# Golden Training Style Preference



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Neither.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

Megora said:


> Neither.


Would you describe your basic approach?


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

MIlan/Beckman/Khron 

Never heard of them.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

SRW said:


> MIlan/Beckman/Khron
> 
> Never heard of them.


(Just noticed I left out the ‘i’ in ‘Millan’ in the poll. Ditto with Krohn. Can’t correct them either.)

Milan - Cesar Milan from Dog Whisperer
Beckman - 



Krohn - 




The difference in styles is more a matter of the attitude toward correcting undesirable/unacceptable behavior.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Zerpersande said:


> Would you describe your basic approach?


I actually think you need to organize your thoughts a little better, do a little more research into the dog training community, and present appropriate choices for people to pick from. Because this is how I saw your poll, or the equivalent:


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

It really depends.

And I honestly don't care how anyone else trains their dog. Nor do I care what they think of how I train my dog.

But I am aware that a lot of people on this forum like to think they have the perfect training method and that's awesome for them.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

Megora said:


> I actually think you need to organize your thoughts a little better….


Well, that didn’t really do anything to describe your approach. At least directly so.
It was my intention to be vague. As I have researched training methods it seemed to come down to the Purely Positive crowd vs those that use correction techniques of any sort. And the correction techniques invariably get the Purely Positive crowd hot and bothered. I suppose that mentioning Cesar Millan would have sufficed, but I just added a couple of others that that are similar to Millan in ways but also use positive reinforcement in addition to corrective techniques. But it seems my efforts to word it vaguely was in vain.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

The only thing two trainers of field retrievers ever agree on about training is that another trainer is doing it wrong.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Neither. More balanced. E-collars have their place. I have nothing against them. You shouldn’t need them for basic obedience though. I’m training high level obedience and don’t us them. There’s even a place for a more positive approach. For example, there’s an Akita wwhete I train. Beautiful dog. Does everything at a snails pace. Zero energy. Owner is a bit frustrated about how slow he works. I almost never see owner truly praise. He’s very much old school, no treats kind of trainer. Only slightly praises perfection. I told him that the dog needs more praise. He needs happy, bouncy training. Of course, I was not to be believed, given the dog, and basically told to prove it. I had the dog bouncing along beside me play biting at me, working efficiently, and just having a blast. I did a master level rally course with him. He didn’t do everything right because I don’t know all his commands but we had a good time. Owner was shocked that he listened and did so well.

I never thought working an Akita would be so much fun.


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## FurdogDad (Mar 30, 2021)

SRW said:


> The only thing two trainers of field retrievers ever agree on about training is that another trainer is doing it wrong.


Sometimes that's the only thing any 2 trainers of Golden retrievers on this forum agree on.......


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

SRW said:


> The only thing two trainers of field retrievers ever agree on about training is that another trainer is doing it wrong.


That goes for all venues.


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## Aly2015 (Jan 26, 2021)

There is no option for somewhere in between? I think most training tools (prong, e collars, etc) have their place and are beneficial when used correctly. I also think praise, treats and positivity bring joy and excitement into working for a dog. 
Personally, I lean towards positive reinforcement training, but also give corrections when I feel appropriate. I also think relationship is key to successful training and different dogs benefit from slightly different approaches. 
I agree with what others have said though- dog trainers rarely agree with each other lol. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed reading a variety of training topics on this forum to gather different ideas and techniques to try out myself. Different opinions give lots of opportunities for learning


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Neither. Anyone who calls themselves a “purely positive” dog trainer doesn’t understand the four quadrants of learning. I’m a cookie pusher, but my dogs do have consequences if they’re being stupid.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

Yeah I'm not going to pick an option of two extremes. Now if you would have put someone like Michael Ellis or Dave Kroyer. Those two best represent my style of training.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I’ve learned a lot from R+ trainers and balanced trainers. I prefer a combination of the two. Logan engages well with positive input. I tend to be quiet/more soft spoken and my latest competition obedience class is helping me to be more animated like DevWind describes above. He’s really enjoying It. They suggest corrections for blatant disobedience (like if he took off across the room ignoring, for example), but otherwise say to make it as fun as possible so both handler and dog are enjoying it. I think it’s important to really get to know your dog and how he or she responds/is motivated.


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

Zerpersande said:


> This is less about Goldens specifically and more about the preferences in training style that we, as owners, employ. I’ve added a poll to this post. Well, at least that is my intention but asca relatively new memver I haven’t even seen one on this forum, much less made one, but I’ll be positive and assume that it works.
> But I would as you to consider doing the following if you wish to participate…
> 1- Take the poll
> 2- BEFORE reading any of the posts that (I hope) are made to this thread, make your own initial post with a summary if your thoughts on training styles, keeping in mind the choices you saw in the poll.
> ...


Neither. I’m definitely not purely positive, and I do use an e-collar but really only for recall at this point, so that choice really doesn’t fit the bill either. And whoever those names are, idk. So I’m somewhere in the tremendous expanse between those two options, which is probably the case for 99% of people…


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Zerpersande said:


> Well, that didn’t really do anything to describe your approach. At least directly so.
> It was my intention to be vague. As I have researched training methods it seemed to come down to the Purely Positive crowd vs those that use correction techniques of any sort. And the correction techniques invariably get the Purely Positive crowd hot and bothered. I suppose that mentioning Cesar Millan would have sufficed, but I just added a couple of others that that are similar to Millan in ways but also use positive reinforcement in addition to corrective techniques. But it seems my efforts to word it vaguely was in vain.


Do you understand what the purely positive crowd is? This would be the people who literally say you cannot even say the word "NO" to your dogs. Some of these people are shape everything with food or praise rewards only to get to a result (which is about as exciting as counting grains of sand on a beach and can be de-motivating to the dogs even who learn fastest with other methods which guide and help them be right the first time, including telling the dog "no" or "ah-ah" when they are wrong). Others are more extreme and see competition and dog sports as innately cruel to the dogs. 

Then I would venture to say very few people on this forum who hang ecollars up on their walls as their kitchen gods or who put ecollars on their own necks and zap themselves for fun.... would be likely to identify their training style or purpose with somebody like Cesar Millan. 

Your poll is not vague. It is poorly constructed and or shows you don't know how big the dog training world is. 

Should add, my answer would have been balanced - but as per what some have already said, not everyone agrees with what "balanced" means. 

To me, balanced means - 90% praise/rewards/positive motivation and 10% corrections that are fair and specific to my dog. 

To others, balanced means 95% correction/negative reinforcement based and 5% positive reinforcement. 

I believe that if you rewrote the poll to add a third option - "Balanced". All might check that box and you really would not have information that is useful at all.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I did not read any other posts yet but my first reaction is you have left out all middle ground and I cannot choose either of these.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

SRW said:


> The only thing two trainers of field retrievers ever agree on about training is that another trainer is doing it wrong.


Thanks, I now have something I can post to one thread asking ‘What have you learned from this forum?’


Aly2015 said:


> There is no option for somewhere in between? I think most training tools (prong, e collars, etc) have their place and are beneficial when used correctly. I also think praise, treats and positivity bring joy and excitement into working for a dog.
> Personally, I lean towards positive reinforcement training, but also give corrections when I feel appropriate. I also think relationship is key to successful training and different dogs benefit from slightly different approaches.
> I agree with what others have said though- dog trainers rarely agree with each other lol. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed reading a variety of training topics on this forum to gather different ideas and techniques to try out myself. Different opinions give lots of opportunities for learning


As I responded to one comment, the trainers I mentioned use positive reinforcement, with the two examples seemingly making it the major strategy. Cesar Milan is more known for rehabilitation (his word) than training of puppies. From the posts, clips and article I have read purely positive group seems to go after anyone that corrects their dog. So it didn’t seem important to me who I mentioned as the alternative to purely positive.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

Oceanside said:


> Neither. I’m definitely not purely positive, and I do use an e-collar but really only for recall at this point, so that choice really doesn’t fit the bill either. And whoever those names are, idk. So I’m somewhere in the tremendous expanse between those two options, which is probably the case for 99% of people…


Sounds like you are similar to Beckman and Krohn. Both use a lot of positive reinforcement, one uses the e collar on almost all dogs, the other uses it rarely, relying on more physical corrections. My intention wasn’t to offer purely positive versus no praise, force the dog to submit at all turns. Rather the alternative option was a mix.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

I think this is a very interesting topic and deserves discussion. I like the poll option because I know many here don’t always feel safe expressing their views on training for fear of being “attacked” for expressing a view that doesn’t align with someone else. That said, I agree that having a poll with only the two extreme options isn’t likely to solicit the kind of information that is helpful. I think it might give you more information to present the poll as a “where are you on the spectrum?” with, say, a ranking of 1-10) with 1 being all compulsion/correction or no food rewards, 5 being “balanced”, and 10 being “purely positive” (no corrections at all - not even saying no or giving some other “no reward marker”). It would also be interesting to have people comment not only where they are on the training spectrum, but also what they do with their dogs (field, OB, rally, agility, dock diving, therapy work, or just a family pet, etc.). I think the goals that people have with their dogs, as well as norms and pressures from their training peers, can have a big impact on the training techniques someone chooses.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

myluckypenny said:


> Yeah I'm not going to pick an option of two extremes. Now if you would have put someone like Michael Ellis or Dave Kroyer. Those two best represent my style of training.


One of the trainers I mentioned, Krohn, posted a clip of a discussion with Kroyer. In fact I asked one trainer that is assisting in training my dog and she knew of Kroyer and respected him.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

Zerpersande said:


> One of the trainers I mentioned, Krohn, posted a clip of a discussion with Kroyer. In fact I asked one trainer that is assisting in training my dog and she knew of Kroyer and respected him.


I strongly dislike Millian and I have no idea who Beckman is. I know Krohn and have his book, but his work is in aggressive dogs. It's not realistic to ask a sport dog trainer (which many of us on this forum are) to pick between a very AR aligned training philosophy and trainers that mainly work with rehabilitating aggressive dogs. Makes no sense.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I’ve watched some of Larry Khron’s videos. I like him — that doesn’t mean I agree 100% with him on everything. I also enjoy Robert Cabral’s videos. I believe they are friends and similar in style.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

[


myluckypenny said:


> I strongly dislike Millian and I have no idea who Beckman is. I know Krohn and have his book, but his work is in aggressive dogs. It's not realistic to ask a sport dog trainer (which many of us on this forum are) to pick between a very AR aligned training philosophy and trainers that mainly work with rehabilitating aggressive dogs. Makes no sense.


I respect Millan for his work with older, problematic dogs. I disagree that Krohn’s ‘work is in aggressive dogs‘ bc he works with lots of younger dogs and commonly addresses strategies for family pets. On the other hand it seems that he has had many successes working with aggressive dogs so your point is very valid.

My choices were meant to obliquely approach the question of whether members were in the purely positive camp or used techniques such as those of Millan’s (which I felt needed no explanation) or a couple of other trainers that use lots of positive reinforcement but also address and correct undesirable behaviors. Looks like my attempt to ask what I expected would b a sensitive in a way to avoid conflict didn’t work out as I planned.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

Zerpersande said:


> My choices were meant to obliquely approach the question of whether members were in the purely positive camp or used techniques such as those of Millan’s (which I felt needed no explanation) or a couple of other trainers that use lots of positive reinforcement but also address and correct undesirable behaviors. Looks like my attempt to ask what I expected would b a sensitive in a way to avoid conflict didn’t work out as I planned.


I think someone else mentioned above that a scale would be a better poll. Something 0-10 with 0 being purely positive and 10 being purely compulsion. I think that would provide much more interesting dialogue about people's training philosophies.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

myluckypenny said:


> I think someone else mentioned above that a scale would be a better poll. Something 0-10 with 0 being purely positive and 10 being purely compulsion. I think that would provide much more interesting dialogue about people's training philosophies.


In retrospect, I agree. i just didn’t expect there to be any really strong compulsory training going on. And what I have read/seen seems to indicate that the other end of the spectrum is well represented. I could have just done a Y/N poll of are you purely positive but from the results so far, I think even that would have resulted in similar results.

Note to self: Only make posts here about specific issues/problems when asking about training.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

pawsnpaca said:


> I like the poll option because I know many here don’t always feel safe expressing their views on training for fear of being “attacked” for expressing a view that doesn’t align with someone else.


That is a huge drawback of this forum and why I encourage people to put various users on "ignore."


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

GoldenDude said:


> That is a huge drawback of this forum and why I encourage people to put various users on "ignore."


I just recently learned about this feature, question though - Can the person you chose to "ignore" see your posts and reply?


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

GoldenDude said:


> That is a huge drawback of this forum and why I encourage people to put various users on "ignore."


I don't ignore anyone. I want to see what everyone is saying, even if I don't agree.


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## Aly2015 (Jan 26, 2021)

Zerpersande said:


> Thanks, I now have something I can post to one thread asking ‘What have you learned from this forum?’
> 
> As I responded to one comment, the trainers I mentioned use positive reinforcement, with the two examples seemingly making it the major strategy. Cesar Milan is more known for rehabilitation (his word) than training of puppies. From the posts, clips and article I have read purely positive group seems to go after anyone that corrects their dog. So it didn’t seem important to me who I mentioned as the alternative to purely positive.


Ahh, I see. I don’t know those specific trainers (except for Cesar Milan who, in my opinion, would be far from purely positive training). So your other words in the poll were “e collar” and “corrections”. I think this makes it appear that you are asking which of two extremes people are in, instead of your second option potentially being a more balanced one. 
Now maybe if people are more familiar with those trainers they would feel differently about your second option. My attention was focused on e collar and corrections because of my lack of knowledge of those trainers. I assumed they used little positive reinforcement since they were mentioned alongside corrections and e collar. 
(I do know e collars and corrections can be used alongside positive reinforcement- I’m just referring to how the second option did not mention positive reinforcement).
My answer remains the same and similar to Megora where 90% positive and 10% correction, or somewhere in that ballpark. Hopefully that gives you some of the information you were looking for.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Megora said:


> Do you understand what the purely positive crowd is? This would be the people who literally say you cannot even say the word "NO" to your dogs. Some of these people are shape everything with food or praise rewards only to get to a result (which is about as exciting as counting grains of sand on a beach and can be de-motivating to the dogs even who learn fastest with other methods which guide and help them be right the first time, including telling the dog "no" or "ah-ah" when they are wrong). Others are more extreme and see competition and dog sports as innately cruel to the dogs.
> 
> Then I would venture to say very few people on this forum who hang ecollars up on their walls as their kitchen gods or who put ecollars on their own necks and zap themselves for fun.... would be likely to identify their training style or purpose with somebody like Cesar Millan.
> 
> ...


I will never understand how not correcting your dog works. How will they ever know they're wrong without consequences for their actions. I strongly believe this is one reason we see so many dogs with behavior problems. They NEED boundaries. I see many dogs that are total heathens with their owner and then an instructor handles the dog to show the owner what to do, gives the smallest correction and the dog just stops the bad behavior. 

Balanced training is a huge spectrum that depends solely on the dog in front of you. My boy only needs minor corrections. "you're wrong" in a normal tone is all it takes. My girl requires more of a correction immediately followed by praise when she makes the right choice.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Zerpersande said:


> Sounds like you are similar to Beckman and Krohn. Both use a lot of positive reinforcement, one uses the e collar on almost all dogs, the other uses it rarely, relying on more physical corrections. My intention wasn’t to offer purely positive versus no praise, force the dog to submit at all turns. Rather the alternative option was a mix.


For those of us who train as a sport, which is probably most of us who will respond, your poll is black or white. There are so many shades in between. 

"Force" the dog to comply? Not really....but I DO expect my dogs to do what I say when I say. Why? I take them to the vet, I feed them, I groom them, I buy them toys, I give them treats, I keep them safe, I give them water, I take them places, I could go on and on. It's really not too much to ask in return.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

DevWind said:


> I don't ignore anyone. I want to see what everyone is saying, even if I don't agree.


Life is too short to deal with annoying people. I "ignore" annoying people which is not the same as people with whom I disagree.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

myluckypenny said:


> I just recently learned about this feature, question though - Can the person you chose to "ignore" see your posts and reply?


I believe they can, which is something to consider. For me, I don't care if they read my stuff. Life is too short to deal with annoying people, so I simply don't want to read their stuff.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

GoldenDude said:


> That is a huge drawback of this forum and why I encourage people to put various users on "ignore."


I was sitting back and thinking about this.... and I honestly think that there is just no way that anyone would be happy unless this forum were run just like FB where you completely block a person.

To what end though?

Like say... I and others do not post on the field forum or even read it. There used to be a lot more people, including those we are friends with on FB (!) who used to post here and were very interesting to learn from. Some of the best conformation advice that I got when starting out years ago came from 2 field people on this forum. And I think there's more who had a foot in conformation and a foot in field who used to post more positively and happy about dabbling in field and what all they were doing - even with some positive only types jumping in from time to time (btw, back then I was on the field people's side because I'm not positive only and knew enough about field work to know you have to be able to correct your dogs to train most things).

So roundabout thought is that I do feel it would be easier to post in field, ask questions, learn from others, or follow raw beginning training log stuff from people.... if you could block 2-3 or whatever people. 

But suspect that would just result in more upset people quitting the forum because of what people are saying "behind their backs" or whatever.


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

Yes, survey too black and white to reflect reality. Tools and corrections vary with the dog, as well. Case in point. I generally would not ever use a barking collar, but with 1 dog we found it necessary.

It worked. How do I know this (and it is a true story)? I had fallen off a ladder and badly dislocated an elbow. My arm was swollen and in a sling. I don't know what I was thinking when I did this, but didn't think the barking collar was working, so I barked at it while it was in my bum hand. The pain in my arm when I jumped and dropped it was undescribable. I never did THAT again.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Megora said:


> I was sitting back and thinking about this.... and I honestly think that there is just no way that anyone would be happy unless this forum were run just like FB where you completely block a person.
> 
> To what end though?
> 
> ...


I think some people left the forum because of the continual rudeness that permeates the threads. I know some new people leave for that reason and don't blame them because, in general, new people are treated terribly.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

GoldenDude said:


> Life is too short to deal with annoying people. I "ignore" annoying people which is not the same as people with whom I disagree.


Very few actually annoy me.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

GoldenDude said:


> Life is too short to deal with annoying people. I "ignore" annoying people which is not the same as people with whom I disagree.


When I got my first Golden, Charlie, I bought a 3-wheeled scooter with an enclosure on the back. Modified it into a dog carrier so Charlie could easily go places with me. on the back I put a decal that said…

”Life is too short to hunt with an ugly dog.”


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

Aly2015 said:


> Ahh, I see. I don’t know those specific trainers (except for Cesar Milan who, in my opinion, would be far from purely positive training). So your other words in the poll were “e collar” and “corrections”. I think this makes it appear that you are asking which of two extremes people are in, instead of your second option potentially being a more balanced one.


Yep, you pretty much nailed it. I named two trainers assuming that if a reader didn’t know them that, well, they could ASK. Or, since this is an internet forum, chances would be good they had heard of Google. 😜 I remembering using my first dial up modem almost 50 years ago and since then I’ve joined many forums on a wide range of topics. Can’t say that I remember a poorly worded question causing such a ruckus.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

DevWind said:


> Very few actually annoy me.


I have three I keep on ignore about 90% of the time. Don’t know if that’s a lot. Don’t care, really.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

GoldenDude said:


> I think some people left the forum because of the continual rudeness that permeates the threads. I know some new people leave for that reason and don't blame them because, in general, new people are treated terribly.


I've been here a few years longer than you... I've seen things... 

Should add - other than perhaps one person from years (happily long gone) who I ignored because he was completely gross, I've not ignored anyone. I think most people, even idiots, tend to hit the nail on the head from time to time. And on those days when they are right - I believe they should get a 'like'.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

GoldenDude said:


> I think some people left the forum because of the continual rudeness that permeates the threads. I know some new people leave for that reason and don't blame them because, in general, new people are treated terribly.


This is probably a topic for Chit Chat but I think most people are treated nicely with the exceptions being people who ask about something and then argue against every reply, breeders defending their bad practices or supporters of bad breeders, and lastly people looking for Golden Doodles. I use my personal built in ignore button on and off the forum.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

cwag said:


> This is probably a topic for Chit Chat but I think most people are treated nicely with the exceptions being people who ask about something and then argue against every reply, breeders defending their bad practices or supporters of bad breeders, and lastly people looking for Golden Doodles. I use my personal built in ignore button on and off the forum.


I wish I could agree. I really do.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Megora said:


> I've been here a few years longer than you... I've seen things...
> 
> Should add - other than perhaps one person from years (happily long gone) who I ignored because he was completely gross, I've not ignored anyone. I think most people, even idiots, tend to hit the nail on the head from time to time. And on those days when they are right - I believe they should get a 'like'.


Oh, I’ve seen things in just 6 years. Sad to think it might have been worse at one point.


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## Aly2015 (Jan 26, 2021)

Zerpersande said:


> Yep, you pretty much nailed it. I named two trainers assuming that if a reader didn’t know them that, well, they could ASK. Or, since this is an internet forum, chances would be good they had heard of Google. 😜 I remembering using my first dial up modem almost 50 years ago and since then I’ve joined many forums on a wide range of topics. Can’t say that I remember a poorly worded question causing such a ruckus.


Fair point lol. I could have looked into more information about those trainers before replying, so I don’t disagree with you in that regard


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Zerpersande said:


> Yep, you pretty much nailed it. I named two trainers assuming that if a reader didn’t know them that, well, they could ASK. Or, since this is an internet forum, chances would be good they had heard of Google. 😜 I remembering using my first dial up modem almost 50 years ago and since then I’ve joined many forums on a wide range of topics. Can’t say that I remember a poorly worded question causing such a ruckus.


But your poll still doesn't make sense.

You are asking people if they are purely positive.... and then the other option has a bunch of things that may or may not have anything to do with each other.

It is the equivalent of asking people what month they like best, and as an option, have them pick:

* Spring
*Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Mars.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

Aly2015 said:


> Fair point lol. I could have looked into more information about those trainers before replying, so I don’t disagree with you in that regard


We live in, and have grown disturbingly used to, immediate information. If I had asked people if they agree with Einstein that quantum physics had to be local and real OR if there were more aligned with Bell and the associated experiments of Hardy, the general response would have been either not to answer or find out what each Bell and Hardy proposed.

Additionally, since I expatriated from the US 30 years ago the social interactions there have become much more, uh, aggressive and confrontational. Whereas my adopted home is on the other end of the spectrum. Communication is a very high context process and, at least for me, often requires asking questions to clarify and confirm things before responding.

Some people got a bit upset. If that is the worst thing that happens to me this week I will consider myself supremely lucky.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Zerpersande said:


> We live in, and have grown disturbingly used to, immediate information. If I had asked people if they agree with Einstein that quantum physics had to be local and real OR if there were more aligned with Bell and the associated experiments of Hardy, the general response would have been either not to answer or find out what each Bell and Hardy proposed.
> 
> Additionally, since I expatriated from the US 30 years ago the social interactions there have become much more, uh, aggressive and confrontational. Whereas my adopted home is on the other end of the spectrum. Communication is a very high context process and, at least for me, often requires asking questions to clarify and confirm things before responding.
> 
> Some people got a bit upset. If that is the worst thing that happens to me this week I will consider myself supremely lucky.


I don't know much about quantum physics - that's my husband's area of expertise - but when he and our daughter are discussing it I like to remind them that Quantum Leap was an awesome show with the Piggy Suey episode being my favorite.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

GoldenDude said:


> I don't know much about quantum physics - that's my husband's area of expertise - but when he and our daughter are discussing it I like to remind them that Quantum Leap was an awesome show with the Piggy Suey episode being my favorite.


I got sucked into teaching AP Physics when I took on AP Chem, my major. Teaching the course was fun but Quantum Mechanics wasn’t covered (in my class) other than some discussions and my encouraging them to read The Tao of Physics.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

pawsnpaca said:


> I like the poll option because I know many here don’t always feel safe expressing their views on training for fear of being “attacked” for expressing a view that doesn’t align with someone else.


This describes me perfectly.


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## FurdogDad (Mar 30, 2021)

SRW said:


> This describes me perfectly.


When I read that I thought of you immediately.......


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## Jasmyne (Dec 28, 2021)

My training style is…Know your dog and what motivates them. Take bits and pieces from a variety of sources. If something isn’t working try another approach. Have patience!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Jasmyne said:


> My training style is…Know your dog and what motivates them. Take bits and pieces from a variety of sources. If something isn’t working try another approach. Have patience!


This is excellent.


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## DearDarla (Jan 22, 2021)

Zerpersande said:


> This is less about Goldens specifically and more about the preferences in training style that we, as owners, employ. I’ve added a poll to this post. Well, at least that is my intention but asca relatively new memver I haven’t even seen one on this forum, much less made one, but I’ll be positive and assume that it works.
> But I would as you to consider doing the following if you wish to participate…
> 1- Take the poll
> 2- BEFORE reading any of the posts that (I hope) are made to this thread, make your own initial post with a summary if your thoughts on training styles, keeping in mind the choices you saw in the poll.
> ...


Really hard to vote for these options. We use corrections and an e-collar but most of how we train is based in engagement and connection. I use positive reinforcement a lot but I’m also not afraid to tell my dog “no”. She is 3 now so we don’t rely on treats unless she’s learning a new skill or gets sloppy/doesn’t understand what I want from her. I’ve watched a lot of trainers online, worked with a couple in person, and tried a lot of different techniques. Socialization when she was little laid a good foundation for her behavior and ability to learn and adapt moving forward. What works best for me is knowing my dog as an individual and figuring out what works for her. Took us 2+ years to get to where we really understood each other and could work together effectively.


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## Popebendgoldens (May 16, 2008)

I will say that I am neither of what you posted for the poll. I train according to the dog and the owner. I am huge on teaching the owner to recognize a dog’s body language. It is amazing that dogs learn to read body language from a newborn up. For a dog this applies to other dogs, other animals and of course human beings. The vast majority of humans have no idea what body language actually is. This stems from our own upbringing. Unless you sit and actually observe dogs and or people you are on the outside looking in. I also train people to control themselves with their dogs. It is amazing that a neurotic dog is usually that way due to the signals it gets from the owner.


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