 Barked: Thu Mar 7, '13 9:29am PST |
 | |  | | If that was the case, would there not be more good trainers out there?
I don't think it's simply a lack of misinformation, but a culmination of things that can make a bad trainer:
- Misinformation
If you lack the proper information or knowledge on canine behavior, how can you truly be a good trainer? For example: those who alpha roll their dogs all the time and call themselves good trainers despite having been bit and having a dog that is uncomfortable around them - why do they think they're good? Misinformation and lack of knowledge on canine behavior, simply put. It's not necessarily that they don't WANT to learn, but rather, what and who they have learned from and what they have yet to learn.
- Lack of Experience
If you lack experience and jump into training with a dog that has fear or aggression issues, resource guards, any behavioral issue really, it can REALLY make it more difficult. You lack experience, it's harder to work with animals and truly help them or be a GOOD trainer. Starting off with an easier dog and training it to do all the basics and even some more advanced levels of training, and then slowly working your way up, and gaining experience with different behaviors AND with different breeds can ultimately help a person accomplish a status of 'good trainer'.
- Ego
Let's face it, how many of the so-called 'good dog trainers' have a big ego? A friend calls them a Dog Whisperer, or a family member says they're amazing with dogs and BAM, they have their ego stroked and begin trying to give anyone and everyone advice. It's these people that I'm not personally fond of... But you see them EVERYWHERE.
- Inability to Adapt to Individual Canines
This can come with lack of experience... But let's be honest.. Some dogs are simply EASIER to train! For example, I have a friend who had a Shepherd/Collie mix, and now has an Irish Setter pup as well.. Her Shepherd mix was INCREDIBLY easy to train, eager to please, and very naturally laid back and well behaved around the house and children. Her Irish Setter pup however, is more stubborn, more independent, and very exuberant in her behaviors which, while some may chuckle at her behavior and antics, others would get extremely frustrated with trying to train her because she's not quite as quick and requires more repetitive training on one command to really have it stick. Right now, I have them working on a solid 'leave it' with a clicker and it's going fantastic because they've learned HOW to adapt to her needs, help her understand AND are repeatedly doing this with her daily to reinforce the behavior they want. Before, however, they got frustrated and would give up.
- Ignorance
If you either don't want to, don't know how, or lack the knowledge of where to gain more knowledge in the canine world, it's going to bring down your ability to train quite a bit. Just because I disagree with certain methods of training, DOES NOT MEAN that I won't look into them and read up on them and try to keep an open mind(to an extent - there's certain methods I will NEVER condone), so that I can better understand and have a better knowledge in the canine world. You need to be able to keep an open mind and not say "Nope you're wrong. End of."
- Lack of Patience
If you lack patience, you're less likely to take the time with the animal to achieve the goals you have, and you're more likely to get frustrated if it doesn't happen sooner. Many people would have been frustrated with Charlie over the years. My friends were incredibly frustrated with their Irish Setter til I showed them HOW to adapt to her training needs and how to set realistic goals. You want to set the animal up for success too.
And there's soooo many more things that can make a trainer... not be so good. And I see them everywhere... all the time, claiming they can do this and do that when they either can't, or don't even have the experience to begin with. And what do a lot of them base it on? Someone, somewhere, saying they were good when in actuality, they weren't, lol.. At least not to those of us who have experience. And a good mentor can help! |  |  | |  |
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