Training

Apprehension

Due to the strong ideological feelings of some people surrounding this topic, I have felt like I wanted to postpone this post, or not make this post at all. Like my training, I want this blog to be as positive and fun as I can get it. However, since my training method will become a major part of the early days of this blog, it is better to explain my reasoning.
I enjoy talking about the ins and outs of operant training methodology, since I think it is really interesting, and I see it being applied to ourselves on a daily basis, however, I don't think I am knowledgeable enough about it that I can explain it properly. Maybe in the future I will dedicate a full page on this, but I need to get my knowledge on a level where I feel confident enough to explain it properly.

Another reason for my apprehension, is that I am not a professional dog trainer or behavioural expert; I am simply someone that wants the best for his dog and through tons of research decided on the methodology I will talk about below.
A true gentleman keeps his word, and since I promised to discuss this, I will.
It will, after a whole lot of rewrites, be slightly different than I had in mind.

A small change of plan

I will alter this post a bit from my initial intentions so I can keep true to myself and not pretend to be someone I am not or know things I did not verify. I can claim to have read studies and 'debunk' others, but the fact is, I am not trained to properly assess scientific studies and find possible flaws in them, and let us be honest, neither is the vast majority of my audience. From what I gather, even amongst academics, this is a skill that is hard to master.
I do know, however, that science isn't absolute. It is error prone and definitely not the end-all-be-all a lot of people claim it is. Just because a paper says something, doesn't necessarily make it true. There are things that science can and can't do. Properly determine what is the best dog training method, is not one of those things, in my opinion; it is too much of a complex system. What a complex system is in science is way beyond the scope of this post, but it is interesting to at least get a bit of a grasp on.
I am not beholden to any ideology, I just want to provide the type of leadership that gives my dog the best results with the best relationship and bond we can possibly get. That was my starting point.

Saying 'no' is evolutionary

To me, not telling your dog 'no', or not letting them know that a certain behaviour is unwanted seems illogical and ignores the natural world. The world simply does not work that way. Not with humans, not with dogs, not with any animal. Unwanted behaviour gets addressed, fairly and proportionally. Millions of years of evolution have determined that correcting unwanted behaviour is the most effective way to make sure a group has good social cohesion. Let's learn from nature.

The trainer that clicked

With this in mind, I started to look around.
Very quickly, I found a few 'balanced' trainers (trainers that use all four quadrants of operant conditioning) on YouTube whose style resonated with me and whose results speak for themselves. I resonate most with what Will Atherton does. His own dogs are extremely well behaved, love him to bits, and the results he gets with the dogs that have severe behavioural problems are amazing. He has a masters degree in clinical animal behaviour to boot. He has (paid) online courses on a variety of subjects, including puppies, which I purchased.
On his YouTube page, he showed us what he was going to buy for his new puppy; among which was the Acme Clicker 470; a clicker with a history so interesting, I just had to buy one (two, actually, with one getting an engraving).
In his Perfect Puppy course, he describes dog training roughly as follows: The ability to clearly communicate with your dog, "please do this, but don't do that". The way to achieve this is leadership.

"Leadership is love"

Will sees leadership as the foundation of everything with your dog. Dogs instinctively want to follow a leader, and the better your leadership is, the easier and clearer your communication with your dog will be.
A loving leader tells a dog what to do and what not to do, because they have the dog's best interest in mind. As humans, living in our unnatural society, we understand what is safest and best for our dog. If we allow it to make its own decisions, it is prone to make dangerous mistakes, create severe behavioural issues and your relationship suffers greatly because of it. A dog that looks to you for guidance and direction and knows what is expected of it can safely enjoy the most possible freedom it can have, because the dog will listen to you and respects you.
Because we decided to take in the dog, and because we love them, it is our duty to lead them to the best of our abilities, because as Will Atherton says it: "Because leadership is love."