Rudd Weatherwax's son, Robert, gives a short course on "The Lassie Dog Training System," which is basically a slip collar, a leash, hand signals, and treats -- same as it ever was.
Above, we have British bird dog trainer Derry Argue training pointers in a down-stay using a check cord, pinning young dogs to the ground, and popping them on the head if they try to get up.
Is this wildy different from what Robert Weatherwax is doing? Not really. Argue is more of a "scratch their ears" kind of guy than a food treat kind of guy, and he's working with greener dogs so more compulsion is shown, but it's basically the same thing.
And is this how we teach dogs with e-collars?
Yes -- same thing.
So what's the difference?
The main difference is in the proofing -- the period of time after which a dog knows a command and is deciding whether or not it's a suggestion or a commandment.
Using a check cord alone, you have to spend a great deal of time reinforcing behavior for distance and location changes because your timing will be off and you cannot reach out to remind the dog it is working. With an e-collar, however, your timing can be perfect and when your dog's attention wanders it's a simple thing to tap it on the shoulders to bring it back into focus.
No comments:
Post a Comment