Long time no see!
Yep, what that says *points up* I've been a horrible LJ-er, and I feel so bad about not participating more. I've tried to check in on some of you (you should know who you are,) and comment a bit, but I really apologise to all that I haven't gotten to lately. I sincerely hope all is well :)
I've just recently (as in this past Monday,) begun my oddsessy into the profession of PetSmart accredited pet trainer (yay!) As soon as I'm through with my training and apprenticeship time, the store will be fully staffed as far as pet trainers go. That means one full time (Sylvia,) one part-time, and one bench (i.e. in case the FT or PT is sick or on vacation.) The bench really doesn't get to teach very often, which sucks, as that's what I was hired for, but the Store Director and Sylvia both seem to be leaning toward handing the part time position over to me as soon as I'm accredited (yay again!)
You wouldn't believe how much shit I have to do, though! First of all, I have two HUGE binders: the Instructor Lesson Plans book, and the Training Instructor Manual, which is seriously the size of a HS Engilsh Lit book o.0! On top of all of that reading, there's written assignments, written tests, various videos to watch, a presentaion to give to store mgmt., AND participating in almost every class as a customer would (but that has meant getting to take Chase to work and have him hang out w/ me all day, which rocks!)
I'm very impressed with PetSmart's training of their pet trainers, though. Seriously, if any of you are looking to improve your relationship with your dog, look no further than your local PetSmart for knowledgable trainers. And I'm not saying that b/c I work there, I'm saying it b/c there was a 30 page chapter in my manual entitled "Ethology," which I had to write an essay on, as well as take a written exam...and that's only chapter 5 of about 15! If that isn't a good foundation for becoming a good trainer, I don't know what is.
And since I'm so damned proud of my first written assignment, I now present it to all of you:
Both pestering people for attention and aggression to non-family members have been attributed to social dominance or an "alpha dog." Pick one of these, and discuss alternative explainations for this behaviour.
My answer (I knid of ignored the "pick one" instruction, but I think I canvased both in a decent way.):
"Blmaing 'bad' behaviour soley on a dominance problem is a bad habit that some trainers have allowed themselves to fall into. In reality, there are many reasons that a dog may display unacceptable behaviours. The revelation that they, themselves, could be at the heart of these behaviour problems is not something that most pet parents want to hear, but most of the time, it's a better conclusion than the 'dominant dog' route.
Often, when it seems that a dog refuses to listen to its handler, the dog is labeled as having a dominance problem. This is usually not a true assumption, and is quite unfair to the dog, as one of the main causes of the problem in this situation is that the dog has not been taught the commands he seems to be 'refusing' to listen to, or has not been given adequate time to learn them completely. Sometimes the dog is simply distracted or confused by a new environment, in which he has never performed the commands asked of him. All of these cases indicate that more training time is needed, and in as many different situations and places as possible.
Dogs that are seen as being 'out-of-control' are also too often labeled as being dominant. This is a simple misinterpretation of the behaviours that are considered problems in dominant dogs, which are technically limited to the need for control of resources, such as food, water, and mates. Behaviour problems such as marking, indoor accidents, demanding attention, and acting aggressively (outside of a 'challenge for resources' situation,) are not a dominance problem, and should not be addressed as such.
It has also become popular among some trainers in recent years to assign the label 'dominant dog' as a personality type, which is also unfair and plain untrue. There are too many grey areas in any social animal's personality (including human beings,) to declare that they are completely one way or another. A dog that falls into this catagory may display certain behavioursthat are commonly known to reflect a dominant position, but more often than not, they display submissive behaviours in other situations, therefore, they cannot be dominant or submissive exclusively. This misinterpretation of the idea of dominance problems is perhaps the most dangerous one, because it often leads the pet parent to treat their dog as if he were a bully, or just plain bad, neither of which views are helpful or healthy for dog or parent.
The word 'dominant' should be used by trainers and behaviourists with great care. Giving it too much power can lead to overlooking the real problems that a dog may have, and though it may sometimes treat the symptoms, aren't we, as trainers, more interested in the cure?"
And if you read all of that, I hope you at least learned something, lol!
Anyway, it doesn't look like i'm gonna have loads of time to catch up with LJ for a while. I have 2 more weeks (starting Monday,) to get all of this bookwork (and all the rest of it,) done before I'm off to the Charlotte store to apprentice with the Area Trainer for six days. I miss you all, and wish me luck!
I've just recently (as in this past Monday,) begun my oddsessy into the profession of PetSmart accredited pet trainer (yay!) As soon as I'm through with my training and apprenticeship time, the store will be fully staffed as far as pet trainers go. That means one full time (Sylvia,) one part-time, and one bench (i.e. in case the FT or PT is sick or on vacation.) The bench really doesn't get to teach very often, which sucks, as that's what I was hired for, but the Store Director and Sylvia both seem to be leaning toward handing the part time position over to me as soon as I'm accredited (yay again!)
You wouldn't believe how much shit I have to do, though! First of all, I have two HUGE binders: the Instructor Lesson Plans book, and the Training Instructor Manual, which is seriously the size of a HS Engilsh Lit book o.0! On top of all of that reading, there's written assignments, written tests, various videos to watch, a presentaion to give to store mgmt., AND participating in almost every class as a customer would (but that has meant getting to take Chase to work and have him hang out w/ me all day, which rocks!)
I'm very impressed with PetSmart's training of their pet trainers, though. Seriously, if any of you are looking to improve your relationship with your dog, look no further than your local PetSmart for knowledgable trainers. And I'm not saying that b/c I work there, I'm saying it b/c there was a 30 page chapter in my manual entitled "Ethology," which I had to write an essay on, as well as take a written exam...and that's only chapter 5 of about 15! If that isn't a good foundation for becoming a good trainer, I don't know what is.
And since I'm so damned proud of my first written assignment, I now present it to all of you:
Both pestering people for attention and aggression to non-family members have been attributed to social dominance or an "alpha dog." Pick one of these, and discuss alternative explainations for this behaviour.
My answer (I knid of ignored the "pick one" instruction, but I think I canvased both in a decent way.):
"Blmaing 'bad' behaviour soley on a dominance problem is a bad habit that some trainers have allowed themselves to fall into. In reality, there are many reasons that a dog may display unacceptable behaviours. The revelation that they, themselves, could be at the heart of these behaviour problems is not something that most pet parents want to hear, but most of the time, it's a better conclusion than the 'dominant dog' route.
Often, when it seems that a dog refuses to listen to its handler, the dog is labeled as having a dominance problem. This is usually not a true assumption, and is quite unfair to the dog, as one of the main causes of the problem in this situation is that the dog has not been taught the commands he seems to be 'refusing' to listen to, or has not been given adequate time to learn them completely. Sometimes the dog is simply distracted or confused by a new environment, in which he has never performed the commands asked of him. All of these cases indicate that more training time is needed, and in as many different situations and places as possible.
Dogs that are seen as being 'out-of-control' are also too often labeled as being dominant. This is a simple misinterpretation of the behaviours that are considered problems in dominant dogs, which are technically limited to the need for control of resources, such as food, water, and mates. Behaviour problems such as marking, indoor accidents, demanding attention, and acting aggressively (outside of a 'challenge for resources' situation,) are not a dominance problem, and should not be addressed as such.
It has also become popular among some trainers in recent years to assign the label 'dominant dog' as a personality type, which is also unfair and plain untrue. There are too many grey areas in any social animal's personality (including human beings,) to declare that they are completely one way or another. A dog that falls into this catagory may display certain behavioursthat are commonly known to reflect a dominant position, but more often than not, they display submissive behaviours in other situations, therefore, they cannot be dominant or submissive exclusively. This misinterpretation of the idea of dominance problems is perhaps the most dangerous one, because it often leads the pet parent to treat their dog as if he were a bully, or just plain bad, neither of which views are helpful or healthy for dog or parent.
The word 'dominant' should be used by trainers and behaviourists with great care. Giving it too much power can lead to overlooking the real problems that a dog may have, and though it may sometimes treat the symptoms, aren't we, as trainers, more interested in the cure?"
And if you read all of that, I hope you at least learned something, lol!
Anyway, it doesn't look like i'm gonna have loads of time to catch up with LJ for a while. I have 2 more weeks (starting Monday,) to get all of this bookwork (and all the rest of it,) done before I'm off to the Charlotte store to apprentice with the Area Trainer for six days. I miss you all, and wish me luck!