And this is just one – of many things that trainers redefined to their own needs.
Your behaviours are your bodies reaction to the environment – or a trigger. They are not “conditions” at all, let alone one’s you can fix. There is no such thing as an “aggressive” or “reactive” dog – that’s not how it works – and it’s certainly not a diagnosis. A 5 year old child can declare a dog “aggressive” – that doesn’t say much about dog trainers skills to diagnose a dog. We need to start asking “Why” – why is the dog displaying these behaviours cause if you don’t understand the cause, you’re not fixing anything. “Why isn’t this working?!?” – there is your answer.
Let’s listen to a one minute video of B.F Skinner talk about behaviours and what they are – it’s not what dog trainers tell you. And that should make you think long and hard about “Behavioural Euthanasia” – it shouldn’t be happening at all. And by the way, this one minute video from B.F Skinner blows “Dog Training” out of the water. When you understand why dog trainers blame B.F Skinner for what they call dog training?
Do you have free will? Skinner would say no – not when it comes to your behaviours. You don’t get to choose how you act – your behaviour is the result of an environmental stimulus – or trigger. Your dog is no different. Nobody smiles for no reason, there is always a reason. Smiling is a very basic behavior. Something has made you smile – could be anything from recalling a memory to being proud of your child.
If dogs can rationalize, then they don’t do it very well – and really, they don’t need to. We can rationalize through our fears – mild fears to major fears. Dogs generally don’t act that way, they are very honest with displays of fear – and that can come out through your endocrine system. Cortisol is your fight (aggression) and flight (reactive). When you get scared, your cortisol level (etc) increase and cause the reaction. It’s no different for the dog – they don’t get to choose how they behave.
Trainers declare many dogs “dangerous”, but how do they define it? When do you declare a human dangerous? Some people have gotten so angry or scared that they committed a crime of passion – severely injured or killed someone. That’s a dangerous animal. When a dog is so worked up that their eyes become bloodshot – their blood pressure is getting high, stress is high – and there’s your dangerous dog.
But how is that dog when calm? Funny how calm dogs are never an issue? So, why focus on the behaviours when you really should be focused on calm.
So, Skinner did experiments on animals in a lab in order to understand US – the human animal. He proved that humans are animals too and the causes of our behaviour are no different for the dog. Skinner wasn’t an animal trainer, and never wrote any books on training dogs.
So lets put a human spin on aggression in humans. My ex came home one day and she was ripping, hands balled up, cussing and yelling. In that state of mind, there isn’t much chance of a having a meaningful conversation. Let her blow out the lines, get it out of your system and when you’re calm, lets talk and find out the problem. I don’t know if she’s mad at me, her friends, maybe the car – I don’t know.
When you watch me in videos with the dog – this is what you’re watching. We are 2 animals in a back yard, one is pissed off and or scared for a reason – and I need to know why. Blow out the lines on me, get rid of the beast cause I know for a fact that the dog is going to calm down. And I’m going to meet the calm dog.
I don’t care than any animal is displaying aggression or reactivity or anything else. Any animal can display this.
We need to ask why is the animal acting this way. And people aren’t asking that question. All dog owners get is the same old chorus of birds chirping the same tune of treats, clickers, toys, muzzles, crates, prongs, -e-collars etc right on up to kill the dog.
When can we stop calling this “Dog Training”?
When I say that “dog trainers” need to get out of the behavioural ring? I mean it. The result of dog trainers invading the behavioural arena? Millions of dead dogs, and heaven knows how many dog owners living in control and management situations. And why? Because trainers threw the very science of behaviour in the garbage – understanding the cause of the behaviour. And they replaced it with all the crap the dog doesn’t need and nonsensical quadrants meant for Schutzhund.
And there ladies and gentlemen is the very reason that the $70 billion dollar “Pet Industrial Complex” exists in the first place.
Chew on it for a while.