I just came from a Behavior & Animal Training conference where the trainers, who work with a myriad of different species, gave us a lot of food for thought. One of my favorite presenters, Ken Ramirez - head trainer at the Shed aquarium in Chicago, spoke of among other topics, the need to train our animals. So it got me thinking…. is training our dogs a need or a luxury?
Our animals are always learning, not only during formal training sessions. What they learn can help them have a much better quality of life or the opposite - make their lives a living hell. What then are the advantages of training? And who benefits from it?
Training teaches dogs to live in our care. It also addresses their safety and welfare. Welfare can be defined as the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person or group. When it comes to our dogs, welfare includes the following:
1. Access to a health program (veterinarian care).
2. Good nutrition.
3. A “rich” living environment – including a social structure (the other animals they share their lives with and their relationships with them).
4. Friendly social interactions with conspecific and people.
5. Proper shelter such as comfortable temperature and sleeping/resting arrangements.
6. Mental and physical enrichment.
7. Management that provides for a safe environment.
Besides including adequate (depending on breed and the individual dog) physical and mental stimulation for our dogs, training also facilitates cooperative behaviors. For example, we should teach our dogs to be comfortable with our touch when being examined, to accept (and being comfortable with) equipment such as collars, leashes, harnesses, etc. that makes our walking with them easier, confinement such as crate training. And the list goes on.
There are, of course, other secondary reasons for the training of dogs such as the work animals are required to engage in as assistant animals and for entertainment purposes.
I guess living with our dogs and their care is like anything else in life: you get out what you put into it. It never ceases to amaze me how well dogs do living in a world that is kind half their own. Half their own because of domestication but not their own because they are subjected on a regular basis to our needs and whims – not theirs.
Now, if instead of often curtailing their natural behaviors (digging, chewing, barking, chasing, marking of territory, etc.) we find viable ways - via education and training that allow for their needs to be met in an acceptable way to us, (the concept of “compromise” comes to mind) we can rest assure that not only will we enjoy their company much more but at the same time we are providing for a being in our care. In essence, I am strongly advocating for a relationship and lifestyle that makes our dogs equal partners in our relationship. And as a result, they will thrive and continue to provide us with a lifetime of companionship and fun.
Our animals are always learning, not only during formal training sessions. What they learn can help them have a much better quality of life or the opposite - make their lives a living hell. What then are the advantages of training? And who benefits from it?
Training teaches dogs to live in our care. It also addresses their safety and welfare. Welfare can be defined as the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person or group. When it comes to our dogs, welfare includes the following:
1. Access to a health program (veterinarian care).
2. Good nutrition.
3. A “rich” living environment – including a social structure (the other animals they share their lives with and their relationships with them).
4. Friendly social interactions with conspecific and people.
5. Proper shelter such as comfortable temperature and sleeping/resting arrangements.
6. Mental and physical enrichment.
7. Management that provides for a safe environment.
Besides including adequate (depending on breed and the individual dog) physical and mental stimulation for our dogs, training also facilitates cooperative behaviors. For example, we should teach our dogs to be comfortable with our touch when being examined, to accept (and being comfortable with) equipment such as collars, leashes, harnesses, etc. that makes our walking with them easier, confinement such as crate training. And the list goes on.
There are, of course, other secondary reasons for the training of dogs such as the work animals are required to engage in as assistant animals and for entertainment purposes.
I guess living with our dogs and their care is like anything else in life: you get out what you put into it. It never ceases to amaze me how well dogs do living in a world that is kind half their own. Half their own because of domestication but not their own because they are subjected on a regular basis to our needs and whims – not theirs.
Now, if instead of often curtailing their natural behaviors (digging, chewing, barking, chasing, marking of territory, etc.) we find viable ways - via education and training that allow for their needs to be met in an acceptable way to us, (the concept of “compromise” comes to mind) we can rest assure that not only will we enjoy their company much more but at the same time we are providing for a being in our care. In essence, I am strongly advocating for a relationship and lifestyle that makes our dogs equal partners in our relationship. And as a result, they will thrive and continue to provide us with a lifetime of companionship and fun.
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