Discover the ways you can expand the use of reinforcement in our video “How the Best Professional Dog Trainers Use Reinforcement” - ruclips.net/video/jwZyBAYe6FY/видео.html
Just know, when you talk about Feature and feel sad- we all share that pain with you! Not that we knew her personally, but anyone who’s had to say goodbye to a beloved animal knows exactly how you’re feeling. So you’re not sad alone! I don’t know if that helps 😔 just an awful feeling having to say goodbye. Take your time and take care of yourself.
It's never too late to say : my condolences, Susan. I thank Feature for being part of your life and helping you become the great person you are. You are a beautiful light in this world and one of the greatest teacher I ever had.... We love you here in Brasil! 🙏🙏✊✊
Love you Susan! Thank you for pushing through your pain to show up for your community. Even when times are tough, you show up to provide acts of service for others. Sending love and prayers your way!
It is a very brave thing to say: "I am human, I made a mistake and I am sorry". Anything but the highest respect for you Susan. Feature was the luckiest dog for having a human like you.
I wish there was a “Love” button for this podcast. I’m crying with you Susan; I lost my boy Boschie to lymphoma over 4 years ago, its a tough journey to take with them, and even tougher to learn to live without them. For anyone going through something similar I am sending my love. While Boschie was going through his treatment I found the following poem by Emily Dickinson: “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all”
Susan. We are so very sorry for your loss. Thank you for coming back to teaching. We are about to get a new puppy and your videos have been a real eye-opener for me and have really helped me look at training with fresh eyes.
What a wonderful podcast. I feel the same emotion you are feeling about Feature, I cried along with you. This podcast will help me to be a better teacher for my dog and help me to overcome some negative teaching I have done. Nothing severe, but I want to always be positive to my dog and this podcast has helped me to understand what I have done wrong. Thank you for all you do for us and I hope that dealing with the loss of Feature will become easier every day. Love you!
This was a fantastic lesson! And I’m so sorry for your loss. !I am definitely guilty of going from…’my dog is wonderful, I could never do anything to upset her, I’m a calm, tolerant, kind trainer for her…to….right! I’m not speaking to you…you are so naughty…why can’t you just do this one simple thing!’ I’m getting better, those frustrations were always to do with my frustration with myself for not getting things right because I thought I know what I’m doing, but it is SO down to the underlying philosophy you have to dog training. NEVER expect a certain result in any situation. For me, even getting her to wait at the front door just won’t happen as RUclips trainers have shown to happen within a minute or so. I’m several months in and my dog still won’t stay in a sit when I open the door. Even though I’ve gone through the incremental process of door opening slowly and reward. I’m still experimenting with other methods (games mostly)
Our Deepest Sympathy for your loss of Feature. May your find peace and comfort recalling all the special memories and achievements you shared with each other. Feature lives on in the wisdom you impart to all of us as we nurture and raise our pups and dogs to be their best! Thank you Susan and Beloved Feature! Much Love and Appreciation! ❤️Kim and Cocobelle❤️
Susan - I’ve missed you the last month and was worried about you. Thank you for all you do and the messages and knowledge you share. Big hugs. Another great program.
Thank you Susan for being so transparent and honest. We lost three of our oldest dogs in 2020 and 2021: Shiloh, Micah, and Ruby. Three years before that, we lost our 16 year old dog KB. It’s been a rough several years for us. I am still grieving and will never be the same without them. Last year in 2021 we got two new puppies two months apart. I grew up with dogs. I’ve been training and living with dogs all of my life. It was at this moment in 2021 that I realized I needed to change my training and switch to only R+. It’s been hard, as I have many bad habits from the past. Now, always trying to learn, always trying to do better. Always looking ahead and asking myself how I could have done better in a situation. Trying to spread the good news of positive training to anyone who will listen. You are a blessing to us and our new pups now 15 and 18 months old. Thank you.
Dear Susan, Im so sorry for your loss. I cannot stop crying myself!!! Sending lots of love from Poland! I don't thing it'll cheer you up much, but I've learnt so much from you! Thank you for that!
Susan this is so awesome and clear in a little nutshell for the world. I’ve tried to hard over the years to explain this to clients just to see their eyes glaze over, and wishing I would just shut up and make their dog sit.
Very sorry for your loss, Susan. Really appreciate your wonderful podcasts, especially this one, as they've changed my perspective on many many things. Welcome back and I look forward to more podcasts!
Hugs for you…my heart is breaking with you for your loss. Remembering each of my 3 losses and how much the taught me. Thank you and all your dogs for the lessons you so generously share.
Thank you Susan for sharing not only your wonderful podcast with us but also your life and your dogs. I have learned so much not only about dog training, but the way I react to people as well. We collectively feel your loss of Feature vicariously. I tear up when you talk about her as I too have lost several dogs. Thank you for all of your podcasts for each one has such gems of wisdom and insight which makes us better dog trainers and better people also.
Oh Susan bless you. I’m so sorry for your loss. ❤️Losing our dogs is a pain that’s hard to put into words. A dog/ human bond is something so special. And thankyou for this video. I am learning so much from you, even as an experienced dog owner. So many little things we do without realising it. How we deal with training when frustrated is EVERYTHING.
This quote . . . "when you are under pressure, when you are feeling extremely frustrated, that's what tells you what your real philosophy about dog training is." It hit me so deeply I got all choked up. Thank you for giving me a much needed thing to reflect on; I do not like that person I can become. I am so, so sorry for your loss of your amazing girl. I'm sending hugs your way. She was brilliant.
Susan, so glad you are back with your podcasts, I have been so worried about you. You are such an inspiration to all dog owners, and we thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and beliefs with us. You inspire me to learn and strive to be the best I can for my dog. Great podcast!
Choked up, I'm choked up. So very sorry for your loss. And I understand what you're saying: I try, but I don't always act with congruency to my core beliefs, though I try. Guess that's what they mean about grace under pressure.🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Dear Susan, Thank you for this podcast. You are the one I look up to. You are the one whom I am learning from. You are the one who inspires me time and time again. Thank you 🙏
Susan, so sorry for your loss! This was an excellent episode for me. I find myself reverting to "old ways" quite daily for the same reasons you mentioned in your presentation. Stress, being in a hurry, just plain reaction. I have to really work at eliminating those "fall back" techniques. Take care. Rochelle
❤ Susan, Thank You for sharing not only great advice, but for being so honest and open. Thank You for helping us even as you grieve the loss of your beautiful girl. I could totally relate to trying to overcome an old training philosophy, and reaching the point of no return. Mine came when my now passed on beautiful boy, Monty, seem sad and distant to me after seeing him resilient for many years. I too felt a sudden heartache and realized he was avoiding me because he feared me from all the neck pops, and how I didn’t want to react in such a way ever again. I wanted the bond and a relationship with this beautiful boy. Thank You for helping us evolve into more effective and humane trainers, giving us the ability to have more enriching relationships! Much love and prayers sent your way ❤
Susan Bless You!!! Sending Thunder Bay hugs (and those are huge)! You are essential to bringing us up to the standard our pups deserve. What a gift you are to all, including your precious Feature. Feeling deeply for you… Thank you for the reminder to steer clear of our own reactivity as humans… praises for recallers lessons!!!
Susan, There are no adequate words to express the difference your life's journey has made in my life. When Windsor first came to us, I had high hopes of training him and going into agility. The fact that I had absolutely no idea how to do either never crossed my mind. Hence, I was frustrated, looking for help in all the wrong places, and not as nice as I'd wanted to be to my precious little boy. It's difficult to admit in public, but it is true. I cannot thank you and all of your coaches enough for sharing your brilliance with us, your successes and your fails. I obviously did not know Feature but I do know the pain of losing a best friend. My corgi, Ron, was such a gentleman and a pal. When he left me, I didn't think the hole in my heart could be filled. Fortunately for me, Windsor has enough love and energy to fill it back up again. I'm so sorry for your loss. Sending Corgi hugs and kisses to you.
Susan, I've never met you, but I think I love you! Your heart is so generous and kind! And I love your humor, and of course your love for dogs. My heart breaks for your loss of Feature! My heart goes out to you!
This was an excellent podcast. I too, started training dogs in the 80’s and it has been a real eye opener at times when under stress my thoughts go back to what we did in the past. I am constantly learning. My girl is so sensitive that I have to really work on a positive attitude if things don’t go well at a trial. I don’t want her to feel disappointment. She always does her best for where she is at. She is such a good girl. I am so sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself.
Hi Susan, I’m so sorry for your loss. I well know how hard it is to lose a special dog family member. Take care and relish those wonderful memories of your time with her.
I think that many of us have had that moment when we have reacted badly under stress and mostly if makes us resolve to do better just as you have. I am still working with that one dog who is going forward slowly, lock down puppy, and I have to be so careful not to make her take a step backward. She is beautiful and full on but fearful in some situations. We're working on that with the help of your amazing podcasts.
Much love to you. Losing a dog you’ve built such a long lasting bond with is so hard. Thank you for sharing. Humility is such a great teacher, it’s so sad our egos get in the way.
So sorry to hear about your loss, my thoughts are with you🙏❤️ I'm working my way through your program and I'm in awe of the difference it's making, not only to my dog but teaching me patience and understanding as well. In the 2.5 years of my dog's life I have had 5 trainers from "balanced" to bordering on cruel. None of which sat well with me or my dog. In the last month we have progressed more than in the last 18 months! Thank you for your knowledge and kindness as at last I can proudly say that I love my dog 💖
Our dogs are the greatest teachers! I have learned so much from every dog I have had! This was a brilliant podcast susan and you did such a brilliant job explaining the four quadrants! I only believe in +R the same way you do and you have been the greatest mentor on teaching us to get curious! Thank you for everything you do for the dog training community!!!!!!
Hi Susan, once again an awesome podcast, one that I will listen too frequently. Thanks for sharing your reaction when your puppy Feature bite you. Recently I was taking my puppy for a walk and she was pulling like crazy, so I popped her collar, repeatedly. I have been so upset with myself for failing her and causing her pain. Your podcast gave me permission to forgive myself. Finally sending you much love and big hugs as you go through your journey of grief with Feature. I’m glad you took the time you needed. ❤️🐾💔
Susan, I am SO sorry to hear about Feature :-(. I had a similar experience when I first adopted our rescue - the first time we were out and a family walked by with a young child an another in a stroller, he lunged in their direction crying and I instinctively slapped him in the chest and pulled him back and yelled "No!" - he looked so confused. I had not found you and reinforcement based training then, but I felt TERRIBLE about it immediately. I kept telling my husband over and over that I wished I hadn't reacted that like in the moment. I can feel your pain, especially right now, that you slapped Feature - but you grew from it and have educated so many with your story - now we need to forgive ourselves.
Listening to this podcast on my way home yesterday helped me to get over myself and start today with the right level of expectation from my dog - which wasn't the case in previous three days and I was really upset with that. Thanks for saying thing loud - it helps a lot!
You are my total Mentor and so wish I had your personality ❤️❤️❤️. You had me laughing about the pantyhose but totally get it and I know you didn't mean to hurt feature and she knows it to so Please I beg you to Forgive yourself for you have come al long way from then and all the countless people and animals you are making lives better. Just shed tears writing this. We totally are here for you and take as much time to grieve because totally understand. Just remember We Love you and will always Look up to you. You are totally Awesome and God has Totally Blessed You ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Susan for all your dog training lessons and life lessons. I’m a life long learner too and to quote that under-appreciated philosopher, Mr T - I “pity the fool” who stops learning. ❤️🤦♀️
Susan this is my journey. Getting my first dog a Great Dane I did nothing but her life was so less than. My first male newf turned out to be A LOT. Everyone said how easy they are to train. I cried almost every day, waving liver in his face while he took off and I’m on the ground and he’s running away. I thought I’m done. On to ecollar training. Yes, He sat, yes he stopped and heeled, but it bothered me what was happening. There was no trust in him or he in me. I started to use it less and used a slip lead(mind you he’s two 170lbs and still not a mature adult mentally) he responded and I we started trusting again. I’m now in recallers with max and my 14 month old female ruby. It’s not perfect, he does pause and I’ve got much to do before we have that perfect COME. But now when he doesn’t respond I think hmm how have I failed here to communicate with them🤔 I can’t thank you enough!!
Hugs. Thank you for the podcast today. 😊 I can sure identify with some of the feelings, experiences, and reactions you described. Just days ago, I was so frustrated with our training and I went and sat in a different room for a while until I could process and get my own head/frustration in a different place and not confuse/put the blame on her. It was definitely a Garrett-Influence moment.
I am heartbroken to learn about your loss of Feature, Susan. I was worried about you during the absence and missed the podcast. Glad you’re back and most of all hope you are doing OK ❤️🩹
That's a wonderful story. Not sure who I am (always been a little impulsive tbh and have ADHD), and thinking about thsi story can help all of us grow. So sorry you lost Feature.
This is wonderfully done to outline the differences between positive/negative reinforcement/punishment. I was teaching this concept to my students (I teach veterinary technicians). I got in a little bit of a bind because I was trying to articulate permission as a form of reinforcement. In my example, my dog was doing well on his leash, not pulling and demonstrating good reinforcement zone. So I said removing the leash to let him run free was negative reinforcement (removed the restraint, dog gets reinforced). Then one of my students was like "Yes, but didn't you add freedom, which would still be positive reinforcement?" I couldn't fully convince her or myself that both statements weren't true. You mentioned permission as a form of positive reinforcement and I was wondering if you could clarify why my student's conclusion may be more accurate than my initial thoughts on this? You did a very nice job with this podcast and I know how hard it must have been to talk about Feature so soon after losing her. Grief is challenging that way. It takes time for the sadness to decrease, so that we can find joy in the memories again. Hopefully by now there is more room for joyful memories and less gut punching grief.
Hi @Jamie Petersen thank you for what you do! Here's a video that will help your students - ruclips.net/video/jwZyBAYe6FY/видео.html We've a playlist on the topic of reinforcement and transfer of value as well - ruclips.net/p/PLphRRSxcMHy1IUj_4P54q2PIuLNtnXjFO
Sorry for your loss Susan and Team, it is always heart breaking. /hug I get what Susan is saying however 100% positive training is SOOOOO hard. There are times that I get so frustrated when charlie plays keep away (especially something like a cane toad). I feel guilty every time I yell at him to drop something / leave something alone but it seems yelling is the only thing that makes him stops. Charlie is 1000% better after 6 months of "Recallers" training but he is still far away from been obedient. dog training is so hard, there were times i just want to giving up. (which i will never do). Keep up the good work Team, i look forward to the next podcast.
Thanks for the detailed explanation and also bringing me to realization that I do some of these unconsciously, especially since my dog is only 8Lbs and he’s so easy to pick up when he’s doing something I don’t want him to do. Someone told me once I was taking away his power when I do that, now I understand what they meant. It is just easier for me to pick him up when he doesn’t want to walk or if another dog or person is coming and he wants to play, or people coming into the house he wants to bark so I pick him up. I now will be more careful and thoughtful 🤔 because of this episode, t hanks again.
Sorry for your loss. I like this but in 4 quadrants I prefer to say positive correction which means you add some uncomfortable stimulus (Verbal, Leash Pressure) and negative correction means removing something they want, like NOT giving a treat. I dont say punish because that is quite extreme. We are correcting what we dont like to help them get it right. Punishment makes the dog bad, correction focuses on the behavior.
Hi Susan! Thanks for your great advices and for your great attitude towards what you do. Idk if it helps your perception of how things went thanks to your absence, but so for you to know, I had no idea about you until Tuesday in the morning (CET timezone) when searching online about dog behaviour (mine is a Rough Collie). I was truly and quite positively surprised when I found your videos, because your approach is empathetic and aware of what's necessary for each kind of dogs, specially dogs like mine (so naturally playful and energetic) Thanks a lot!
I'm so glad to see you! Thanks for more great info. I stopped competing in dog obedience when I was 13 (45 years ago) because the "force fetch" made me too upset. I'm grateful for your curiosity, perseverance, compassion, and voice that let's us know that positive reinforcement is effective. Our dogs are lucky to have you!
So sorry for your loss. But, it hard to have a critical conversation over the balanced training. I wonder if any balanced dog trainers have replied to this information??
Great Podcast! Thank you for explaining it so well. That’s exactly how I behaved with my puppy last night and I feel terrible. I have a long road ahead but I hope to go down the right one. So sorry for your loss. Feature was a beautiful dog 😁
It is so hard. You are doing excellent. I too, lost my girl, Rain, on April 25th. She had done so well with Home School and was slowly moving into Vito's Thinking. My only family in home for 7 seven years. At 13, so sweet in nature... I will acquire another one day.
In the retriever training world, balance training has a different meaning. It means training sessions that are balanced in terms of concepts: marks balanced with blinds, difficult marking concepts balanced with easy marks, water marks balanced with land marks, etc. The reason for this is a "balanced" retriever the retriever that will place first in a field trial. For example, a retriever that can remember a very short mark in a thick patch of cover after running 300 yards to retrieve an exciting mark in sparse cover. A retriever that can swim a water blind 3 feet parallel to but off the shoreline balanced with a water blind onto and then off a point scented with a duck. Even at the Junior hunter level where all marks are singles the retriever's training must be balanced. For example some water marks thrown into a patch of lilly pads into the water balanced with water marks where the concept is to swim across a pond, the run up a hill to a mark balanced with a mark where the retriever must swim across a channel, run across and island, re-enter water to swim across a second channel to a mark on the shore. Train a retriever so he excels in blind retrieves and marking typically deteriorates. Train a retriever exclusively on long marks and the dog typically does not do well on short marks. Train a retriever exclusively on short marks and the dog typically does not do well on long marks.
Susan Garrett - You explain succinctly and simply EXACTLY what/how to counter the arguments of the ostensibly 'balanced' trainers. .... Many of us watching this have known in our bones 'balanced' training was 'off kilter' .... because we've been lucky enough to have witnessed or watched some of the following: the wisdom of you ❤ (+/or trainers with your ethos); learned via a beloved relative* ❤; seen amazing Horse Whisperers such as the GENTLE MAN, Buck Brannaman ❤.... and/or has been inspired by childhood stories of St Francis of Assisi! * My beloved Granny RIP 🙏 🙌 led me to Susan Garrett!
not really a shock, but a poke to get them to notice you. You should not use an e collar to HURT your dog. Start at a low level and increase the pulse until he looks at you like "Say what?" Thats it. In certain situations this is good because you dont have to be close to the dog to get his attention. But it cannot replace the BASIC training with positive reinforcement that Susan teaches. You have to teach the dog what you DO want before correcting things you dont want. (Except for extreme dangerous behavior).
I am a balanced trainer and I would like to quickly point out, #1 We would never use anything but positive only to train tricks like agility. Whoever is using punishment to do that is not a balanced trainer. Personally I only correct a dog when doing so will save or potentially save the dog’s life or improve their quality of life with the owner. #2 The whole “balanced training isn’t real because balanced trainers spend too much time rewarding their dogs” argument is extremely stupid and you know it. #3 -P is almost entirely useless and it’s clear you don’t really understand it. In your example of removing a fence running dog from the backyard, you would actually be negatively reinforcing the dog. The ability to run the fence would be removed, but the behavior would be reinforced through frustration. The only time -P is even somewhat useful is when teaching the beginning stages of something like leave it or stay. #4 Most people don’t understand +P and -R. +P is correction, -R is more or less escape training. People get those two mixed up. Here’s an example, I’m sure you’ve heard that prong collars make dogs more aggressive right? The positive only people would have you believe that it’s because the dog associates the discomfort from the collar with the other dog. But in reality what happens is a clueless person puts the prong collar on their dog and ends up negatively reinforcing the dog’s behavior. Basically the person thinks they are using +P when they are actually using -R, without understanding either, and end up rewarding the dog for reacting which makes it become worse. But most of the time -R is used in conjunction with +R to teach simple things like leash pressure and sit. +P is most often used with +R to stop simple behaviors like jumping on people and leash pulling.
I would say I agree but disagree. I am a balance trainer and I do use the 4 quadrants and I do not us a remote collar as punishment, but I do use them. So not all Balance Trainers train the way as described here.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, for sure there is no black and white lines when describing punishment and reinforcement I appreciate you pointing that out.
Yeah, I have always understood that balanced trainers believe that all 4 quadrants have their place. Depending on the dog. Some dogs may never need 1 or the other. But I believe everyone agrees that positive reinforcement is used most and is preferred.
Excellent! The best trainers I know never get mad or frustrated at a dog. Getting mad or frustrated is often counter-productive. Is there any valid reason to get mad or frustrated at a dog...especially when the dog is "being a dog"? For example, a dog steals a loaf of bread from the counter (hunger drive), a dog pees in the garden (territorial marking), a dog chases a squirrel (prey drive)...dogs being dogs and getting mad or frustrated would not solve these "problems".
So why do some get frustrated with their dog during training? For some humans, frustration often occurs due to human thinking that the dog is being disobedient on purpose....due to spite or stubbornness (human emotions). Yet often the dog is doing what comes natural...for example with retrievers. For example, the retriever runs the bank instead of swimming for a retrieve. He is NOT being defiant, stubborn or spiteful... his retrieving drive is strong and he wants to get to the bumper as quickly as possible and running is faster than swimming. He simply needs training to understand the human rule is to swim not run. Another example, my dog understands the sit whistle and yet he refuses to sit while running a water blind...this might make a trainer furious. In reality the dog was running through lunging water and could not hear the whistle sit command... and in his mind if he does not hear the whistle sit, he is on the correct route, so keep on going. Instead of getting mad or frustrated, think of the problem as my fault and I need to discover a solution. It was my fault to not kennel pup when he peed on the floor while I was away (pup should have been crated). It was my fault not to gradually train pup not to chase deer or squirrels. It was my fault that my retriever creeps and now I need to solve the problem and teach the dog to be steady. And so on. Getting frustrated is not helpful in dog training.
You make a "No true scotsman" fallacy here. You pick a definition of balanced training that you say means equal time using the 4 factors of operand conditioning. Why? Why equal time? I have a hammer and a screwdriver and a wrench in my tool box? I'm I not a "real" carpenter if I don't use them all equally?
Kenny if you called yourself a "Balanced Carpenter" then maybe I would look for you to use a balance of tools. Does that make sense? The point is, I recognize the best "balanced" trainers (and likely even most that aren't that good) spend the majority of their time training dogs using positive reinforcement so they aren't really "balanced" at all. It is just that they visit all 4 quadrants while I work very hard to spend the majority of my time in one (R+) , no time in one (P+), and as little time as possible in the other two AND if I can arrange it, I'd only spend time in R+!
We use a leash just because it is like that for decade without questioning because it is the law in different city but using a leash isn’t a thing in the dog world !! A leash is restraining the dog so it’s a form of punishment!! Dogs belong to nature and leash isn’t natural for them …
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Discover the ways you can expand the use of reinforcement in our video “How the Best
Professional Dog Trainers Use Reinforcement” - ruclips.net/video/jwZyBAYe6FY/видео.html
Just know, when you talk about Feature and feel sad- we all share that pain with you! Not that we knew her personally, but anyone who’s had to say goodbye to a beloved animal knows exactly how you’re feeling. So you’re not sad alone! I don’t know if that helps 😔 just an awful feeling having to say goodbye. Take your time and take care of yourself.
It's never too late to say : my condolences, Susan. I thank Feature for being part of your life and helping you become the great person you are. You are a beautiful light in this world and one of the greatest teacher I ever had.... We love you here in Brasil! 🙏🙏✊✊
Love you Susan! Thank you for pushing through your pain to show up for your community. Even when times are tough, you show up to provide acts of service for others. Sending love and prayers your way!
Welcome back Susan, we've missed you ! Take good care of yourself.
Sending so much love as you grieve and celebrate Feature. Thank you for being you, Susan!
It is a very brave thing to say: "I am human, I made a mistake and I am sorry". Anything but the highest respect for you Susan. Feature was the luckiest dog for having a human like you.
So very very sorry for your loss. We never have them long enough. The joy they provide is what makes our lives. Many hugs as your heart aches
I wish there was a “Love” button for this podcast. I’m crying with you Susan; I lost my boy Boschie to lymphoma over 4 years ago, its a tough journey to take with them, and even tougher to learn to live without them. For anyone going through something similar I am sending my love. While Boschie was going through his treatment I found the following poem by Emily Dickinson: “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all”
Susan. We are so very sorry for your loss. Thank you for coming back to teaching. We are about to get a new puppy and your videos have been a real eye-opener for me and have really helped me look at training with fresh eyes.
My heart goes out to you over the loss of a great friend and companion as Feature must have been to you 🐾💔🐾
What a wonderful podcast. I feel the same emotion you are feeling about Feature, I cried along with you. This podcast will help me to be a better teacher for my dog and help me to overcome some negative teaching I have done. Nothing severe, but I want to always be positive to my dog and this podcast has helped me to understand what I have done wrong. Thank you for all you do for us and I hope that dealing with the loss of Feature will become easier every day. Love you!
This was a fantastic lesson! And I’m so sorry for your loss.
!I am definitely guilty of going from…’my dog is wonderful, I could never do anything to upset her, I’m a calm, tolerant, kind trainer for her…to….right! I’m not speaking to you…you are so naughty…why can’t you just do this one simple thing!’ I’m getting better, those frustrations were always to do with my frustration with myself for not getting things right because I thought I know what I’m doing, but it is SO down to the underlying philosophy you have to dog training. NEVER expect a certain result in any situation. For me, even getting her to wait at the front door just won’t happen as RUclips trainers have shown to happen within a minute or so. I’m several months in and my dog still won’t stay in a sit when I open the door. Even though I’ve gone through the incremental process of door opening slowly and reward. I’m still experimenting with other methods (games mostly)
Our Deepest Sympathy for your loss of Feature. May your find peace and comfort recalling all the special memories and achievements you shared with each other. Feature lives on in the wisdom you impart to all of us as we nurture and raise our pups and dogs to be their best! Thank you Susan and Beloved Feature!
Much Love and Appreciation!
❤️Kim and Cocobelle❤️
Susan - I’ve missed you the last month and was worried about you. Thank you for all you do and the messages and knowledge you share. Big hugs. Another great program.
Thank you Susan for being so transparent and honest. We lost three of our oldest dogs in 2020 and 2021: Shiloh, Micah, and Ruby. Three years before that, we lost our 16 year old dog KB. It’s been a rough several years for us. I am still grieving and will never be the same without them. Last year in 2021 we got two new puppies two months apart. I grew up with dogs. I’ve been training and living with dogs all of my life. It was at this moment in 2021 that I realized I needed to change my training and switch to only R+. It’s been hard, as I have many bad habits from the past. Now, always trying to learn, always trying to do better. Always looking ahead and asking myself how I could have done better in a situation. Trying to spread the good news of positive training to anyone who will listen. You are a blessing to us and our new pups now 15 and 18 months old. Thank you.
Watched until the end. This will help me as a trainer AND as a dog owner. Thanks!!
Dear Susan, Im so sorry for your loss. I cannot stop crying myself!!! Sending lots of love from Poland! I don't thing it'll cheer you up much, but I've learnt so much from you! Thank you for that!
Susan this is so awesome and clear in a little nutshell for the world. I’ve tried to hard over the years to explain this to clients just to see their eyes glaze over, and wishing I would just shut up and make their dog sit.
Thank you so much, Jeffrey! Feel free to send them this video :)
Very sorry for your loss, Susan. Really appreciate your wonderful podcasts, especially this one, as they've changed my perspective on many many things. Welcome back and I look forward to more podcasts!
Thank you Susan! This podcast is so meaningful to me. Made me cry! You make me want to be a better dog mom. Thank you, thank you thank you!❤️
Hugs for you…my heart is breaking with you for your loss. Remembering each of my 3 losses and how much the taught me. Thank you and all your dogs for the lessons you so generously share.
Love your commitment to always do better and love your honesty. I know this was recorded one year ago but sending condolences on the loss of Feature.
You're at 200 podcasts now! Congrats! I'm so excited and thankful for all the work you do!
@jasonford6595, thank you! We're grateful for your support and the super notes you add to conversations here on RUclips.
Thank you Susan for sharing not only your wonderful podcast with us but also your life and your dogs. I have learned so much not only about dog training, but the way I react to people as well. We collectively feel your loss of Feature vicariously. I tear up when you talk about her as I too have lost several dogs. Thank you for all of your podcasts for each one has such gems of wisdom and insight which makes us better dog trainers and better people also.
Thank you so much for sharing your full circle story. It gave me goosebumps and related so much to my journey to reinforcement training ❤
Oh Susan bless you. I’m so sorry for your loss. ❤️Losing our dogs is a pain that’s hard to put into words. A dog/ human bond is something so special. And thankyou for this video. I am learning so much from you, even as an experienced dog owner. So many little things we do without realising it. How we deal with training when frustrated is EVERYTHING.
No problem you deserve the break, dogs are so important to our lives. So hard to lose them, heartbreaking.
So sorry and I hope you can heal up soon
I recently found you. Thanks for these videos. I'm so sorry for your loss. My animals are my family and when i lose one it's devastating.
This quote . . . "when you are under pressure, when you are feeling extremely frustrated, that's what tells you what your real philosophy about dog training is."
It hit me so deeply I got all choked up. Thank you for giving me a much needed thing to reflect on; I do not like that person I can become.
I am so, so sorry for your loss of your amazing girl. I'm sending hugs your way. She was brilliant.
Susan, so glad you are back with your podcasts, I have been so worried about you. You are such an inspiration to all dog owners, and we thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and beliefs with us. You inspire me to learn and strive to be the best I can for my dog. Great podcast!
Choked up, I'm choked up. So very sorry for your loss. And I understand what you're saying: I try, but I don't always act with congruency to my core beliefs, though I try. Guess that's what they mean about grace under pressure.🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Dear Susan,
Thank you for this podcast. You are the one I look up to. You are the one whom I am learning from. You are the one who inspires me time and time again.
Thank you 🙏
Hugs and empathy. I lost my heart boy in September.
Susan, so sorry for your loss! This was an excellent episode for me. I find myself reverting to "old ways" quite daily for the same reasons you mentioned in your presentation. Stress, being in a hurry, just plain reaction. I have to really work at eliminating those "fall back" techniques. Take care.
Rochelle
❤ Susan, Thank You for sharing not only great advice, but for being so honest and open. Thank You for helping us even as you grieve the loss of your beautiful girl. I could totally relate to trying to overcome an old training philosophy, and reaching the point of no return. Mine came when my now passed on beautiful boy, Monty, seem sad and distant to me after seeing him resilient for many years. I too felt a sudden heartache and realized he was avoiding me because he feared me from all the neck pops, and how I didn’t want to react in such a way ever again. I wanted the bond and a relationship with this beautiful boy. Thank You for helping us evolve into more effective and humane trainers, giving us the ability to have more enriching relationships! Much love and prayers sent your way ❤
Susan Bless You!!! Sending Thunder Bay hugs (and those are huge)! You are essential to bringing us up to the standard our pups deserve. What a gift you are to all, including your precious Feature. Feeling deeply for you… Thank you for the reminder to steer clear of our own reactivity as humans… praises for recallers lessons!!!
Susan, There are no adequate words to express the difference your life's journey has made in my life. When Windsor first came to us, I had high hopes of training him and going into agility. The fact that I had absolutely no idea how to do either never crossed my mind. Hence, I was frustrated, looking for help in all the wrong places, and not as nice as I'd wanted to be to my precious little boy. It's difficult to admit in public, but it is true. I cannot thank you and all of your coaches enough for sharing your brilliance with us, your successes and your fails. I obviously did not know Feature but I do know the pain of losing a best friend. My corgi, Ron, was such a gentleman and a pal. When he left me, I didn't think the hole in my heart could be filled. Fortunately for me, Windsor has enough love and energy to fill it back up again. I'm so sorry for your loss. Sending Corgi hugs and kisses to you.
Susan, I've never met you, but I think I love you! Your heart is so generous and kind! And I love your humor, and of course your love for dogs. My heart breaks for your loss of Feature! My heart goes out to you!
This was an excellent podcast. I too, started training dogs in the 80’s and it has been a real eye opener at times when under stress my thoughts go back to what we did in the past. I am constantly learning. My girl is so sensitive that I have to really work on a positive attitude if things don’t go well at a trial. I don’t want her to feel disappointment. She always does her best for where she is at. She is such a good girl.
I am so sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself.
Hi Susan, I’m so sorry for your loss. I well know how hard it is to lose a special dog family member. Take care and relish those wonderful memories of your time with her.
I think that many of us have had that moment when we have reacted badly under stress and mostly if makes us resolve to do better just as you have. I am still working with that one dog who is going forward slowly, lock down puppy, and I have to be so careful not to make her take a step backward. She is beautiful and full on but fearful in some situations. We're working on that with the help of your amazing podcasts.
Much love to you. Losing a dog you’ve built such a long lasting bond with is so hard. Thank you for sharing. Humility is such a great teacher, it’s so sad our egos get in the way.
A big hug all the way from Portugal!! We are all with you in your loss. What a way to draw such a big lesson out!
So sorry to hear about your loss, my thoughts are with you🙏❤️ I'm working my way through your program and I'm in awe of the difference it's making, not only to my dog but teaching me patience and understanding as well. In the 2.5 years of my dog's life I have had 5 trainers from "balanced" to bordering on cruel. None of which sat well with me or my dog. In the last month we have progressed more than in the last 18 months! Thank you for your knowledge and kindness as at last I can proudly say that I love my dog 💖
Our dogs are the greatest teachers! I have learned so much from every dog I have had! This was a brilliant podcast susan and you did such a brilliant job explaining the four quadrants! I only believe in +R the same way you do and you have been the greatest mentor on teaching us to get curious! Thank you for everything you do for the dog training community!!!!!!
Sorry for your loss, Susan.
Hi Susan, once again an awesome podcast, one that I will listen too frequently. Thanks for sharing your reaction when your puppy Feature bite you. Recently I was taking my puppy for a walk and she was pulling like crazy, so I popped her collar, repeatedly. I have been so upset with myself for failing her and causing her pain. Your podcast gave me permission to forgive myself. Finally sending you much love and big hugs as you go through your journey of grief with Feature. I’m glad you took the time you needed. ❤️🐾💔
So so sorry for your loss! ♥️ Great podcast though.
My deepest sympathy on the loss of your beloved Feature!! May she run free and happy till you meet again
I am so sorry for your loss Susan...i have been there myself and share your tears
Susan, I am SO sorry to hear about Feature :-(. I had a similar experience when I first adopted our rescue - the first time we were out and a family walked by with a young child an another in a stroller, he lunged in their direction crying and I instinctively slapped him in the chest and pulled him back and yelled "No!" - he looked so confused. I had not found you and reinforcement based training then, but I felt TERRIBLE about it immediately. I kept telling my husband over and over that I wished I hadn't reacted that like in the moment. I can feel your pain, especially right now, that you slapped Feature - but you grew from it and have educated so many with your story - now we need to forgive ourselves.
Thanks for sharing your story and for being sincere and vulnerable with us.
Listening to this podcast on my way home yesterday helped me to get over myself and start today with the right level of expectation from my dog - which wasn't the case in previous three days and I was really upset with that. Thanks for saying thing loud - it helps a lot!
You are my total Mentor and so wish I had your personality ❤️❤️❤️. You had me laughing about the pantyhose but totally get it and I know you didn't mean to hurt feature and she knows it to so Please I beg you to Forgive yourself for you have come al long way from then and all the countless people and animals you are making lives better. Just shed tears writing this. We totally are here for you and take as much time to grieve because totally understand. Just remember We Love you and will always Look up to you. You are totally Awesome and God has Totally Blessed You ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
It's so difficult to loose a dog you love so much 💔 Take care
Thank you for sharing your grief with us. So sorry for your loss of Feature.
Thanks for sharing from your heart. Sorry for your loss. None of them live long enough for sure.
Thank you Susan for all your dog training lessons and life lessons. I’m a life long learner too and to quote that under-appreciated philosopher, Mr T - I “pity the fool” who stops learning. ❤️🤦♀️
Susan this is my journey. Getting my first dog a Great Dane I did nothing but her life was so less than. My first male newf turned out to be A LOT. Everyone said how easy they are to train. I cried almost every day, waving liver in his face while he took off and I’m on the ground and he’s running away. I thought I’m done. On to ecollar training. Yes, He sat, yes he stopped and heeled, but it bothered me what was happening. There was no trust in him or he in me. I started to use it less and used a slip lead(mind you he’s two 170lbs and still not a mature adult mentally) he responded and I we started trusting again. I’m now in recallers with max and my 14 month old female ruby. It’s not perfect, he does pause and I’ve got much to do before we have that perfect COME. But now when he doesn’t respond I think hmm how have I failed here to communicate with them🤔
I can’t thank you enough!!
Hugs. Thank you for the podcast today. 😊 I can sure identify with some of the feelings, experiences, and reactions you described. Just days ago, I was so frustrated with our training and I went and sat in a different room for a while until I could process and get my own head/frustration in a different place and not confuse/put the blame on her. It was definitely a Garrett-Influence moment.
You're truly inspirational
I am heartbroken to learn about your loss of Feature, Susan. I was worried about you during the absence and missed the podcast. Glad you’re back and most of all hope you are doing OK ❤️🩹
Sorry for your loss.
That's a wonderful story. Not sure who I am (always been a little impulsive tbh and have ADHD), and thinking about thsi story can help all of us grow. So sorry you lost Feature.
This is wonderfully done to outline the differences between positive/negative reinforcement/punishment. I was teaching this concept to my students (I teach veterinary technicians). I got in a little bit of a bind because I was trying to articulate permission as a form of reinforcement. In my example, my dog was doing well on his leash, not pulling and demonstrating good reinforcement zone. So I said removing the leash to let him run free was negative reinforcement (removed the restraint, dog gets reinforced). Then one of my students was like "Yes, but didn't you add freedom, which would still be positive reinforcement?" I couldn't fully convince her or myself that both statements weren't true. You mentioned permission as a form of positive reinforcement and I was wondering if you could clarify why my student's conclusion may be more accurate than my initial thoughts on this?
You did a very nice job with this podcast and I know how hard it must have been to talk about Feature so soon after losing her. Grief is challenging that way. It takes time for the sadness to decrease, so that we can find joy in the memories again. Hopefully by now there is more room for joyful memories and less gut punching grief.
Hi @Jamie Petersen thank you for what you do! Here's a video that will help your students - ruclips.net/video/jwZyBAYe6FY/видео.html
We've a playlist on the topic of reinforcement and transfer of value as well - ruclips.net/p/PLphRRSxcMHy1IUj_4P54q2PIuLNtnXjFO
Sorry for your loss Susan and Team, it is always heart breaking. /hug
I get what Susan is saying however 100% positive training is SOOOOO hard. There are times that I get so frustrated when charlie plays keep away (especially something like a cane toad). I feel guilty every time I yell at him to drop something / leave something alone but it seems yelling is the only thing that makes him stops. Charlie is 1000% better after 6 months of "Recallers" training but he is still far away from been obedient. dog training is so hard, there were times i just want to giving up. (which i will never do). Keep up the good work Team, i look forward to the next podcast.
Thanks for the detailed explanation and also bringing me to realization that I do some of these unconsciously, especially since my dog is only 8Lbs and he’s so easy to pick up when he’s doing something I don’t want him to do. Someone told me once I was taking away his power when I do that, now I understand what they meant. It is just easier for me to pick him up when he doesn’t want to walk or if another dog or person is coming and he wants to play, or people coming into the house he wants to bark so I pick him up. I now will be more careful and thoughtful 🤔 because of this episode, t hanks again.
Another great podcast Susan. Sending big hugs ❤️
Mind blown! Big hugs! And thanks ou for the continued teaching of incredible lessons. ❤️
Sorry for your loss. I like this but in 4 quadrants I prefer to say positive correction which means you add some uncomfortable stimulus (Verbal, Leash Pressure) and negative correction means removing something they want, like NOT giving a treat. I dont say punish because that is quite extreme. We are correcting what we dont like to help them get it right. Punishment makes the dog bad, correction focuses on the behavior.
Thank you, and omg, I am so sad and sorry for your loss. Many well wishes as you move through the grieving realities before you :-(
Hi Susan!
Thanks for your great advices and for your great attitude towards what you do.
Idk if it helps your perception of how things went thanks to your absence, but so for you to know, I had no idea about you until Tuesday in the morning (CET timezone) when searching online about dog behaviour (mine is a Rough Collie).
I was truly and quite positively surprised when I found your videos, because your approach is empathetic and aware of what's necessary for each kind of dogs, specially dogs like mine (so naturally playful and energetic)
Thanks a lot!
I'm so glad to see you! Thanks for more great info. I stopped competing in dog obedience when I was 13 (45 years ago) because the "force fetch" made me too upset. I'm grateful for your curiosity, perseverance, compassion, and voice that let's us know that positive reinforcement is effective. Our dogs are lucky to have you!
So sorry for your loss. But, it hard to have a critical conversation over the balanced training. I wonder if any balanced dog trainers have replied to this information??
My condolences on the loss of dog. It's very hard, but you will always have the memories. I lost both of my dogs a month apart.
💔 aww hugs
Great Podcast! Thank you for explaining it so well. That’s exactly how I behaved with my puppy last night and I feel terrible. I have a long road ahead but I hope to go down the right one. So sorry for your loss. Feature was a beautiful dog 😁
It is so hard. You are doing excellent. I too, lost my girl, Rain, on April 25th. She had done so well with Home School and was slowly moving into Vito's Thinking. My only family in home for 7 seven years. At 13, so sweet in nature... I will acquire another one day.
So sorry for your loss, Rain was a beautiful girl and she had so much joy with you. Thinking of you 💗
@@DogsThat thank you thinking of Susan too.
Thank you for the encouragement. I have a 6 mth old and im following your advice to shape her into my best friend and companion
In the retriever training world, balance training has a different meaning. It means training sessions that are balanced in terms of concepts: marks balanced with blinds, difficult marking concepts balanced with easy marks, water marks balanced with land marks, etc. The reason for this is a "balanced" retriever the retriever that will place first in a field trial. For example, a retriever that can remember a very short mark in a thick patch of cover after running 300 yards to retrieve an exciting mark in sparse cover. A retriever that can swim a water blind 3 feet parallel to but off the shoreline balanced with a water blind onto and then off a point scented with a duck. Even at the Junior hunter level where all marks are singles the retriever's training must be balanced. For example some water marks thrown into a patch of lilly pads into the water balanced with water marks where the concept is to swim across a pond, the run up a hill to a mark balanced with a mark where the retriever must swim across a channel, run across and island, re-enter water to swim across a second channel to a mark on the shore. Train a retriever so he excels in blind retrieves and marking typically deteriorates. Train a retriever exclusively on long marks and the dog typically does not do well on short marks. Train a retriever exclusively on short marks and the dog typically does not do well on long marks.
I call myself a blended trainer, not balanced. Mostly I use +P, however some dogs may require visits into other quadrants
Susan Garrett - You explain succinctly and simply EXACTLY what/how to counter the arguments of the ostensibly 'balanced' trainers. .... Many of us watching this have known in our bones 'balanced' training was 'off kilter'
.... because we've been lucky enough to have witnessed or watched some of the following: the wisdom of you ❤ (+/or trainers with your ethos); learned via a beloved relative* ❤; seen amazing Horse Whisperers such as the GENTLE MAN, Buck Brannaman ❤.... and/or has been inspired by childhood stories of St Francis of Assisi!
* My beloved Granny RIP 🙏 🙌 led me to Susan Garrett!
not really a shock, but a poke to get them to notice you. You should not use an e collar to HURT your dog. Start at a low level and increase the pulse until he looks at you like "Say what?" Thats it. In certain situations this is good because you dont have to be close to the dog to get his attention. But it cannot replace the BASIC training with positive reinforcement that Susan teaches. You have to teach the dog what you DO want before correcting things you dont want. (Except for extreme dangerous behavior).
Inspirational
I am a balanced trainer and I would like to quickly point out,
#1 We would never use anything but positive only to train tricks like agility. Whoever is using punishment to do that is not a balanced trainer. Personally I only correct a dog when doing so will save or potentially save the dog’s life or improve their quality of life with the owner.
#2 The whole “balanced training isn’t real because balanced trainers spend too much time rewarding their dogs” argument is extremely stupid and you know it.
#3 -P is almost entirely useless and it’s clear you don’t really understand it. In your example of removing a fence running dog from the backyard, you would actually be negatively reinforcing the dog. The ability to run the fence would be removed, but the behavior would be reinforced through frustration. The only time -P is even somewhat useful is when teaching the beginning stages of something like leave it or stay.
#4 Most people don’t understand +P and -R. +P is correction, -R is more or less escape training. People get those two mixed up. Here’s an example, I’m sure you’ve heard that prong collars make dogs more aggressive right? The positive only people would have you believe that it’s because the dog associates the discomfort from the collar with the other dog. But in reality what happens is a clueless person puts the prong collar on their dog and ends up negatively reinforcing the dog’s behavior. Basically the person thinks they are using +P when they are actually using -R, without understanding either, and end up rewarding the dog for reacting which makes it become worse. But most of the time -R is used in conjunction with +R to teach simple things like leash pressure and sit. +P is most often used with +R to stop simple behaviors like jumping on people and leash pulling.
#2
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Reinforcement, both positive and negative increase the behavior. Punishment both positive and negative decrease the behavior. Check that out again.
I would say I agree but disagree. I am a balance trainer and I do use the 4 quadrants and I do not us a remote collar as punishment, but I do use them. So not all Balance Trainers train the way as described here.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, for sure there is no black and white lines when describing punishment and reinforcement I appreciate you pointing that out.
Yeah, I have always understood that balanced trainers believe that all 4 quadrants have their place. Depending on the dog. Some dogs may never need 1 or the other. But I believe everyone agrees that positive reinforcement is used most and is preferred.
Excellent! The best trainers I know never get mad or frustrated at a dog. Getting mad or frustrated is often counter-productive. Is there any valid reason to get mad or frustrated at a dog...especially when the dog is "being a dog"? For example, a dog steals a loaf of bread from the counter (hunger drive), a dog pees in the garden (territorial marking), a dog chases a squirrel (prey drive)...dogs being dogs and getting mad or frustrated would not solve these "problems".
So why do some get frustrated with their dog during training?
For some humans, frustration often occurs due to human thinking that the dog is being disobedient on purpose....due to spite or stubbornness (human emotions).
Yet often the dog is doing what comes natural...for example with retrievers.
For example, the retriever runs the bank instead of swimming for a retrieve.
He is NOT being defiant, stubborn or spiteful...
his retrieving drive is strong and he wants to get to the bumper as quickly as possible and running is faster than swimming.
He simply needs training to understand the human rule is to swim not run.
Another example, my dog understands the sit whistle and yet he refuses to sit while running a water blind...this might make a trainer furious. In reality the dog was running through lunging water and could not hear the whistle sit command...
and in his mind if he does not hear the whistle sit, he is on the correct route, so keep on going.
Instead of getting mad or frustrated, think of the problem as my fault and I need to discover a solution.
It was my fault to not kennel pup when he peed on the floor while I was away (pup should have been crated).
It was my fault not to gradually train pup not to chase deer or squirrels.
It was my fault that my retriever creeps and now I need to solve the problem and teach the dog to be steady.
And so on. Getting frustrated is not helpful in dog training.
How terrible. Cancer poor baby. My dog passed March5 24
Do one of your dogs have pants on? Sorry I have to ask as I’ve never seen a dog with shorts or pants on thank you sorry if it’s a crazy question
Hi @watchmoivies123 they are for when a female dog is in season.
@@DogsThat oh okay. To young to be spayed ? Thanks.
You make a "No true scotsman" fallacy here. You pick a definition of balanced training that you say means equal time using the 4 factors of operand conditioning. Why? Why equal time? I have a hammer and a screwdriver and a wrench in my tool box? I'm I not a "real" carpenter if I don't use them all equally?
Kenny if you called yourself a "Balanced Carpenter" then maybe I would look for you to use a balance of tools. Does that make sense? The point is, I recognize the best "balanced" trainers (and likely even most that aren't that good) spend the majority of their time training dogs using positive reinforcement so they aren't really "balanced" at all. It is just that they visit all 4 quadrants while I work very hard to spend the majority of my time in one (R+) , no time in one (P+), and as little time as possible in the other two AND if I can arrange it, I'd only spend time in R+!
This is not logical. Please learn critical thinking @RaptorsGirl
We use a leash just because it is like that for decade without questioning because it is the law in different city but using a leash isn’t a thing in the dog world !! A leash is restraining the dog so it’s a form of punishment!! Dogs belong to nature and leash isn’t natural for them …
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