“But, what should happen to a dog if the positive rein-


forcement programming fails? Euthanize the dog or suppress the problem so we can reinforce the behaviors we like?” asks dog trainer Ivan Balabanov. Television personality, author and dog trainer Victoria


Stilwell asks, “Why resort to shock when you can get much better results with methods that motivate a dog to behave well without force and with- out any possibility of physical or emotional damage?” Stilwell has been promot-


ing positive training methods for 20 years. “Positive training is more than just giving dogs treats; rather, it’s a philosophy of teaching dogs without the use of pain, fear or intimi- dation.” Dog trainers do not need


Victoria Stilwell with Rita


science to discover what is already known: dogs have feel- ings and emotions, and dogs


are capable of cognitive processes. “They are deserving of our protection, deserving of


individual dignity, and deserving of respectful treatment,” said Balabanov, a world-champion dog trainer and author who resides in Plant City. Unfortunately, this shared understanding and high regard


for dogs among trainers has not led to shared perspectives about training methods and training tools, but rather (and too often) just the opposite. “The current controversies - over method, approach and


outcomes - have deeply divided dog trainers to a point where we can identify different cultures within the dog training community,” writes Ivan in his book Fundamental Principles of Dog Training. “These divisions don’t just reflect individuals training individual dogs for varying purposes (pet, competition, field and so on). They are collectives; groups of trainers (and sometimes even non-trainers) who hold strong and often oppositional beliefs and values.


Continued g


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