Defiant K9 Training

01/06/2020

Even the cats around here get trained 😁💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

01/03/2020

"Fear Free" = No Authority

There is a marketing strategy in the dog training world labeled "fear-free". They believe making any demands of your dog with a consequence for disobedience equates to using fear, and will ruin your relationship with your dog. I believe this is a problem because it strips dog owners of any authority and the fallout is devastating.

A healthy fear of you is necessary to having a well-behaved dog. The alternative is consistently catering to your dog, always pandering to whatever makes the dog feel better, and continually paying your dog for listening to you. Never "because I said so."

But, "I don't want my dog afraid of me!"
Neither do I, please let me explain.

Any respected authority comes because of a certain amount of fear of the consequences of going against that authority. This fear can be for our own good.

We all have a healthy fear of those who we recognise have authority over us, and we function well in society because of it. For instance, having a healthy fear of going against the authority of God promotes clean living and a healthy conscience, and a fear of Law Enforcement will make us good citizens, also, a healthy fear of our employer keeps us productive. Children that are well-behaved have a healthy fear of their parents and teachers. Yet, we are not afraid of any of them. That healthy fear keeps us safe and productive members of society.

Our dogs need to be "good citizens" of our home. To achieve this, we must be the authority over our dog, and, yes, they must have a certain amount of fear of the consequences for going against our authority. No, that doesn't mean they are afraid of us. Just like when you received a punishment from a parent, you were not afraid of them, in fact, you love them deeply.

A dog with a healthy fear of you will respect your authority and consider you with its actions. If they don't have this fear, they will have no respect. They are the ones that don't listen, pull on walks, jump all over you, bark incessantly, are possessive, jump on your furniture, and act aggressively.

A healthy fear is respect and a concern for going against your authority. This is what is missing in too many dog/owner relationships. It is good for you both because you exercise your authority with good intentions and their welfare in mind.

-Eric Devine

01/03/2020

This is such a great article! Daily walks with your pup are SO important for their mental health and enrichment.

01/03/2020

In recent years, “purely positive”, “positive only”, and “force free” have all been hot topics, with words to grab owners in and make them think other training methods and tools are abusive and harmful.

This is not the case! There truly is no such thing as purely positive, or force free training. If you have ever taken something away from your dog, told them no, or used the walking tools shown below, you have been using force!

There is nothing wrong with this! Our pets suffer when we humanize them and push our emotions into them. Dogs are very simple! With the proper tools, you’ll learn how to speak each other’s language, and experience a level of understanding you did not know could be reached!

01/03/2020

Very well informed and educated post on Prong Collars as an effective tool!

Let's Talk About... the Prong Collar. Facts, not emotions:

The prong, or pinch, collar was first patented by Herm Sprenger in the late 1800s, and the design has evolved over the decades with improved knowledge, experience, and materials. It should be noted that Herm Sprenger (*not* "Springer") are one of only a very small handful of prong collar manufacturers that reputable trainers recommend, and arguably the best.

The collar itself:

The individual prongs themselves are angled in and blunt at the ends, NEVER sharp. They are not designed to stab like a needle, or injure the dog. Due to the mechanical design, pressure is distributed evenly around the neck, and this pressure is felt far more readily than that of a choke/check chain, or flat collar. Ergo, less pressure is required to be used by the handler. This is particularly useful for handlers who have strength or mobility issues, or who have very large dogs. Also important to observe is that there is a martingale chain that connects each side of the collar, which prevents the collar from tightening excessively or dangerously, as can happen with a choke or check chain that is not used appropriately.

The mechanics of the collar, as explained by a mechanical engineer:

F = force applied by the handler.

FA, FB, FC etc = force applied on dog's neck. The tip exerts the force in opposite direction of pull. This is because of the lever effect created by the fulcrum (shown in the red circle).

Now the important part: anatomy, not physics.
A dog’s neck is sensitive at the throat and strong at the side and back. FE is force applied at neck and FB & FC are force applied on side of neck.

Now FA = F cos (angle made by FA and F); similarly, FB, FC etc. If you look at a trigonometry book, the greater the angle between F and the direction of resultant force (FA, FB etc), the lesser is the force. So you can see the force on the neck/throat is almost zero. And the force on the side of neck is almost equal to what you apply.

Please do bear in mind that this post is about the science behind the prong collar - not your *feelings*. If you don't like this particular tool, it's pretty simple: don't use it. But also bear in mind that, if you haven't ever used it, then your opinion of it is based on nothing more than emotion and/or hearsay. If you are triggered by this post, ask yourself why - based on *fact* :-)

And finally, always please remember: TOOLS DON'T TRAIN DOGS; TRAINING TRAINS DOGS! If your trainer puts one of these on your dog to "teach it to walk nicely to Heel", I would suggest firing them and finding a trainer who understands how to teach Handler Awareness, the Step Sit, and actually train the dog. If your dog will only walk to Heel when it is wearing equipment (of any kind), it's not trained :-)

Thank you for reading!

01/03/2020

If you guys have any recommendations on what you would like to see me post and/or share, please let me know below!!

01/03/2020

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