Understanding and Training Dogs: A New Perspective

Learning Styles: Dogs vs Humans

Alethia Knutson

Dogs are man's best friend, right? So why do we have such a hard time understanding and training them? You’re supposed to know your best friend. Well, according to Victoria Stilwell (Dog Theorist who believes in positive reinforcement to train) we don’t understand them because we are categorizing them the wrong way. I believe that she has found the key to successfully training dogs. “Dogs are not on a quest for world domination. They are not socialized wolves who are constantly striving to be ‘top dog’ over us, and they are not hard-wired to try and control every situation.” And to help people understand their dogs better, she has a few tricks up her sleeve that she wants every dog owner to know.

She has studied other dog theorists and has in turn become one herself. Dominance over a dog is not done by force. “Science has shown us that forced submission is not at all representative of how animals, including dogs, establish healthy functional relationships between themselves or us.” She says that training a dog should never include punishment, intimidation, or fear. Your dog should not be scared into following directions, but encouraged by kindness and love.

Victoria has five main ways of successfully training a dog. She also writes in her blog that she has more, but that these are the main ones that she uses. Proven to all work incredibly, her list of training methods:

Lure and reward training - “This type of training simply involves using a food reward to guide the dog into the desired position or behavior. If your dog is not motivated by food you can use toys instead.” She explains that this is fun and easy for both