The recent explosion of interest, debate and controversy surrounding dog trainer Jordan Shelley’s techniques used on The One Show to modify the behaviour of a Jack Russell growling around its food bowl, has once again raised an interest in evidence-based techniques used to train dogs and the efficacy regulating an industry that is so far largely unchecked.
This isn’t merely a case of opinion. If you are a dog guardian or enjoy the company of animals, you have a moral duty to share.
Sure, there is more than one way to skin a cat, as any dog will tell you, and at times it seems that there are as many methods to teach a dog as there a dog trainers. However, the most effective methods by design are those which have a positive impact on the dog and are based on methods which have been developed by, or based on, the scientific understanding of animal behaviour and learning theory. Intimidation, forceful methods or punitive punishment are not endorsed by those who have a psychological understanding of behaviour. Not only are forceful methods less effective in the long run but there just isn’t any need: why be nasty to something full stop, let alone if there is a more effective and kinder way?
“I’ve been breathing oxygen for 30 years but it doesn’t make me a chemist”. If a veterinarian was asked on to a television show and they offered advice considered inappropriate by leading veterinary proponents and peers, advice that caused unquestionable potential for damage that was ill-informed, the defence of that individual would be inappropriate. The BBC have made a mistake - and one that, let’s face it, is easy enough to make. It’s the same mistake that 79% of my clients made last year. I saw 271 clients with dogs that had behaviour problems and 79% of them had already seen between one and three dog trainers, yet the problem still existed. The producers on the show weren’t necessarily to know that the dog trainer they had booked was using methods considered inappropriate and twenty years out of date; after all, there are many amateurs offering advice based on supposition, hear-say and something they may have read on the internet based on someone else’s opinion which is - frankly - dangerous.
So where do we go from here? Well, I believe the media have a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure those they position as experts have a knowledge based on evidence and scientific fact, not merely opinion. Anyone can offer an opinion and from my experience the group of people who have opinions about things they know nothing about are the most dangerous - and wasted the time and money of 79% of my clients last year.
After all, if we’re going to modify the behaviour of any living animal, shouldn’t it be based on scientific fact rather than just supposition?
If you do follow the advice of trainers using dominance-based techniques such as Jordan Shelley and you find your dog growls at you or you feel you are in danger, show the dog you have a tasty treat and throw it behind the dog. Keep tossing treats away from the dog to increase the distance between you and then after a few repetitions throw a few treats, one treat at a time, in front of the dog. If in danger, remain calm and walk slowly away from the dog. Contact a positive reinforcement trainer.
For free advice and resources if you’re having problems with your dog, see www.JezRose.co.uk
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Posted in Jez in the media, Jez's advice on anything dog, Resources for Veterinary Professionals by admin
Waddesdon’s first ever fun dog show was a fantastic success with over 500 dogs and their owners attending throughout the day.
