I follow what’s going on in the world of positive dog training, though as more and more trainers adopt these methods, I sure can’t keep track of it all. But I was pleased to come across this article by trainer Gail Fisher, author of  The Thinking Dog: Crossover to Clicker Training.

Positive dog training might not be dramatic enough for TV, but it is effective

“And, more important, it’s not good, positive dog training. A participant asked why there are no TV shows demonstrating ‘good dog training.’ The fact is, good, positive dog training is not dramatic. Watching a dog learning how to do something right, as opposed to being punished and corrected for doing something wrong, is simply not as interesting…”

[She describes a clicker training demonstration.} “We loved it, but also recognized that to the average TV watcher, it would be like watching paint dry. It was not dramatic. Thor didn’t bite Mark. He didn’t growl or lunge or destroy anything. He didn’t display any dramatic, terrible behavior, but he learned a new behavior in a matter of minutes, and his mind was engaged.”

http://www.newhampshire.com/article/20120513/NEWHAMPSHIRE02/705139933/-1/newhampshire

This seems to be one of a series of articles that Gail Fisher does for her local newspaper.  Her book discusses something very interesting, which is how dogs who have been trained with traditional methods make the change to positive methods. They are often called crossover dogs. Check the book out here… I love the cover