not sure where this comment is going except you have been and continue to be such a wonderful, truly wonderful teacher for me, and I am so so grateful!

[@leanekelly6423]

Thanks for that Susan. That’s why I never went back after the next level after puppy school. I so wished I’d search for more help. Better later than never with my gorgeous 5year dog Evie. Thanks for your videos ❤

[@IAMGiftbearer]

This is so true! I used to train for a dog breeder years ago and never understood why so many trainers shame and blame and demean other trainers and their students and have that attitude that telling the truth meant being rude and talking down to people. I never felt it was morally right nor productive to do that. It's just toxic. When I was in that role if someone asked me a question I would just give a matter-of-fact answer and leave the histrionics out of it, or I would show them what to do differently. Sometimes it seems that ones who take such a negative approach are chronically annoyed and it has less to do with the people and more to do with their own personal emotional issues that they for one reason or another take out on someone they view as subordinate. The ones who are the worst tend to be those who also use the more aversive methods of training dogs and have the rigid mindset that their way is the only way (for instance that guy who tells his students to "bonk" their dogs to break them of bad habits and tells them they are being a sissy if they don't feel right about doing that). I breed rats and also own snakes and I find that even among animal owners across the species there is that kind of attitude in the hobby. I don't know if certain people are wired that way, or whether they have just gotten away with intimidating people all their lives (much like a dog who has gotten his way by growling at or biting people to get his way). I am one who won't start a fight but if attacked will finish one, and honestly if I paid good money for a training class and the trainer came at me in such a way it would be the last opportunity they'd get to treat me badly. I'd take my money back and go elsewhere because I don't pay for abuse. Someone with that kind of mindset would probably not take the feedback in a later conversation that their tone or words were counter productive because they do put everything on the owner and are not in the head space to accept responsibility for how they treat others. If it happened once then it is most likely a pattern and it would be like a continuous root canal to work with that person and go digging in a mountain of shit for a miniscule diamond chip that may or may not even exist. Maybe if that trainer lost enough business and gained a bad enough reputation he or she would eventually change their attitude and interactions. If not, then with all the choices people have out there it would be their loss more than their clients'. In my brushing up on techniques, about two days ago I saw a podcast by a trainer who does have some good techniques, but in the podcast he read the letter that someone wrote who was one of his paid members and as he read the letter something in his reaction didn't sit well with me. The situation was a serious one they were asking him how to handle and it was clear that the family was trying everything they knew how and trying to understand why their dog was not responding to their training. The guy spent about half the livestream making statements like that the people were making excuses for the dog, or that they were irresponsible for even having it, buying toys for it, letting it have the crate it felt most comfortable in and saying that they were letting the dog run them by allowing it that courtesy, "why on earth would they let the dog around this or that person", "why would they do this, why would they do that", and that kind of thing, yet he really wasn't giving them any useful information. The family had already paid two in-person trainers neither of whom could break the dog of the behavior nor tell them how to even after following all their advice. Rather than commending them for not just dumping the dog at the animal shelter when things didn't go smoothly like so many frustrated owners do nowadays, this online trainer berated them for NOT doing that and not doing it a long time ago. I think the dog was probably just badly bred and had something wrong mentally with its temperament because there really seemed to be no way to predict when it would snap. Apparently it would be nice one minute and vicious the next. Had they dumped it in an animal shelter all that would have done is pass the problem on to somebody else. He ended up telling them he really didn't know what to advise them other than to get rid of the dog, and that he only knew of two trainers in the world that "might" be capable of handling such an unpredictable dog. He did not give them their names or contact information. He did not give them the suggestion to consult an animal behaviorist either to evaluate if the dog were salvageable or not (which would have been one of my suggestions). After sitting through that nailbiting podcast I did say to him in a comment that he could have left out all the blaming commentary and just stuck to what advice he could give them even if he had to refer them to someone else who was experienced with problem dogs. Even if he felt the dog was beyond help, it was not necessary to blame the owners and make them feel like they were bad dog owners because from what I heard in their letter they really were trying to do right by the dog and wanted to love him and see him through this if at all possible. If this was out of his league one can imagine how helpless the owners must have felt. Then to be publicly humiliated in front of hundreds or maybe even thousands of people probably added insult to injury. I also see people who are not professional trainers leave others snarky comments online when they ask a question about training their dog telling them that if they ask this or that question then they shouldn't even own their dog or (worse) should rehome it. Not only is that bad advice but it's nasty and unnecessary and does nothing to help the individual. I always tell people when I see that that there are no stupid questions, and that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask! People need to be able to ask questions without being judged because if they don't feel safe doing that and they keep it to themselves that could be catastrophic for the dog (or the owner, depending on what the issue is).

[@sophiesmith5922]

yes! Its true! Our first instructors taught us weird stuff and created ISSUES that I am still trying to overcome with my GS. My other dog...she trained the trainer, so good! BEST dog ever!

[@shayneganz2886]

excellent topic I spent 5 years studying humans take dog training classes we see similar traits in both student & teacher - Thank you for this podcast.

[@Amber-eb9ut]

Thank you for all you do. Encouraging words go a long way! Every dog is a different journey and I am always learning how to be a better owner and trainer.

[@007brasso700]

Thank you again and again for your explanations

[@DogsThat]

Thank you for your feedback!

[@Woody_videos]

The shaped by dog podcasts have really transformed my understanding of and enthusiasm for training which has also been reflected in my dogs' enthusiasm for training with games. Over the last month my youngest dog was diagnosed with food allergies and is on an elimination diet which means we no longer have high value food rewards to work with. Previous episodes have covered many forms of reinforcement and I would love to see a future episode that helps me understand more about how to use a range of reinforcers in our everyday training as we work on crate games and hot zone, etcetera. Thanks for the amazing education.

[@DogsThat]

Hi Jen, thank you for such a lovely note! We've got a playlist on reinforcement with lots of ideas to help: kzbin.info/aero/PLphRRSxcMHy1IUj_4P54q2PIuLNtnXjFO

[@erwinp67]

Dear Susan, Thank you so much for sharing this to us. After two years of internship I will start my own school in two months time. I am just writing my program and was searching and thinking how to be different than most of the dog training schools here in the Netherlands. How will your school deviate from the thousands of other without losing the focus and bonding with the dogs and the students. Your podcast regarding giving and receiving feedback is very valuable. Thank you.

[@DogsThat]

That's awesome, Erwin! Thanks for the great feedback

[@RebeccaAnnFord]

Hearts 💜 😊 👍

[@DogsThat]

🧡💛💚💙

[@robinrutherfordcost4748]

Awesome video! Have been an instructor for years. I like instructor because we teach you to train the dog. When I first started, I learned to praise individuals but if you had to point something out of what you really don't want to do, you do it generally so no one gets offended. Probably that one person isn't the only one having the same issue. The dog club that I teach at is 50 years old this year and most of our repeat business is people who trained with us for prior dogs. I actually became a member as a teenager before I even owned a dog. Hope to be teaching an Intro to Agility - Flatwork this year. Am probably the youngest member of the club and only one of 3 instructors willing to teach. Any suggestions on getting our members to instruct? Although we don't pay them, they are able to get a free class taught at the club. Kind of difficult when not many members are teaching....any suggestions are most appreciated. The students get their graduation pictures in the paper as we're a 501C3 and the classes are 6 weeks long for 110.00. Rather large building but ceilings too low for full size agility equipment so have to refer people on to the nearest facility that's almost an hour or longer away from us. I'm the only one that has offered to teach Agility. We need a minimum of 3 people to teach the class.

[@bettyjett1456]

Susan, could you do a podcast on how to retrain your dog. My dog is 5 and I didn't know any better so I had him in training that was all wrong. Now I have to retrain myself and him. I think I confuse him. I have had alot of people say they are having the same problem. Oh by the way, my 5 year old is German sheppard/ husky and he still thinks hes a puppy.

[@DogsThat]

Hi Betty, great suggestion and you are not alone, so we've got an episode coming up to help!

[@DogsThat]

Here's the video Betty: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmXYeX6GjZ6bjdk

[@noemiharo3171]

My daugther is 9 years old and she is doing agility. The dog jump to her and nipping sometimes... what can we do? I need help

[@BosomBuddyCreations]

I agree with you on many levels. But some humans, no matter what you say, what you do, just will not practice their homework and they never progress forward. Some will never see their dog as a feeling being with rights and make the changes they need to make to help their dog cope with anxiety, because their dog is just an accessory to them. Some people refuse to listen and will not be inspired no matter what you do. One of my clients insists that her dog never growl no matter what. How do you deal with that type of ignorance? Growling is communication, and they turn a deaf ear. When her dog does make progress, she refuses to see it and still finds something wrong. You, Susan, also with all your experience, can be wrong. Ever hear "out of the mouths of babes'? You put out a video about teaching dogs to ignore wildlife by teaching a great leave it. I was demoralized and almost gave up training (even though I had great success) just because while my own dog has a great leave it and recall, but she lost it to deer (not squirrels and chipmunks). Then I did some reading about the science of how dogs think. And I realized that every dog is an individual and what works for one dog doesnt always work for another. That was a breakthrough for me and I started working with my dog with real deer. Now she will leave the deer most of the time. As trainers we all have to remain humble and realize we can make mistakes and SO CAN OUR DOGS. It doesnt mean they are not trained well, it doesnt mean we are bad trainers. Maybe they are having an off day, just like we do. Maybe they are C or B students and not A+ students just like human children. Maybe your students and the dogs just need a little grace. And dont even get me started on certification.