A
Discussion About The Remote Trainer
“Kris Kotsopoulos – Von Forell
Kennels”
Since 1981 the passion in my life has been dominated by
the constant improvement and development of my breeds of interest; those breeds
being the Dobermann and German Shepherd Dog.
As a fervent believer in the Dobermann and German
Shepherd Dog being working dogs, I accept without question that these dogs
require constant testing, training and development in order to see the breed’s progress,
and also individuals within the breed, move forward in the way most
advantageous to all dog owners, trainers and breeders.
It has been
suggested to me by many that this controversial topic of the “Remote Trainer” will
severely hamper the “palatability” of my tracking book – “How To Achieve Precision Tracking With Your Dog”, however this
book has not been written to be a best seller but a means of educating our
community into the possibility of what knowledge and education can do.
In essence it is the lack of knowledge and understanding
that has created the controversy that currently exists. I know in my heart that
you - the readers and dog owners are entirely reasonable and scientifically
minded thinkers. Based on these assumptions my intention is in encouraging you
to think critically about the support and stance that you personally and
officially take on “Remote Trainers.”
This stance currently affects all mindful Dog Owners,
Breeders, Trainers, World championship competitors, Police departments and Law
Enforcement agencies globally. After almost three decades as a professional and
competitive dog trainer, I have come to the conclusion that creating well
trained dogs for any purpose can be reduced to two essential elements:
• an applied understanding of canine behavior and
learning theory
• access to the most appropriate tools to train in the
most efficient and humane fashion possible.
As people who train and own dogs, there is a vast amount
we need to know and understand. Furthermore, this core of knowledge is
imperative for the well-being and benefit of our dogs and for ourselves, and it
is important to possess a keen understanding of these concepts before we start
training any dog.
We need to ‘Know How’
to:
• Handle Dogs
• Observe Dog
• Interpret
their
• Communicate with them effectively
• Live with them
• Care for them
• Engage our dogs in mutually advantageous play
• Manage behaviors, both desirable and undesirable
• Understand the psychology of how dogs learn with a
thirst for knowledge.
These ‘Know How’s’ not only strengthen the bond we share
with our canine friends, but also provides us the platform from which to teach
them and help them learn what we consider successful and unsuccessful behavior Just like children, dogs need to be able to learn these behaviors
through experience, reinforcement and repetition.
It is widely believed by experienced trainers and canine behaviorists that positive reward based training creates around 50% of the
learnt behavioral picture. If we accept this statement as fact, then we also
must accept that only using positive reward based training methodologies leaves
us without the ability to motivate the other 50% of the behavioral picture.
Let’s look at it from the human perspective, and consider
the following questions that are created as a result of critical examination of
this fact.
• Why do our societal
laws carry with them a penalty of some sort?
• Why do we get fined or
jailed when we break the law?
• When was the last time
you received a letter from the Police or Government thanking you for being a well behaved citizen?
The answer to the last question is never (or exceedingly
unlikely); it is simply expected and one is required to use judicious discretion
and apply shrewd judgement. Generally our properly taught values and our life
experiences are expected to empower us to make the
correct decisions.
Having said this, it has been proven that dogs don’t have
the same capabilities of reason and rational thought, and hence the community is
simply expected to control their dogs or perhaps their dogs are expected to
know what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior.
How is this possible when people don’t know how to truly
train or manage an animal you may well ask? Think back to your first few dogs
you owned and now look forward. It is only the fact that you have been working
with dogs diligently and consistently for so many years that you are now
capable of handing your dogs appropriately. That has taken many years of work.
In the 21st century you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. It has all
been done and all dog people should be able to benefit from this science based information.
I firmly believe that education of the dog owning public
is the clear solution, and the freedom to be able to express our opinions and position
of training techniques that are an enormous benefit to the dog community.
Educating the dog owning public is unassailable critical.
Responsibility for this education must start with the person who allows an
animal to leave his or her care. Our breeders, community, vets, vet nurses, and
politicians too need to begin to understand the most basic principles of canine behavior when making practical, meaningful, responsible policies at any level.
Sadly, the reality is that the vast majority of dog owners don’t have much
access to lead them to the understanding of canine training or behavior yet
these people own the votes that pass legislation (reasonable and unreasonable)
based on the incumbent principle of penalising the owners for transgression.
Even though most voters also have next to no
understanding of the mitigating circumstances that exist regarding the
practicality of the laws they vote for or against.
This is the current state of affairs, a state of affairs
that I believe to be a no win situation for all dog owners in both the long and
short term.
So now the question begs asking...
What is
learning?
It has been said that ‘Teaching is the art of
suggestion’. Put more rigorously, it could be more accurately stated that
“Learning occurs when outcome and the expectation differ.”
The implication of having learnt something is that a
change of behavior is the direct result of something connected to a past experience.
My dictionary defines learning as:
1.
To
acquire knowledge or skill through study, instruction, or experience: to learn
French; to learn to ski.
2.
To
become informed of or to become acquainted with; to gain (a habit, mannerism,
etc) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire e.g: She learned
patience from her father.
If we take the above description literally then we all
know that ‘Learning’ is also stressful.
What is
Motivation?
Motivation is recognised as a key factor which influences
a given behavior will be performed, and the frequency of intensity of its performance.
Therefore, motivation plays an integral part in the ‘Know How’ of training our
dogs.
It is important that we understand the following:
• We must be well versed in the science of motivation as
well as the science of learning.
• A motivating force can be either positive (eg: a food
treat or reward); or negative (eg: a reprimand.)
• Motivation is like fuel in your vehicle – without it
the engine that drives all learning will not run.
• Motivation is used to describe the forces which operate
within an animal to attain the desired result (target behavior).
The main point of understanding in all of this is that of
the relationship between learning and motivation. These two principles are so deeply
entwined and interdependent that it is fruitless to attempt to conceive one
concept existing without the other. For the most part, learning does not occur
without motivation.
Even though behavior is learned, however, it may not be performed
if the animal is not motivated to respond. In any training situation, it is important that we all
consider the motivational state of the animal we are training, as well as all competing
motivators, for example, having a rabbit running across your dog’s path during
a recall exercise.
This is simply to illustrate that motivation is critical
in animal learning and where appropriate training aids are important in
obtaining the desired response.
“Markers, such as clickers, are as essential a tool as Remote
Trainers”.
My stand, along with a magnitude of canine behaviorists in the world, is that these instruments are excellent tools used correctly.
Currently in my state we are expected to have permission
to use the Remote Collars from a vet in writing, however I humbly ask the question;
please point out the expert vet that understands how to use the remote trainer
and demonstrate its application as a tool for quality learning and not as a
punishment device as the instrument is perceived.
I personally am of the opinion and recommend that all
people buying these instruments undergo formal training not only to learn how
to use them correctly but to also understand animal learning, appropriate
animal management and responsible dog ownership.
I am making a considered and deeply honest effort in my
book to ask you to critically consider these most pressing and concerning issues,
as they confront us in our capacity as truly committed long term dog lovers and
trainers. I have a sincere and enduring passion for all breeds, especially the German Shepherd Dog and Dobermann, the breeds to which I have dedicated almost 32 years of my life to improving and developing. Moreover
I believe that we, the dog owning public, must not ‘sit on our hands’ and allow
ill-conceived and erroneous laws such as those directed at remote training
devices and breed specific legislation go unchallenged.
We the canine community must help our governments to see
the reality about appropriate training devices which are an asset to the dog community
in helping people manage their dogs and help decrease community risk assessment
issues that may exist.
Information
and orders
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rights reserved.
Copyright
© 2012 - Kris Kotsopoulos Von Forell International
No
part of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
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