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Why Positive Gun Dog Training?

 

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Building on their AWARD WINNING REPUTATION FOR PROVIDING THE BEST DOG TRAINING IN DENVERFetchMasters has developed the Positive Gun Dog Training Program to promote the use of positive, dog-friendly training methods for developing reliable, high-performance gun dogs.

Many high-performance dog sports and niches are embracing a more positive training methodology with amazing results, including:

  • Agility
  • Herding
  • Competitive obedience
  • Scent detection
  • Service work
  • Protection/bite work

 

Yet, despite the proven effectiveness of positive training methods, gun dog training remains deeply entrenched in traditional, punishment-based training philosophies.

 

Outstanding animal trainers of all kinds are proving the effectiveness of positive training methods. For instance:

  • Zoo trainers train grizzlies, wolves, hyenas, and rhinos to cooperate in their own health and upkeep using reward-based methods. Imagine the dangers involved in trying to punish one of these animals for not performing!
  • Aquatic mammal trainers use positive techniques to train dolphins, porpoises, and orcas to perform stunning tricks and choreographed maneuvers. (NOTE: The documentary Blackfish exposed punishment-based methods being used on acquatic mammals — as well as the reprecussions those methods caused.)
  • Naval training programs positively train dolphins to swim through schools of fish (their food source), locate mines tethered to the ocean floor and secure demolition explosives to them. This is far more complex than anything a gun dog will ever be asked to do!

 

Yet, traditional gun dog trainers continue to use harsh training techniques based on outdated information about what motivates dogs — who learn the same way the above animals do! Here is a side-by-side comparison of positive training and traditional training. How would you prefer your hunting buddy be trained?

 

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A QUALITY DENVER DOG TRAINER FOR POSITIVE PET DOG TRAINING, CHECK OUR OUR OTHER DOG TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Positive Gun Dog TrainingTraditional Gun Dog Training
Positive training relies on correct relationship, building the dog's trust and confidence in the handler, drive development, and rewarding success to produce a dog that loves to perform.Traditional training often applies discomfort or force until the dog offers a desired behavior, producing a dog that obeys because it is afraid not to.
Positive training systematically and incrementally develops a dog's ability to reliably perform at a distance, amidst distractions and under harsh conditions.Traditional training requires the use of an electronic shock collar to ensure a dog obeys at a distance, amidst distractions and under harsh conditions.
Positive methods make the dog a partner in the learning process by incrementally shaping complex behaviors and by rewarding progress. Because of this, many key skills are learned more quickly than with traditional training.Traditional training often requires the use of pain/discomfort, force, and intimidation to develop key behaviors (for example, forced fetching).
Positive training is gentle and is not likely to result in pysical or psychological damage to the dog. This makes it an ideal approach for both professionals and amateurs. Some aversive techniques used in traditional training methods can inadvertently result in negative associations and behavioral instabilities that are difficult and time-consuming to repair. This is particularly true when such techniques are used by amateurs.