There are so many TV shows these days that feature animal trainers and focus on changing undesirable pet behaviours. It makes sense – pet owners usually have an issue or two that we would love to resolve so that we can enjoy our pets even more. But do the techniques from these shows actually work to change your own animals’ actions or behaviour for the better? Can you learn good cat and dog training tips from a TV show?
The answer depends on the show you are watching. Just like with my recent post about Veterinarian TV shows, there is a broad range in the quality of the professionals on these shows. As much as you may love a certain show or the TV personality, it may not be really doing much to improve the lives of those animals that appear on it. In behaviour and training there are a number of different ways to change the behaviour of an animal, but not all of them will work and improve the quality of life for that pet.
Types of Behaviour Training
Let me explain in more detail. Without getting too complicated, there are two techniques used to motivate an animal to perform the desired behaviour. Reinforcement (to increase the behaviour) and punishment (to decrease the behaviour). The main thing pet owners need to understand is the difference between the two and which is most effective. After all, what good is a training method if it doesn’t work well?
When done properly both punishment and reinforcement can be effective, but reinforcement is by far the technique of choice for educated professionals. The reason for that is because of some key words – when it is DONE PROPERLY. Punishment can be extremely hard to get right since it requires very precise timing and skill to avoid confusing the animal. Early or late punishment, even by a fraction of a second, can cause the wrong behaviour to be affected and may even make the outcome worse rather than better. It is for this reason that punishment is not a recommended behaviour modification technique. For the very rare instances where it may be needed it should be left to a true professional to ensure it is done properly without causing any harm.
Reinforcement is a much better way to shape an animal’s behaviour. Reinforcement involves rewarding the animal when they do something right, rather than punishment when they do something wrong. Think about it – isn’t it more enjoyable to get a reward than a punishment? Of course! It creates a stronger motivation to perform the correct behaviour, and as a result, reduces the occurrences of the undesired behaviour. It is also much easier and more forgiving when it comes to the timing and delivery of the reward. Punishment can also cause fear or aggression towards owners, resulting in bites or injuries, where reinforcement usually strengthens the pet-owner bond and makes training sessions enjoyable.
Choosing a TV Show
When pet owners watch trainers on television, it is very common for them to try out some of the things they see on their own pet. However, the training methods are very rarely fully explained or displayed on these shows due to time constraints, so I strongly recommended that owners only try reinforcement techniques when attempting to train their own pets. For that reason, it is much better to spend your time watching shows with reinforcement training techniques than ones that use punishment. Not to mention, the shows you watch create support and funding for more shows like it, so watching a show with punishment only encourages more punishment centered programming.
What I say next may make me unpopular with a lot of people, but I am not the only person with this opinion. Caesar Millan and all of his shows about dog training are great examples of what not to do. Many of his techniques are not recognized or recommended by professionals, and they are prime examples of punishment based training. He has absolutely no formal training or experience and has even been investigated on charges of animal cruelty. I am not saying that being a confident and authoritative dog owner is a bad thing, but intimidation or dominance dog training does not create a lasting and loving bond. Aggression creates aggression, and we do not get to see how all the dogs he “cures” are doing with their owners a month or year down the road when problems will not doubt show up.
If you would like to learn more about proper dog training techniques, check out Dr. Ian Dunbar and his fabulous website www.dogstardaily.com
Considering all of the above, I absolutely love the shows ‘Psycho Kitty,’ and ‘My Cat from Hell.’ Both of these shows use only reinforcement techniques to gently alter the cats’ behaviours and solve the owner’s issues. If there are any other shows like these that you think should be included, please let me know so I can check them out!