Training Tips

I've covered a lot of information about flawed training and behavior theories and thought I should probably cover some information about what you should do.

I've mentioned several trainers that I admire, but my favorite is Dr. Patricia McConnell. It's been said that Ian Dunbar is the father of non-aversive training and Karen Pryor is the mother. I would say that Patricia McConnell is the daughter, taking the best of both and combining it with her own experience and knowledge. Allow me to talk a little about her first.

Dr. Patricia McConnell is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and received her Ph.D. in zoology at the University of Wisconsin, "researching dog behavior and communication between professional trainers and working domestic animals." She received the Allee Award from the Animal Behavior Society for her dissertation. Until recently Dr. McConnell also ran Dogs Best Friend Training, LLC. She was the co-host for Pet Line on Animal Planet and for 14 years she was the co-host for Calling All Pets on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Dr. McConnell is constantly giving seminars and is a well published author. Although I've loved everything I've read by her, her book, "For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Dog" is the best book I have ever read, bar none.

I can only hope to achieve her understanding of behavior and training capability one day, which is what I aspire to.

That said, her website has some great training tips. All of these tips I'm linking to here reference books or booklets by Dr. McConnell, but most of them are available for less than $10 and some for about $5. Well worth the investment. (And a little self-promotion, we carry most of her booklets at Mudd Puppies). I could ramble on further about the page, but I think it pretty well speaks for itself.

http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/top-ten-training-tips.html