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[vegetus]

This article on using dog training techniques on small children had me giggling on the tube yesterday.

Comments

[leahcim]

The advice given does seem rather obvious. I don't see dogs and children as requiring significantly different broad strategies (ie. make desirable behaviour rewarding, and undesirable behaviour unrewarding), and I'm sure some techniques are applicable to non-mammals too. :P

[vegetus]

I know, it's very, very obvious, but I can see a bunch of parents being all up in arms because "OMG my precious offspring is better than a dog!" Indeed I have copped abuse on lj because I have pointed out my opinion that dogs are infinately better than small children.

And yeah I know some studies on training fish use positive reward.

Either way more publicity for Battersea Dog & Cat home is a good thing :)

[leahcim]

dogs are infinately better than small children.

I'm tempted to suggest that part of the reason for this is that dogs are infinitely better trained than small children (much better teacher-student ratios, less tolerance of bad behaviour, etc).

[vegetus]

Actually the teacher-student ratio for the average dog to companion should be about the same as the average child to parent.

And I don't see why bad child behaviour should be tollerated anymore than bad dog behaviour. Yet I go to the supermarket and on the bus and I see screaming undisciplined children.

[vegetus]

One hopes he was joking, though he is probably right that she doesn't talk back :P