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A Survey of the Professional Characteristics and Views of Dog Trainers in Canada
Dog training is an unregulated profession in Canada without licensing or standardized practices, yet professional dog trainers greatly influence how guardians interact with their dogs and, by extension, dog welfare. We conducted an online survey to characterize the demographics, qualifications, services, methods, and views of dog trainers in Canada. Of the 706 valid respondents, most (65%) had completed at least one structured dog training program, while 33% were self-educated. Respondents held qualifications from 138 training programs and 39 exam-based certifications that differed in their curriculum, duration, and scope. We identified over 80 different themes or terms that trainers use to describe their practices, with the most frequent relating to reward-based methods. Most respondents also indicated that they would be unlikely to use aversive collars. These findings suggest that reward-based methods are likely the most prevalent in Canada. Two-thirds (62%) supported some regulation of dog training. The quantity and variety of training programs, certifications, and terminology utilized by dog trainers could present challenges for dog guardians in selecting trainers, and/or result in the use of harmful training methods. These findings can inform further development of best practices, educational programs, and advocacy to advance the use of humane training methods.
Journal Article
Tiny goes back to school
Tiny the dog returns to obedience school and teaches the other dogs how to receive treats.
Book
Benefits of dietary supplements on the physical fitness of German Shepherd dogs during a drug detection training course
A high standard of physical fitness is an essential characteristic of drug detection dogs because it affects not only their ability to sustain high activity levels but also their attention and olfaction efficiency. Nutritional supplements could improve physical fitness by modulating energy metabolism, oxidative processes, and perceived fatigue. The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological and biochemical changes induced by submaximal exercise on drug detection dogs (German Shepherd breed) and to assess whether a dietary supplement improves their physical fitness. During a drug detection dog training course, seven dogs were fed with a basal diet (Control Group) for three-month period, while a further seven dogs were fed with a basal diet as well as a daily nutritional supplement containing branched-chain and limiting amino acids, carnitine, vitamins, and octacosanol (Treatment Group). At the end of this period, individual physical fitness was assessed by making each subject take a graded treadmill exercise test. A human heart rate monitor system was used to record the dog's heart rate (HR) during the treadmill exercise and the subsequent recovery period. The parameters related to HR were analysed using nonparametric statistics. Blood samples were collected before starting the nutritional supplement treatment, before and after the treadmill exercise and following recovery. Linear mixed models were used. The dietary supplements accelerated HR recovery, as demonstrated by the lower HR after recovery (P<0.05) and Time constants of HR decay (P<0.05), and by the higher Absolute HR Recovered (P<0.05) recorded in the Treatment group compared with the Control dogs. The supplemented dogs showed the lowest concentrations of creatine kinase (CK; P<0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (AST, P<0.05) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA; P<0.01) suggesting a reduction in muscle damage and improvement of energy metabolism. These data suggest that this combined supplement can significantly enhance the physical fitness of drug detection dogs.
Journal Article
The physical chemistry of odors — Consequences for the work with detection dogs
Search dogs are used throughout the world in the search for illicit compounds or human individuals and similar tasks. Such search work is complex and not well understood in all its details which makes training of the dogs difficult. One important component for a successful education and deployment of search dogs is a good understanding of the behavior of scents under typical environmental conditions. This work summarizes up-to-date knowledge on the physico-chemistry of scents and discusses the consequences for the every-day work of dog handlers and trainers.
Journal Article
Facility Dogs in Educational Programs for Young Children: Definition, Rationale, Issues, and Implementation
A facility dog in a school is a comparatively recent category of working dog. These dogs typically are trained at the assistance, or service dog, level and are thoroughly prepared for their role. The school facility dog accompanies an owner/handler, who is a professional employee of the school, to work on a regular basis. Research on human-canine interaction indicates that positive interactions between young children and dogs can improve learners’ academic performance, their attitudes toward school, the relationships they build with others, and their emotional wellbeing. This article begins with a definition for a facility dog, describes an exemplary dog training program that prepares facility dogs for schools, and explains the interprofessional partnerships that are essential for success. Next, we review the research to provide a rationale for bringing children and dogs together in educational contexts. The remainder of the article guides educators in planning for the facility dog’s arrival and involving the facility dog in a wide range of activities that support the school’s mission and goals.
Journal Article
Shoe dog
In order to stay in the warm and cozy home he has longed for, Shoe Dog must learn to stop chewing shoes.
Book
Efficacy of Dog Training With and Without Remote Electronic Collars vs. a Focus on Positive Reinforcement
We assessed the efficacy of dog training with and without remote electronic collars compared to training with positive reinforcement. A total of 63 dogs with known off-lead behavioral problems such as poor recall were allocated to one of three training groups (each
= 21), receiving up to 150 min of training over 5 days to improve recall and general obedience. The 3 groups were: E-collar-manufacturer-nominated trainers who used electronic stimuli as part of their training program; Control 1-the same trainers following practices they would apply when not using electronic stimuli; and Control 2-independent, professional trainers who focused primarily on positive reinforcement for their training. Data collection focused on dogs' response to two commands: \"Come\" (recall to trainer) and \"Sit\" (place hindquarters on ground). These were the two most common commands used during training, with improving recall being the target behavior for the subject dogs. Measures of training efficacy included number of commands given to elicit the response and response latency. Control 2 achieved significantly better responses to both \"Sit\" and \"Come\" commands after a single instruction in the allocated time. These dogs also had shorter response latencies than the E-collar group. There was no significant difference in the proportion of command disobeyed between the three groups, although significantly fewer commands were given to the dogs in Control 2. There was no difference in the number of verbal cues used in each group, but Control 2 used fewer hand and lead signals, and Control 1 made more use of these signals than E-collar group. These findings refute the suggestion that training with an E-collar is either more efficient or results in less disobedience, even in the hands of experienced trainers. In many ways, training with positive reinforcement was found to be more effective at addressing the target behavior as well as general obedience training. This method of training also poses fewer risks to dog welfare and quality of the human-dog relationship. Given these results we suggest that there is no evidence to indicate that E-collar training is necessary, even for its most widely cited indication.
Journal Article