Never
before has there been such radical transformation to the manufacturing and the
methodological use of e collars. Our aim is simply, to provide a revolutionary
system for all e-collar users by offering a complete
educational program on how to use e-collars properly with effective and humane
results.
Our Seminars and Workshops Specifically
Designed To Teach You:
·
How Dogs Learn
·
How to Teach Them
·
Instrumental Conditioning
·
Classical Conditioning
·
What Drives Them
·
How to Create a Positive Association To The E-Collar
·
Physical manipulation - The Phase before the E –Collar
·
Do’ and Don’ts on the use of the E-Collar and integration with a conditioned reinforcer.
This
Workshop is one of the most sophisticated e-collar delivery systems available today
and is highly recommended for individuals who truly wish to understand how to
use them properly and humanly. Our
Training Workshops are also attended by breed clubs, tracking, field trails,
IPO and ANKC competitors and Law Enforcement Departments.
The Best Double Feedback System I
Have Ever Experience
Most dog trainers start learning to
train dogs in a similar way. Traditionally we are taught to bring our dogs to
class, put a choke chain around their neck, do as the instructor tells us and
most importantly we are to make sure the dog does what you tell him too, no
matter what...right?
Well...not quite.
In recent years dog training
methodology has improved dramatically and I believe we are witnessing a dog
training revolution where by traditional systems of dog training are being
integrated with “operant” methods which is creating the most powerful and
humane system ever in existence.
In these elegant and
tightly-integrated systems, negative motivation and corrections are exploited
to rapidly establish stimulus control over powerfully-motivated behaviours;
rewards are used to teach and motivate performance; and a sophisticated system
of conditioned behaviour markers are used to render it all clear to the dog.
Positive motivational systems like the
“clicker” (conditioned reinforcers) are truly ingenious devices and provide a
pathway for better communication attributed to better learning, creating a win
– win communication possibility for dogs and their handlers.
On the flip side remote trainers are
equally ingenious in design and when integrated properly with the conditioned
reinforcers “clicker”, they provide the most sophisticated double feedback
system I have ever experienced.
Our entire system is based on the
sophisticated use of conditioned reinforcers (clickers) drives (genetics) and
consequences. The dog is required to learn that there are and will be positive
consequences for offering or performing a requested behaviour and there will be
negative consequences for offering and not performing the requested behaviour
linked to an active reward - being the motivator. The clicker aids learning by
clearly identifying the behaviour desired creating concentration and the active
rewards create the motivation with the remote collar modulating the behaviours.
Many of us have been to marine parks
and have witnessed the wonderful display demonstrated by dolphins and killer
whales. These behaviours are taught using conditioned reinforcers – i.e. clickers or whistles.
Additionally, I have also been
fascinated as to how horse trainers achieve the complex behaviours in show
jumping, dressage, cross country events amongst many. To my amazement horses
are taught behaviours purely under tactile stimulation. I have asked all the
horse trainers I have worked with as to how they positively reinforce their
horses.
Many stare at me assuming I am asking
a trick question. When they realise I am asking an honest question the standard
reply is... “We stop the stimulation
when the horse is doing the behaviour we want”.
The horse’s reinforcer is the
cessation of tactile stimulation. Isn’t that interesting?
In horse riding the rider or handler
provides tactile stimulation and in dog training the handler through the remote trainer provides a
similar yet more sophisticated tactile stimulation system from a distance. Both
stimulants in principle are the same with the remote trainer stimulation
allowing for much more versatility with the main advantage being distance, and
the possibility of the dog never linking any stimulation from the handler; most
importantly allowing the animal to learn that it is in control of the
stimulation which makes him confident and hence much faster.
Once you are sure that each command is
understood by the dog, and the behaviours you request are very reliable in
multiple environments and the dog clearly has associated that reinforcement
only comes with the correct execution to your commands in and around very low
levels of attractions then the remote trainer can be introduced as the
mechanism of ensuring the commands are executed. The benefit is that the
handler can achieve quick and fast responses to commands without any physical
manipulation or visual stimulus from the handler.
The result that is achieved with this double feedback system is that the dog
eventually maintains complex behaviours under extreme distractions by learning
how to turn off low level remote collar stimulation which in itself is a
reinforcer; additionally, compliance and execution to the command receives
additional reinforcement via a clicker and reward with food to maintain focus
and concentration or active rewards a ball, tug or sheep herding for
motivation.
This allows for true comprehension of
the requested behaviours as the ‘go’ and ‘no go’ capability this system
provides and produces is what gives the dog clarity and emotional balance. When
the dog truly has comprehension then any exercise attempted without a verbal
cue is not to be reinforced but marked with a ‘wrong’ and reinforced with the
remote collar stimulation which is then again reinforced positively because of
the compliance to willingly engage the behaviour known very well for a reward.
With this type of education a dogs capabilities develop rapidly almost like
magic locking in target
behaviours.
Target behaviours are simply any
position or behaviour that provides a positive association for the dog, that he
links to a verbal cue. The dog learns that certain locations deliver positive
feelings with the remote trainer stimulation only enhancing that positively
enhanced position and nice feeling.
This system of learning is easy to
understand which provides a clear way to teach dogs target behaviours (any
behaviour that you want). The important thing to note is that it is not only
aim at obedience as the concept is applicable to all mode of learning, be it
tracking, protection, ANKC, Ring Sport, IPO, KNPV, Police dogs, there is no
bias because dogs are dogs all over the World, however they are required to
have the genetic capability to back up and sustain their behaviour.
A Discussion about The Remote Trainer
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.”
• an applied understanding
of canine behaviour 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 Do
• Interpret their Behaviour
• Communicate with them Effectively
• Live with them
• Care for them
• Engage our dogs in
mutually advantageous play
• Manage behaviours, 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 behaviour. Just like children, dogs need to be able
to learn these behaviours, through experience, reinforcement and repetition.
It is widely believed by
experienced trainers and canine behaviourists that positive reward based
training creates around 50% of the learnt behavioural 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 behavioural 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
behaviour.
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 behaviour 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 behaviour, 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 behaviour 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 eg: 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 behaviour 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 behaviour).
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 behaviour 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 behaviourists 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 GSD and Dobermann, the breeds
to which I have dedicated almost 33 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.
Kris Kotsopoulos
Von Forell Instinctive
Canine Training Systems
Information
and Orders:
Telephone from Australia 03 5786 5388
Fax from Australia
03 5786 5277
International Calls +61 3 5786 53 88
International Faxes +61
3 5786 52 77
Head Office PO
Box 419 Greensborough 3088 Melbourne Australia
Personal
Advice:
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specialists will answer any questions whatever they may be, and guide you in
your choice of products and services.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2013 - 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 and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the author.
The “Educator” formally known as
“Einstein” has all the features needed to be the most sophisticated delivery
system in the World.
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