So, like many trainers, I subscribe to all kinds of training and behavior related online mailing lists, message boards and forums. It's kind of mind boggling how the internet has opened up so many avenues to the dog training community - there are online groups for folks who own/work with: shy dogs, dogs with separation anxiety, dogs who resource guard, reactive dogs. There are groups and message boards for clicker training enthusiasts, agility aficionados, shelter trainers etc etc. I recently got the online newsletter that British trainer Kay Laurence sends out - she is, to quote Karen Pryor, "one of the world's top clicker trainers....". There was one particular sentence in it that jumped out at me: Training is a process, not an event. Kay was writing about how people sometimes have the misconception that training is an event, something that begins when you enter training class and ends when you walk out the door. Or that it begins when you pick up the clicker, and ends when you put it down. So not true. Kay's goal is to get her students to shed that mindset, so as to better train their dogs. Humans continue to learn for their entire lives - we learn the best routes around town to avoid traffic, we learn new skills via new jobs/new hobbies & interests, we gain new knowledge from reading about topics that interest us. Learning didn't stop just because we left school. Similarly our dogs continue to learn for their entire lives. Therefore training, which is learning, is something that should be seen as ongoing, part and parcel of sharing our lives with dogs. If we fail to recognize that then I don't think we'll be able to get the most from our relationships with these amazing critters. It also got me thinking about something we say a lot as regards working with dogs with behavior problems - that when you're working with, for example, a resource guarder, you should be either training or managing at all times - you're actively doing behavior modification training with your dog, or when you can't, you are managing your dog so that they can't continue to rehearse the undesired behavior. Kay's quote reminded me that ideally we're doing this (training or managing) with all dogs, whether they exhibit problem behaviors or not, because training is a process, not an event. When we can't train, because let's face it, there are times when life happens, then we need to manage the environment and our dogs, to set them up to succeed, by not giving them opportunities to learn or enact the wrong behavior.
So how does this rather rambling post relate to shelter dogs? Simple: many dogs end up in shelters because their original owners never took the time to train or socialize them properly. On top of that, it's likely that their owners didn't know how to manage their dog's behavior either, to prevent it from escalating. As Dr. Ian Dunbar said when he spoke at the Business of Saving Lives conference here last year "Shelter dogs are created..."
Speaking of Dr. Dunbar, if you haven't yet checked out his DogStarDaily website, you really, really should - there is new content added all the time: blogs, photos & video clips submitted by members, downloadable training manuals (Before You Get Your Puppy & After You Get Your Puppy are both available for download), all kinds of training tips and advice, and "DogStar TV". An interesting and enjoyable way to while away some time online and a must for new dog owners - I have a friend who lives with his family in the rural Irish countryside. They've been wanting to get a puppy, but live literally hundreds of miles away from the nearest trainer. I love the fact that I'll be able to send them to DogStarDaily to learn everything they'll need to know about raising their new critter! See how I've cycled this post back to my opening paragraph about the mind boggling possibilities the internet has opened up for the dog training and owning community?
So as we embark on a new decade it's pretty clear that there's never been more access to information and support for the average dog owner. Here's hoping that folks take advantage of the wealth of information out there and utilize it. In the sheltering world we commonly set ourselves the goal of wanting to rescue more animals each year. Well I'll let you in on my secret wish - it's that as the decade progresses I'd like to see shelters like ourselves save less animals, because if more dogs get the socialization and training that they need as puppies, and ongoing throughout there lives, then there will be less animals needing to be saved. Combine that with continuing to spread the message about spaying and neutering and the possibilities are mind boggling to say the least.
Here's to the new decade!
