Goodness, the end of summer is nearly upon us and it’s time to think about fall, and prepare for the upcoming holidays. Hard to believe! Yet, now is a great time to think about preparing your animals for the upcoming holiday season, to ensure everything goes smoothly with your animals and guests, and to make sure everyone stays safe. Therefore this month’s article is devoted to the best way to train animals. So if you have, love, and train animals, this article is for you!
Now, I know I might ruffle some feathers, but I would like to challenge you by pointing out that most likely everything you know about animal training might just be wrong. I see this every day to be true on social media, at events, and in real life with clients. And this is true for both beginners and professionals, as well. Too many people do things the way they have ‘always’ been done, or what they were taught by old timers, their family, or even in some classes or by trainers or use methods that focus on such concepts as ‘demanding respect’, and even using choke or electric collars on dogs and and tie downs on horses.
It was true even for me, for many years, even as a veterinarian. I took dog training classes where I learned how to ‘properly’ use a choke chain. I read books about how to do round pen work and ‘make’ a horse respect you. But then I always wondered, does my horse even really love me? Am I pushing too hard? Not pushing hard enough? How can I be sure? I even went so far as to hire an animal communicator to try to find that deep connection with my heart horse, who was pretty much the main reason I got up in the morning every day, and helped me survive vet school along with many other difficult challenges in my life.
Then, my heart horse died, too young, and I was devastated, and angry. I felt robbed of the opportunity to spend the rest of his life experiencing all the things with him I dreamed about. Too soon thereafter, I made the very poor choice of riding another horse, a slaughter auction rescue mare I had never ridden before. That did not go well, no surprise, I got thrown, and broke my leg so badly I didn’t walk for nearly a year and almost lost my leg. But, the silver lining was that, while in my wheelchair unable to work, I had extra time, and got my hands on a dolphin training manual. That book literally changed my life, the relationship I had with all my animals from then on, and how I advised my clients. It was such a life changing, transformative experience, all for the better, and I want to share that with you, so you too can have an amazing transformation in the relationship with all the animals in your life.
What I learned in that textbook was the framework for using positive reinforcement, or R+, for every interaction with animals. Allow me to fill you in on three secrets about positive reinforcement training, or R+, that you might not know.
#1) Positive Reinforcement is the only method of training any animal that is backed by over 100 years of science to show that it is consistently the most effective, fastest, and safest method to train any animal, to do anything. Is your trainer, or training method, backed by science?
#2) Positive Reinforcement simply boils down to the animal “having a choice”. There are no demands or forces. Everything the animal does, it does so because it wants to, not because it has to because it’s afraid of some repercussions from the trainer if it doesn’t do it, such as getting choked with a pinch collar, or chased with a flag in the round pen. No more need to wonder about being too hard, or too soft, whether you have the right ‘feel’. Either the animal wants to, or not, and it’s your job to make it fun for them so they want to!
#3) Positive Reinforcement training is easy to learn and use. In fact, we say “it’s so easy, a kid can do it”. It is a very simple framework to work within, and once you learn the few simple little guidelines, it’s like the Rosetta stone for communicating with your animal. The communication becomes extremely simple, it’s either yes, or no. No more wondering if they love you, or if you are doing it ‘right’. If they do it, you're doing it right and can be sure you have a great relationship full of trust! If not, back to the drawing board, and try again to earn their trust.
Of course, anyone can give you the framework for how to do anything, like change the oil in a car, or how to do the perfect golf swing. But at the end of the day you still need to practice, and maybe even have a coach who can guide you in how to use the principles. So if you are looking for someone to help you get started with using positive reinforcement, with any (or all of the animals) in your life, subscribe to my YouTube channel, just search for Jena Questen, for many free videos, comment on the videos any questions you have, and I do my best to answer them in another video. Wishing you all to have the most amazing relationship with ALL of the animals in your life, and if you desire more personalized help, I am easy to reach at the hospital.
Thanks for reading and God bless you and the animals! DrQ and the Crew of Aspen Park Vet Hospital and the ResqRanch.