Where’s the proof that Breed Specific Legislation works?

Kellie Snider

Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst

Co-Developer of the Constructional Aggression Treatment for Dogs

www.animalbehavioranswers.com

9/18/2007

           

For the past 2.5 years I have been at work with Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz developing an effective behavior change procedure for the treatment of aggression in dogs in the natural settings where the dogs live. In the course of our work the procedure has been painstakingly evaluated. Data is collected each step of the way, compared to earlier data, and examined in the current environment. When something did not work, we went back to the drawing board, took a closer look, and either adjusted the treatment or eliminated the component that was either detrimental or useless. If it did not work or did not produce a meaningful change, it did not stay in the procedure.

           

Breed specific legislation (BSL) has not been subjected to this kind of scrutiny.  If it has the data are not seeing the light of day. BSL is an attempt by the legal system to resolve the canine aggression problem. Unfortunately, the data cited to determine whether breed specific legislation is justified is the wrong data. The question researchers need to ask to validate BSL is, “Are there fewer dog attacks per capita after BLS was enacted than before it was enacted?” They might even add the question, “Are the attacks less severe?” Instead, the data typically cited to defend BSL involves the number of people attacked by a specific breed of dog (Nelson, 2005). There is little or no data other than anecdote available to the public about whether eliminating specific breeds of dogs from a community actually reduces the numbers of dog bites, attacks or dog-related fatalities. If they are not making the data public either they are not collecting the data, which is unacceptable, or there is something they don’t want us to see.

           

Dogs of any breed obtained for the purpose of fighting, guarding and protection are high on the list of dogs that attack and kill. Dogs of any breed kept in the yard on a chain or in a pen outside are among the dogs most likely to kill. Dogs of any breed that are allowed to roam loose or that are abused or neglected are more likely to kill than other dogs. Unneutered male dogs are frequently counted among those dogs that bite. (Delise, 2002)

           

If you take all the pit bulls out of a community, the people likely to harbor dangerous dogs will keep another large, powerful breed. The people who kept a pit bull outside on a chain will keep another breed outside on a chain. The people who abused or neglected a pit bull will abuse and neglect another breed of dog. The people who let their pit bull roam will let the dog that replaces their pit bull roam. Families that owned unneutered-male pit bulls are likely to obtain and keep intact another breed of dog. When children are allowed to interact unattended with unfamiliar dogs, chained dogs, penned dogs and family pets with histories of unresolved aggression it can be a recipe for disaster no matter what the breed. Getting rid of a breed without changing how people care for and manage their dogs will not solve any dog attack problems. 

           

Before another community enacts breed specific legislation statistical comparisons must be made between the before and after picture in those communities where BSL has already been enacted. To determine whether BSL is valid we do not need more proof that pit bulls are strong, powerful dogs. Everyone already knows that. But people who spend time around dogs also know that many pit bulls are friendly, gentle animals despite their strength. If communities are going to enact BSL someone needs to demonstrate that it works. So far I have not seen the data.

           

With pit bulls out of the picture there will still be dog attacks. Denver, Colorado banned pit bulls in 1989, and in a 1994 study Chow Chows and German Shepherds had taken their place as the dogs most likely to bite (Gershman, Sacks & Wright, 1994). Can you imagine the outcry if a community tried to ban German Shepherds? Without data showing that BSL results in a statistically significant decrease in dog attacks, legislators are misleading their community’s citizens if they claim that the knowledge that pit bulls are strong and powerful necessarily means that eliminating them will eliminate the problem of dangerous dog attacks.

 

Where is the data?  Until there are valid data to compare the numbers of attacks before and after enactment of BSL no one can claim that it will do anything more than cause dissention among proponents and opponents of breed specific legislation. For that we have plenty of proof.

           

References:

Delise, K.A. (2002). Fatal dog attacks: The stories behind the statistics. Slanesville, WV.

Gershman KA, Sacks JJ, Wright JC. (1994). Which dogs bite? A case-control study of risk factors.     Pediatrics 93:913-7.

Nelson, K.A. (2005) One City’s Experience: Why pit bulls are more dangerous and breed specific        legislation is justified. Municipal Lawyer. 406-6.

© Kellie Snider, 2007

Understanding Your Audience of Experienced Dog People

It is essential that you know your audience.  I wrote about this in an earlier blog posting.  (Check the June 2007 entries.) You have to tailor your approach to suit your audience.  For dog trainers, there are two primary audiences:  (1) Experienced dog trainers and those who want to become experienced dog trainers, and (2) pet owners.

WORKING WITH EXPERIENCED DOG TRAINERS

If your audience is experienced trainers, they already know a lot about dog training, whether or not you agree with what they know.  What they are often working toward now is improving their records of wins with a favorite dog or gaining greater respect in the field.  If you want to be their trainer, you must always remember that they most of all want to be respected as professionals.  They will respond better to compliments and reverence to their expertise and educations than they will to your attempts to teach them new skills.

Be humble and learn to get your reinforcers from your students’ successes.  You are going to be their coach, not their teacher.  And by coach, I mean “life coach”, not “professional sports coach”.  Your job is to help them excel and to lift them up high while keeping your profile modest.  Sound counter-intuitive?  Keep reading! 

Your job in working with the advanced audience is to support them in what they are already doing, to offer feedback on the things they request feedback on, to offer new information that perhaps they haven’t had a chance to access.  Anything you do to change their behavior must be done delicately and subtly. Reinforce what they do that works by praising their expertise and professionalism.  Ignore what they are not doing well at the same time.  Before long you’ll probably find that the reinforcement for the good performances builds those skills to the point that they overwhelm the undesirable stuff and it fades away. 

And if you want to be successful, you must not try to take credit for the change.  Brag about your student to others, in front of the student whenever possible.  Does this sound like I’m telling you to eschew all your own glory?  Does that sound counter to the idea of promoting your training business?  Think about overhearing some trainer at an agility trial saying this:

“I’ve got to tell you about my student, Louise Tate!  She just won her MACH title with her dog, Spider! I am so excited for her! She has worked hard and it has really paid off.” 

Is that not the teacher YOU would want to work with?  By bragging about your students’ successes you are promoting yourself in the best possible way.  You’re showing that not only are you a good instructor- after all, look at what your student accomplished!  You’re also saying that you are willing to not just share but freely give away the glory. 

Everyone knows the old dog world saying, “The only thing two trainers can agree on is that the third one is wrong.”  I urge you to create a new one. 

“The only thing that trainer talks about is how great her students are.”  Work on praising your students until you start hearing this from other people.  Your students will love you.  Then they will talk about you to all their friends.  And the best marketing engine in the world will be off and running. Word-of-mouth.

What about the student who isn’t doing so well?  There are a few different things to consider.  First, remind her about the successes she’s had, no matter how small.   Remember her big successes forever. And point out small successes immediately as they occur, while minimizing responses to problems. One of the biggest problems she may be having is paying too much attention to mistakes.  Don’t you join in with her on that!  Help her focus on successes and goals. 

Mistakes are just starting places.  They’re not failures.  

Do not think you’re going to win their hearts by knowing something they don’t know. You may NOT know anything they know.  What will set you apart from all the rest is being proud of your students even when they surpass you.  The way to their hearts is to let them know you believe to the bottom of your heart and to the depths of your soul that They are great trainers, and that you will freely announce that to the world.  Then do it! 

Copyright 2007, Kellie Snider

Don’t forget to order your copy of our new DVD:  The Constructional Aggression Treatment:  Shaping Your Way Out Of Aggression.  It’s a complete seminar in a 5 disc set. Save yourself some travel expenses and attend your next seminar at home! 

“…your seminar has been the best received of any I have ever produced.” 

Alta Tawzer of Tawzer Dog Videos.

http://www.tawzerdogvideos.com/JesusRosalesRuiz-KellieSnider.htm

Shedd Aquarium’s Ken Ramirez Lecture at the University of North Texas

The Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals

In the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas

Announces ORCA’s Annual Lecture Series

(Open to the public!)

Professional Animal Trainer

 Ken Ramirez

“The Practical Side of Science”

For Animal Trainers, Handlers, Pet Owners & Professionals

October 20, 20073:00-6:00pm

UNT Campus ENV Bldg., Room 130

Public Admission:  $45

UNT Employees and Students:  Free 

3 CEUs Approved by CCPDT 

Profits after expenses will benefit ORCA.

·         Ken Ramirez has been a professional trainer for more than 30 years.

·  He is currently the VP of Animal Collections and Animal Training at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium.

·         Ken is a regular speaker at Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpos. 

·         Ken’s experience includes work with guide dogs, search and rescue dogs, standard pet training and many exotic animals.

·         He is also the author of the book Animal Training: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement

Pay at the door or….

Mail payment to: 

ORCA Department of Behavior Analysis
410 Ave. C, Suite 360
P.O. Box 310919
University of North Texas
Denton, TX 76203-0919 FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL: Katie Kalafut: klk0146@unt.edu BE SURE TO VISIT ORCA’s NEW WEBSITE, LAUNCHING SOON FORTRAINING TIPS AND CURRENT RESEARCH AT http://orgs.unt.edu/orca/

“My dog was abused and now he’s aggressive.”

Here’s a fictionalized compilation of stories I’ve heard from people about their aggressive dogs.  Most people who work with aggressive dogs will recognize this story from their work.

Josie Q. Owner will say, “We adopted our dog from the shelter.  He was fine for a few weeks but after he’d been here a while he started barking and growling at any man that came over to visit.  When our friend lifted his hand one day our dog lunged at him then hid behind me.  We are sure he was abused by a man before we got him.”

People commonly assume that if their dog behaves either fearfully or aggressively that he or she was the victim of abuse.   To my surprise, while surfing the web about this subject,  I noticed that even some experts have presented the “he was abused” assessment as part of their response to owners asking about aggression in their dogs.  While certainly being abused may be the start down the slippery slope toward aggressive behavior, assuming that abuse actually occured is often stretching it.  If we didn’t see the abuse happening, it’s best not to assume it occured.  That assumption may lead us off on a path that doesn’t help us make progress in dealing with the aggression.  The good news is that we don’t need to know how behavior got started to change behavior. 

Aggression is situation-specific, and aggression toward a specific kind of person or in a specific situation does not necessarily mean that the dog was abused at any point in his life.  I’ve worked with quite a few dogs that were adopted into good homes as puppies, who were never hit or mistreated, and who still show up with aggressive behaviors at some point down the road.  Dogs, like all animals and humans, behave in ways that pay off for them.  Unfortunately, aggression sometimes pays off quite neatly for them. 

The 2 imporant questions to ask when trying to understand a given dog’s aggression is, “In what situations does this behavior happen?” and “What happens after the dog behaves aggressively?”  It is also helpful to understand situations in which the dog is not aggressive so that you can appreciate that your dog can behave in desirable ways. 

In most cases of problem aggression the dog has learned that his aggressive behavior makes people or animals go away.  The most common answer to, “What happens after he behaves aggressively?” is, “People or animals back off.”  The behavior puts distance between him and something or someone else.  The more experience the dog has in getting people or animals he doesn’t want around to back off by being aggressive, the more aggressively he will behave.

What if his aggression involves chasing prey (which may include small dogs or cats, squirrels, even children)?  It depends.  I once had a dog who eagerly chased squirrels throughout her life, and never once caught one. It appears that she was just as happy getting them to go away as she might have been catching one. Since she never caught one we might be right to assume that her behavior was reinforced by getting the squirrel to run away. For other dogs who actually catch some of the prey they chase, we might be looking at something a little different.  These dogs don’t get rid of the thing they behave aggresively toward- they kill and possibly eat it.  

From time to time we come across a dog that has been taught to play roughly and in order to initiate play they begin to act roughly.  This can accelerate to the point that they begin to growl, bark, and even bite at people they want to play with. 

The other question, “In what situations does this behavior happen?” includes all the stuff in the environment at the time the aggression occurs.  Often it will be something like, “A stranger approached him” or “another dog came into view.”  Sometimes it will be quite specific, like, “She’s only aggressive toward my sister, and only when my husband is gone.”  (Seriously!) Other times the dog may be aggressive only in one place, but not in others (e.g. He’s aggressive toward dogs in the park, but fine with dogs in our back yard), or only toward a type of person (men or children, for example).  There can even be very subtle situations like the time of day or how cold it is. 

The aggressive behaviors described here indicate that the dog has been successful in chasing men away by behaving aggressively.  We may not know why the dog wants to chase the guy away, but we can change the behavior by teaching the man to go away only when the dog is behaving nicely and stay put when he is behaving aggressively.  Clearly this may involve some training.  (The procedure is described in detail in the DVD mentioned at the end of this blog. 

The outcome of the procedure described in the DVD is that the dog will learn that his aggression doesn’t pay off, but being nice does.  Over time he will most likely stop wanting the guy to go away because he’ll learn that he is not a threat. 

The good news is that we don’t have to know why a behavior got started in order to treat it. This is especially good news because with dogs adopted in adulthood from shelters we rarely know anything about his life before the shelter.

Constructional Aggression Treatment:Shaping Away Canine Aggression http://www.tawzerdogvideos.com/JesusRosalesRuiz-KellieSnider.htm                         Jesús Rosales-Ruiz, PhD & Kellie Snider                                                                                      A 10.5 hour seminar on videotape                                                                                      Produced by Tawzer Dog Videos Copyright, 2007

Constructional Aggression Treatment DVD has been released!

Constructional Aggression Treatment:Shaping Away Canine Aggression

http://www.tawzerdogvideos.com/JesusRosalesRuiz-KellieSnider.htm 

Jesús Rosales-Ruiz, PhD & Kellie Snider 

A 10.5 hour seminar on videotape withProduced by Tawzer Dog Videos 

Copyright, 2007 

Is available now! 

Current consensus in behavioral science labels aggression as a classical conditioning problem, and the treatment, accordingly, is desensitization and counter conditioning. But that might all change in the future. Research done at the University of North Texas suggests that classical treatments for aggression may have us all barking up the wrong tree. Kellie and Dr. Jesus Rosales-Ruiz have devised a shaping-based, operant approach to treating aggression in clients’ homes that is producing stronger and much faster results than classical treatments.This seminar introduces the UNT research and Kellie and Jesus’ training procedure. Demo video and live demonstration is used to see their training in action. Other topics covered include cue poisoning, functional analyses of aggressive behaviors, and stimulus control.

Contains videos, demonstrations, powerpoint animations, lecture and Q&A.  

~~~~~

http://www.tawzerdogvideos.com/JesusRosalesRuiz-KellieSnider.htm

What’s in it for me?  

If you are interested in the emotional lives of animals, this DVD will be of interest to you.  This DVD is the culmination of several years of research by Jesus Rosales-Ruiz and his students on emotions in animals.  If you work with aggressive dogs this work may, as one DVD participant put it, “rock your world”. We will be talking about canine aggression in a completely different way from what you’ve learned at all the other aggression DVDs you have attended.  We explore the genetic, dominance and instinct-based theories of the nature of aggression and replace them with our research which reveals aggression as an operant… in other words we explain that aggression is learned behavior, and that by changing the consequences for the behavior using the Constructional Approach we can change the aggressive dog into a friendly dog.  We will present a training procedure that will provide trainers and pet owners to make significant differences in dogs’ behavior.

 

What will I take away from this DVD?  What will I be able to use? 

This DVD will provide you with the tools to replace the aggressive behaviors in dogs with peaceful, friendly behaviors.  Many people who have attended a weekend seminar have written to us that they have successfully used the procedure on their own and are now changing how they approach aggression issues.  Some are working with aggressive dogs for the first time because finally they have a tool they can use to make a significant change. In addition this work can be used with fearful animals, including feral cats and fearful hoofstock such as llamas and cattle.  Feral cats slated for euthanasia are being not only tamed but made into loving pets through the use of a version of this procedure. 

 

In addition, we have a Yahoo Group that is exclusively for the support of those who have attended a seminar or viewed the DVD and who are interested in actively using the procedure.  These people help us develop the procedure and provide us with data, and we, in return support them by providing additional information and helping them brainstorm their ideas.  We have learned much from these field testers and would love to have you join this body of trainers.  We are currently working on additional materials to answer frequently asked questions and to expand on points made in the DVD and seminars.  These will be made available to those who attend a weekend seminar or purchase a video to answer your questions.  We will do as much as we can to support you in your progress.  Beyond that, we will listen to your ideas and experiences and use them to develop the procedure.  We are delighted to credit all of the people working with us in the development of the procedure.

 

Why should I buy this DVD?

In addition to the points made above, if you have been to seminar after seminar hearing the same old things, this is a DVD you won’t want to miss. This is a completely new and proven effective approach to the treatment and understanding of aggression. Rather than relying exclusively upon generalized information from old published research or the work of other trainers we have examined the specifics of the lives of aggressive dogs and addressed them as the subject matter for our research.  The research was conducted in the dogs’ real lives, not in a laboratory.  Pet owners and dog trainers are now taking it and using it with their real dogs in their real worlds with real success

On Pit Bulls and Courts of Law

Pit bulls are usually lovely, wonderful, loving pets.  Pit bull pet owners are usually  responsible, loving owners. And of course there are the bad guys that give everyone else a bad name.   This afternoon I was reading this article: One City’s Experience:  Why Pit Bulls Are More Dangerous and Breed Specific Legislation is Justified at http://dogbitelaw.com/pitbullDenver.pdf , the Dog Bite Law site.  (Side note- I didn’t write it!) The author claims that there is clear evidence that while not every pit bull is a problem, they’re more likely to exhibit “unique behavioral traits” in their attacks, and they’re more likely to do serious harm.

“The Colorado Dog Fancier’s trial court made this clear,” writes the author, Attorney Kory Nelson, “…while it could not be proven that pit bulls bite more than other dogs there was ‘credible evidence that pit bull dog attacks are more severe and more likely to result in fatalities.’”  Why? 

Among the 17 reasons cited by the court according to Mr. Nelson, was a statement that  while pits often really good dogs, they have management and temperament issues and require “special attention and discipline”, and that 13% of them attack their owners, while only 2% of other breeds attack their owners.  Come on.  Only 2% of any other breed bite their owners?  EVERY breed?

The article includes an incomplete citation so I can’t track their data, but a commission in Emporia Kansas produced a statement in 2006 that “pit bulls are only as dangerous as their owners”.  They cited a nationwide ban in England that started in 1991 that produced no reduction in dog bites which indicates that maybe, just maybe, breed specific legislation isn’t the answer.  http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2006/nov/13/pit_bulls_only_dangerous_their_owners_aspca_tells_/

Great.  Good.  I know I’m getting the old thumbs up from the owners of those breeds considered dangerous just by virtue of being themselves. 

Quite frankly, the legal system’s approach to this kind of thing is set up to fail.  A dog bites, there’s a public and media outcry, the dog is put down, the person is penalized in some way, legislators make laws intended to punish dogs because they happen to be of the same breed as the one that bit someone and lo-and-behold, nothing changes.  There’s no way that plan could work.  It doesn’t address the root of the problem.

Where is the problem?  Well, the pit bull is a powerful organism with a repertoire made up of reinforced behavior.  Behavior that is reinforced through negative reinforcement both naturally occuring in the environment and applied by some breed owners, and positive reinforcement, both naturally occuring and administered by some owners.  We have very genuine safety concerns and we have very genuine behavioral concerns. 

The people in Emporia were probably right in one sense.  Handling by owners has a whole lot to do with their behavior.  But I hope they didn’t mean to say that all owners of dogs who bite are dangerous owners.  I work with aggressive dogs and I must say that I meet a whole lot of very responsible owners who never dreamed they’d end up owning an aggressive dog, and who are doing their best to resolve the matter. While the owners do play a part in the dog’s behavior, it’s often because they never had a dog that acted this way before (and/or) they can’t figure out what to do about it. 

I just googled “Elephant attacks” and came up with a whole bunch of hits.  It’s no surprise to anyone that a 7,000 pound animal can easily do harm, and that a 7,000 animal who is irritated, is protecting a baby or is sick might lash out and hurt someone. If the animal was trained with harsh methods you might expect more of that kind of trouble.  But even an animal trained solely with positive methods may sometimes get irritated and lash out or be startled and hurt someone or accidentally bite harder than he thought he was biting in play.

When experienced horse people work with horses, one thing they think about is keeping the horse from “mauling” them.  What does this mean?  Horses who aren’t afraid of people and who know people are often the bringers of good things may begin to “get in the handler’s face”, pulling at their clothing or nudging them.  This can get far too pushy and move from being cute to being dangerous.  On the other hand horses who are hurt in the course of training may decide to take matters into their own hooves and that can be dangerous.  (Over 250 people a year are killed by horses, as opposed to 31 by dogs last year.  That dog stat came from Karen Delise, who does a laudable job of tracking down such numbers: http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/fatalattackstatistics.asp.)

What do we do when we are dealing with large animals with the potential to be dangerous?  When it’s an elephant or other large species more and more zoos are turning to no contact policies in which they do not enter the enclosures with the animals, but instead train them and manage them from the outside of their enclosures using specially designed secure management gates and enclosures and training methods that encourage animals to cooperate.   This is done even with the most docile of animals for the safety of the humans.

What is done with horses?  Some trainers, notably Alexandra Kurland, teach them to move their heads away from the trainer before treats are delivered.  She recommends learning to train management behaviors to the point of good stimulus control before engaging in trick training and other interactive activities.  http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/horses.txt

So what do we do when it’s a dog?  The common practice is to put a leash on and try to make it do what we want it to do.  One of my TTouch instructors, Kathy Cascade, sometimes asks her students, “Why do we do what we do to dogs?  Because we can.”  Think about that.  Why do we lead dogs around by leashes? Why do we pick up the little ones when they get into trouble?  Why do we put shock collars on German Shepherds?  Because we can.  Not because any of these are the best method for the animal, but because we can.

But why do we try to handle 90 pound massive powerful pit bulls with the same kinds of gear we handle chihuahuas with?  What are we thinking?  Do we handle horses with the same gear we handle chihuahuas with?  No of course not.  Why?  Well, silly, because they are horses.  

Is the birthright of breed or species a good enough reason to handle an animal in a certain way with a certain kind of gear?  What is appropriate for a chihuahua may not be appropriate for a pit bull.  One reason is that if the 90 pound pit slams his paws onto the 90 year old lady walking in the park it’s going to be a heck of a lot more trouble to drag him back by the flat collar and tuck him in your purse and he’s likely to do a tad more damage than your 3 pound hooey-hooey.

But here’s where I get stumped.  What gear is appropriate? I don’t think the right gear for certain powerful dogs has been invented.  I’m not a fan of halters for dogs, but I think for some it’s the closest we’ve got, so long as there are also connections to something that can be backed out of, like a body harness.   

Why do we put halters on horses?  Because although we can’t physically drag the horse around by the neck, we can turn his head and that will typically get him going in the right direction. Does that work with dogs? Not always.  Some dogs WILL lunge into a face halter, despite the claims of some trainers that they will not.  (I’ve seen it.)  And some WILL do it twice.  (I’ve seen it.)  Maybe horses will, too, but I’ll leave that to the horsepeople to sort out.

 Clearly the big issue here is training.  Training, training, training… which is a mixed bag of effectiveness and methodology.  Do we follow Cesar Millan or Karen Pryor? The Monks of New Skete or Jean Donaldson? I don’t think we have yet invented the appropriate gear for safely managing certain large breeds.  Training has to happen.

But hang on to your hats.  I’m going to step on the royal goose. 

Do smart, safe zoo keepers take elephants out into public when the elephants haven’t been adequately trained so that controlling them is a 99.9% sure thing?  They don’t.  Do smart, safe horsemen and horsewomen take untrained horses out into public among people on city streets or among groups of people?  They don’t.

So why do so many think that because a large, potentially dangerous, insufficiently trained animal happens to be a dog we should be given free reign to bring him into contact with vulnerable others?  

I get emails from people with aggressive dogs who ask me how to manage them in public parks and on city streets and agility meets.  I don’t think they should be taking their dogs to public parks and out on city streets or to agility meets while their dogs are still performing aggressive behaviors.  Training needs to be conducted with everyone’s safety and comfort in mind.  

It is my opinion that despite the fact that I once loved a member of a “dangerous” breed (A chow mix), if she had not been completely safe around people and animals I would not have had the right to bring her into places where there was the potential for her to do harm.  I might have earned that  right by ensuring that she was well trained and handled with gear capable of handling her. 

  

Managing your Animal Training Education Expenses

Bravo                   Photo & Photo Editing by Kellie Snider 

In my first marketing article for dog trainers I wrote about how many trainers make the mistake of spending all their public relations oomph on impressing fellow trainers, especially trainers that are already more successful than they are.  Lest you think that I was suggesting that you never communicate with other trainers, let me assure you that is not what I was getting at.

Keep the client front and center in your business plans. 

Many trainers expend a lot of energy rubbing shoulders with… or at least listening to… name-brand trainers at many seminars each year, but they do it to the neglect of reaching and convincing paying clients that they should hire them.  As a result they never get to quit the day job.  One trainer-wanna-be told me she had spent… hold onto your mouse… over $10,ooo during the previous year on seminars!  She works full time in a job she doesn’t love, trains in the evenings and weekends and goes to several seminars around the country annually “working towards doing this full time”.  How much money did she make doing dog training last year?  She wasn’t quite sure.  I have to assume that she didn’t come close to breaking even.  When I asked her how much she spends on promoting her business she had to think about it.  After several minutes of calculations in her head she came up with, “Probably about $500.”  How was that $500 spent?  Business cards and brochures to hand out at seminars, and she has a one-page website.  (Wait a minute… who should she be giving those marketing materials to?  Other trainers or potential clients?)  Considering that her web host cost about $240 a year and she spent a couple hundred bucks on a basic home page design for her website, and she got her brochures and business cards on Vista Print (a great way to go, by the way), all she had left to do was promote her business.  But she didn’t have time.  She was always either at work or at seminars! 

This is a misappropriation of funds and time sufficient to make the US Government blush.  That trainer would be better off reversing those numbers, but it’s not necessary to spend that much money and time on seminars, and it’s counterproductive to do so.  She could make a commitment to attend a max of two seminars a year.  Only attend a seminar if there is a pretty good possibility of something you don’t already know being taught.  

A complaint I hear with increasing frequency is how many trainers go to seminars to earn their APDT CEUs but the seminar didn’t teach them anything new.  How many different ways do you need to hear seminar leaders say, “Follow a behavior with a reinforcer and you’ll get more of it”? If you’re ready to start a business, you better know what a reinforcer is.  If you don’t, you’re not ready to be hanging out your shingle just yet. 

Ask questions about the content before putting cash on the line.  If the speaker has a new book or new research out you’re more likely to learn something new.  If there’s no new material out, contact the speaker or the organizer to find out what’s on the agenda.  If it’s nothing new to you, look for a different speaker.  Even if you love this speaker and think her seminars are really fun, spread your education dollar around so that you have the broadest education possible. 

On a side note, how many of the top trainers do you see sitting in the audience at seminars soaking up new info? It is common at ClickerEXPO and APDT, but that’s about it.  One reason is professional courtesy.  What speaker wants to walk up to the front of the room and see Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson or Patricia McConnell in the audience?  Talk about stage fright!  But a big part of it is that they are good business people.  They don’t spend money on stuff they already know.  Their weekends are booked with their own work.  Why?  Because they spend their energy reaching clients.  Follow their examples!  [Since I lead seminars that probably sounds like pretty self-destructive advice, but I stand by it.  If you attended the aggression workshop with me (and/or) Jesus Rosales-Ruiz in 2006 you don't really need to attend it again in 2007 http://www.animalbehavioranswers.com/id138.html.  We would love to have you, but it wouldn't necessarily be the best use of your business dollar to repeat it.  Wait until we revise the work, improve upon it or offer something new.]

Some of you worry that you’re not able to afford to attend a lot of seminars every year.  Don’t.  It is valuable to attend them when you can, but as long as your education is solid and you read voraciously, you will be better positioned to spend you money in other ways.

More on that in an upcoming installment!

A Blog About Switching To Positive Training Methods

I’d like to let you know about a blog being written by a Click-L_ABAT list member, Melissa Pierson, who is writing a book about “the long & winding path [she] took to get to the positive reinforcement worldview.”  Check it out here:  http://bfskinnersbaby.blogspot.com/

Supportively,  Kellie

95 Year Old College Student

Photo by Kellie Snider, Copyright 2007

My regular readers know that I am in the dreadful red tape throes of completing the Master of Science in Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas. 

And that I turned 50 this year.

Schooling with 23-year-old whiz kids who can smoke pot all weekend, sleep two hours and still comprehend research articles well enough to twist my head in knots during class discussions has been a cruel reminder that I am not a kid any more.  It doesn’t help that their toned abdomens are always exposed.  At least I can rest assured that in a few years they will regret the tattoo.

Nevertheless it’s been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life to return to school, to figure out how to get everything done, to stop watching TV for a few years… that is, until my spouse got me hooked on Lost.  My age-peers sometimes resist the idea, but I urge you to make the chance to go back to school. 

It’s never too late.  Nola Ochs has earned her bachelor’s degree at the age of 95 and is able to tell first hand stories to her class mates about the lessons being taught in class.  She’s even being entered into the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest college graduate on record.  Way to go, Nola!!  

Here’s the piece that appeared in Encarta:  http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Departments/AdultLearning/?article=StillCracking95>1=10092

The photo has nothing to do with the article- I got some awesome pictures of dragonflies mating and laying eggs two days ago.  See the rest of them here: http://www.animalbehavioranswers.com/id159.html

Niche Marketing for Dog Trainers

 

In the last blog I touched on the idea that you’ve got to decide who you’ve got to impress if you want to be a success in the dog training business.  Many dog trainers spend a lot of time trying to impress each other or worrying that other trainers don’t respect them enough when in fact for most trainers other trainers aren’t the ones who will pay you for your expertise.

To begin to position yourself as the Animal Behavior Expert in your community you have to associate your name with some distinct ideas.  Niche marketing focuses on the idea of helping you stand out in the crowd by narrowing your focus.  This gives you the ability to direct your marketing energy to specific people, but it doesn’t prevent word-of-mouth marketing from helping you out.

Depending on where you are you may already have a niche just by identifying yourself with a particular kind of training.  If your community consists mainly of people who train with prong and shock collars, you might position yourself as Terryville’s Clicker Trainer or The Clicker Trainer of Howard County.   But if people are already clicking in your town that could get you off to a bad start with your fellow clickers.  Positioning yourself is not necessarily about elbowing other trainers out.  In fact, in a later blog I’m going to talk about how to turn some of your competition into marketing partners.

In developing a niche you need to know your market, but it does you no good to know your market if it’s a market you can’t stand.  It is essential that you find a niche that makes your heart sing, Wild Thing.  In my life there have been many things that made my heart sing, but that didn’t translate to a business that would keep me singing. 

PERSONAL EXAMPLE:  I love water gardening and briefly considered starting a pond installation business.  It didn’t take me long to figure out that what I love about ponding is watching the fish and the wildlife the pond attracts, to sit with my husband and a glass of wine while dinner cooks on the grill and watch the butterflies flit from stem to bud.  I love puttering in my own pond, but the idea of being forced to dig multiple ponds for other people sounded like a big fat drag. 

So what did I do?  I love writing, so when I heard that a columnist for Water Gardening magazine had left I quickly shot off a letter and was offered the job of columnist.  I happily wrote the humor and slice-of-life column, Knee Deep, in Water Gardening Magazine for 11 years.  My niche in the water gardening market was subscribers of Water Gardening magazine.  I wrote about what I loved best about ponding- the relaxation, flora and fauna.  I was the Knee Deep Columnist. 

What is your unique catch?  Are you the Dog Trainer of Ritzy Heights?  Are you the community activist that trains dogs humanely so that they won’t lose their their homes and who also speaks out against cruelty and abuse? Are you the Singles Dog Trainer who invites single men and women to classes that combine training with flirting?  Are you the Trainer for the Gay Community?  How about focusing on your extended religious community for clients?  By figuring out who you are and who you want to reach you are miles ahead of the game in knowing how to market yourself. 

BEYOND DOGGIE DAYCARE: Pooch Patio in Dallas http://www.thepoochpatio.com/index.php took the fabulous but now nearly ubiquitous doggie daycare concept to the next level by providing a beer, wine, coffee and sandwich bar and comfortable seating for humans in addition to grooming, daycare boarding and a boutique that includes gourmet dog foods.  They also offer party packages for pooches.  Pooch Patio is in a hip urban area making it a desirable way to socialize and include Fido in the outing.

So what’s YOUR handle?  What makes you different from every other trainer, and most importantly who cares about that difference? Do you offer a particular service like TTouch, or do you treat aggression?  Defining who you will be to the pet owning public will put you in a great position to fill your calendar with paying clients.