Dog Sense Training and Behaviour

I LOVE Huntaways. They are the coolest dogs.

Developed in New Zealand to work sheep in the rugged terrian. Their deep bark pushed large flocks while helping farmers keep track from a distance.

They are tough but often very social & sweet dogs, and can get pretty big.

Something very unique about Huntaways is while NZKC recognises them as a breed, they cannot be shown in confirmation shows. This is deliberate in order to prioritise a breed standard workability rather than consistent appearance; which varies. That’s pretty cool 🖤

There’s a time for reassurance, encouragement, or treats. But, when possible it’s ideal to allow a pup to work through it on their own.
If I’d interrupted Omen here I wouldn’t have given him the opportunity to be curious & make decisions on his own. Feeling that curiosity after being unsure, then deciding to approach, and ultimately learn ‘that weird thing’ is no big deal, is a fantastic moment to build resilience & confidence.

If he didn’t decide to approach I wouldn’t have hung around the space for a bit and maybe encouraged him, but he did so well on his own & that was far more valuable 🖤

Common ‘gotcha’ moments involve these types of ‘cross-over’ trainers stating “I know how these tools work because I used to use them”.

But, if the arguments are “tools shut dogs down”, “..always cause harm”, “..balanced trainers don’t address underlying causes, & don’t understand R+ protocols”. No wonder they’re against tools if that’s how they trained.

ANY good trainer knows the importance of addressing underlying causes of behaviour issues, prioritises fulfilment & relationship & understands R+ strategies.

No good trainer chooses aversives ‘OR’ R+ methods. Nuance involves a broad understanding of methods, rather than picking one for everything.

It makes sense why these guys spend most of their time bashing tools & trainers. If they weren’t a good trainer (& still aren’t), that realisation would be confronting. So rather than self-reflect, accept & own mistakes, their shame gets projected onto others.
Defensive anger to hide insecurity 🤷🏼‍♀️

(To add, I am only referring to extremist ideological trainers. I know there are plenty of cross-over trainers who aren’t like that ✌🏻

A common narrative from some dog training camps, is that ‘Dominance Theory’ &/or ‘Alpha Theory’ has been debunked.

Videos like these may be described as ‘resource guarding’, ‘defensive aggression’, ‘fear over losing food’, ‘food aggression’ etc etc ‘but not dominance’ (“because that’s a bad word associated with aversive trainers”, apparently), without realising they’re still in fact describing dominant behaviour (that word again, GASP!).

✔️Yes, wolf researcher Dr David Mech established that wild wolf-packs are family units with a mother/father breeding pair, not social structures established via aggression, as seen in captive wolves.

❌While many dog trainers did (and still) incorrectly describe Dominance as power-struggles over other dogs and humans for ‘Alpha status’. Others threw the baby out with the bath water and misinterpreted Dr Mech’s writings as ‘debunking’ Dominance/Alpha (to aid their ideological agenda).

Both sides have elements of truth, but both are also wrong.

⁉️So what’s the deal?..

The breeding pair in a wolf pack ‘are’ Alpha. But, as Mech wrote, the term ‘Alpha’ provides no added information that the terms ‘mother/father’ can’t, and insinuates a hierarchy established via competition/aggression. Alpha, just means ‘first’ or ‘leader’ but doesn’t necessarily mean aggression, depending on the species. And in wolves, Alpha status is naturally established (usually) not fought for.

💡Dominance was never debunked or redefined by Mech, but it ‘was’ misdefined by old-school dog trainers who view dog behaviour as scheming manipulation to take control.

✅Dominance IS: social behaviour between two individuals to gain priority access to a resource. Usually, (but not always) intending to ‘avoid’ fights.

*Most humans are dominant over their dogs resources, but that doesn’t mean harshness or power struggles. And to add, the terminology is more appropriately used within the same species rather than across different ones.

The behaviour in this video is very much Dominant Behaviour.

(For more information look up Roberto Barata writings on the topic)

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