Welcome to Golden Rule Training

Thanks for coming to visit my blog and hopefully my website (www.goldenruletraining.ca)
My name is Tristan and I train dogs in the Halifax area, providing group classes and individual consultations. I'd like to use this blog to discuss recent happenings in the doggie world and also training issues with my personal views on things.

Dog training sadly is one of those fields where you can get 5 different answers on the same subject from 5 different trainers. Imagine taking your car to a mechanic and having one tell you to change the oil, one telling you that you don't need oil, and one telling you to fill it with beer instead. People sure wouldn't stand for that, however that's a regular occurrence in the dog training world. One of the biggest reason for this I believe is there is no set standardization for dog trainers. While many people are trying to do this through sites like www.apdt.com and www.ccdpt.org, the most popular dog trainers on TV have no such certifications or training. Dog training seems to fall on different ends of a straight line, with positive trainers (those who use clickers, food lures) on one end, and dominance force based training on the other end where all methods focus on being the 'alpha' of the group or 'knocking the dog down a peg'. There are many trainers that fall in between, such as those that will use food for rewards, but also force if faced with non-compliance to commands.

I personally fall very high towards to the positive end of that line. I use clickers in my training but not as religiously as some use clickers, I use food lures and reward training and I don't jerk leashes or inflict pain. I'm against shock collars and invisible fences, since training can accomplish those goals without shocks and pain. If you'd like to learn more about my resume please visit my site. I believe there are two important things a person must do to be a good trainer. 1) Read as much as possible by respected authors. I have a large library from trainers like Ian Dunbar and Jean Donaldson. 2) Practical experience - volunteering at shelters and just working with dogs and specially your own dog is the best way to hone your 'chops' of training.

Thats it for the first post - if you'd like me to discuss a certain topic send me an email. In the next post I'll discuss a bit about learning theory and exactly how animals learn.