"But . . . Nobody is ALL Positive"

Those who incorporate deliberate corrections into their training often object to +R based training on the basis of the fact that nobody is ALL positive.

Personally, I consider this to be a diversion, at best.  This objection actually has nothing to do with how +R based trainers work, it has nothing to do with learning, and it has nothing to do with the dogs themselves.

But here is the kicker . . . +R based trainers will be the first to acknowledge that nobody is ALL positive.

I realize that the descriptor "purely positive" is still being used by some, but I personally have never met a +R based trainer who uses that label to describe his or her training.  I have heard descriptors such as: +R, Force Free, LIMA, Relationship Based, Positive (leaving off the "purely"), Aversive-Free, Coercion-Free, Humane Hierarchy, Science Based, Clicker Trainer, etc.

I did make inquiries, and apparently there are still a handful of trainers who refer to themselves as "purely positive".  I leave it to them to explain and defend their training choices.

However, do realize that the vast majority of +R based trainers firmly reject the use of the term "purely positive", and we would appreciate it if those who are striving to debunk our training would attempt to do so on the basis of what we are actually doing and not because a label that very few actually even use.

I digress . . . back to the topic at hand.

Objection is still made in response to those who refer to themselves as +R, or "positive", or force-free, etc.

Examples:

"Nobody can be all positive all the time".

"You use force - don't you use a leash?"

"You can't train with only one quadrant".


I would submit that using a descriptor to explain how one trains, such as +R, positive, force-free, etc. actually does not imply that anyone can be "positive all the time", that there aren't times when it is necessary to restrict a dog's freedom, or that anyone is actually trying to train "with only one quadrant".

How can that be?

Think of it this way.  Does a vegetarian only eat vegetables?  Of course not!  The term "vegetarian", generally speaking, is understood by most to mean, "this person does not eat meat".  So, the vegetarian will usually eat grains and dairy products, as well as vegetables.

Imagine if I went online and started talking with vegetarians, and then began to object to them by saying, "nobody can eat ALL vegetables!" or "you can't be a vegetarian, you eat bread, don't you?" 

I would be missing the point entirely!

The much better questions would be, "what foods do you eat?", "why do you choose not to eat meat?", "what challenges do you face as a vegetarian?", "why do you enjoy eating a vegetarian diet?"

Those who object to +R based training, regardless of what descriptor the trainer uses to identify his or her training choices, on the basis of what it "can't mean" would do much better to ask, "what does this person mean by this?"

Breaking it Down

No, a +R trainer does not only train through positive reinforcement.  Using the term +R to describe one's training indicates an underlying mindset that regards the dog as a partner who brings as much into the training process as the trainer.

A force-free trainer is not allowing his or her dog to run wild in the world, free of all boundaries and rule structures.  The term force-free, this context, indicates that the trainer uses training techniques and methodologies that do not include aversive tools such as prong collars, use of physical corrections, or, very often, use of verbal corrections.  Of course a force-free trainer uses leashes, although in a neutral way, as a safety measure (or, to comply with the law), not to manipulate or correct the dog.

A positive trainer is not trying to claim that life is always sunshine and flowers for the dog.  I would propose that good positive training can provide a dog with a very high level of discipline and challenge.

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, any particular term that anyone uses to describe anything can be twisted, manipulated, and misinterpreted.

And yet - we need vocabulary.  We need to be able to describe, distinguish, differentiate, identify, categorize, and communicate!

We have to do the best we can even with terms that cannot describe our training perfectly.

The Ripple Effect

Times are changing.  And lately they seem to be changing quite rapidly.

Change is not always a good thing, but the change that I am seeing in online dog training discussion and debate is something that I consider to be very good change.

I am convinced that this change is happening as a result of the "Ripple Effect" of the work that is being done by the founder, instructors, and students of the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online education entity focused on +R based training for all manner of dog sports.  This term, "Ripple Effect", is one that is used by students of the Academy to describe the tiny, but often quite significant, effect that their personal dedication to the study and practice of high quality +R based training can have on those who have the opportunity to see them in action with their dogs.

The Change

I have enjoyed online dog training discussion, and even debate, for many years.  But it has always been the case that +R based trainers have been in the minority in most online dog training discussions, and we have generally had very little opportunity to discuss the nuts and bolts, if you will, of the way we actually work with our dogs in these formats.  Until fairly recently, most of the online discussion that I have read and taken part in concerning +R based training has centered on certain folks attempting to debunk it and on others striving to defend it.

I believe that is finally changing, and that the work of one person has been the driving force behind this change:  Denise Fenzi.

Ms. Fenzi caught my attention at first because she has accomplished something that a good many people have insisted could never - no way, no how - be done by a +R based trainer.  She earned an AKC Obedience OTCH.

If you read Ms. Fenzi's blog, which is available online to the general public, you will learn that she is constantly learning and changing and "evolving" as a trainer.  She did start out using more traditional training methods.  However, something changed somewhere along the way and she has dedicated herself in recent years to training through methods that do not include the intentional use of aversives in training.

This transition, in and of itself, in a high level AKC Obedience competitor is, to me, nothing short of astonishing.  And that was really the first thing about Ms. Fenzi that won my respect, and, I am sure, the respect of other +R based trainers.

Prior to that, I was very surprised when I started to hear rumors online of a "Denise Fenzi", who was +R trainer competing at the highest levels of AKC Obedience and who (at that time) was close to achieving an OTCH (which, of course, she accomplished).

Back then, any claims that Ms. Fenzi's accomplishments lent any validity to the assertion that +R based training methods are, in fact, highly effective, were generally shouted down quite loudly.  The argument against: she was supposedly uniquely talented.  Sure, Ms. Fenzi could do it, but nobody else in the entire world could ever emulate her success.

I didn't buy that.  But there wasn't much one could say to back up the position that if Ms. Fenzi could do it, others could, as well.

And then Ms. Fenzi did something that I believe is driving the changes that I am starting to witness.  She brought her approach to training, and her own training skills, to the +R based training masses!

She began on online Academy dedicated to +R based dog sport training.  Classes are offered in competitive Obedience, Nosework, IPO, Rally FrEe, Canine Fitness, Agility, along with specialized classes on photography, shaping, relationship games, attention and focus, competition ring skills, etc. etc. etc.  The schedule changes each session and new classes and instructors are being added every single time.

If You Build It . . .

Dog sport participants are flocking to these classes en masse, and for very good reason.  These classes are providing quality instruction in excellent +R based training skills that are rarely found in your average training class at one's local dog training center, or even at many facilities that do support a +R based training approach.

In the past those of us who have wanted to continually learn and grow as +R based trainers were limited largely to the study of books, DVD's, and the occasional workshop presenter, or perhaps a yearly camp.  This circumstance kept our access to newly developed +R based training concepts rather limited, and we were often left to our own devices when it came to practicing our training skills or troubleshooting issues.

Now we have a year round, constant ongoing source of: access to excellent +R based trainers teaching on more topics than any of us can deal with at any single given time, Facebook groups where our training choices are supported and where we can bounce ideas off of each other, troubleshoot in community, and find inspiration when we get stuck.

Bandit has been learning skills through Fenzi Academy classes

since he was a young puppy

Change is Happening!

With the establishment of the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, +R based dog sport enthusaists have access to resources that are enabling us to hone our +R training skills, and that are allowing us to constantly learn how to use them and apply them in new ways.

And, we are starting to talk about what we are doing.  I hear people talking about what they do in Fenzi classes in person at live training classes and at dog sport competitions.  People online are starting to talk about elements of +R based training, and about the most effective of +R based training concepts in a manner that is clear, precise, confident, competent, and . . . familiar!

Oliver, the Beagle, has benefitted from classes through the Fenzi Academy

in Fitness, Agility, Ring Skills, and Parkour

And this is the "Ripple Effect" of the Fenzi Academy in the dog sport world!  Slowly, but surely, those of us who are +R based trainers have been able to start to move away from defending our training choices and we are now able to begin to talk about how we train, what has worked and what has not worked, ideas for tweaking our training plans, and . . . the results of our training!

Of course, this change is not absolute.  There are still many trainers out there who object, quite loudly at times, to the very existence of +R based trainers in the dog sport world.  We still have to put up with being called "mean", with being told that our training "doesn't work", with insulting labels like "purely positive" or "cookie pushers", and with having ridiculous assertions shot our way that have absolutely no connection to what we actually do, but by which some people insist on trying to characterize us.

But change is happening!!  I am seeing evidence of this.  Lately there are more +R trainers taking part in the conversations, and we are starting to have a voice that cannot be drowned out by those who have managed to silence us in the past.

Tessa, flying high after a session of Canine Fitness