Certified In Dog Training? Really?

[Robert Hynes]

When dog trainers make the claim that they are certified in dog training? That's the quadrants of dog training. That's not Skinner... Skinner had nothing to do with dog training or the quadrants. How trainers define Operant Conditioning, Positive Reinforcement and Negative Reinforcement? Totally wrong - they misrepresent these terms for money.

When "dog behaviorists" or "vet behaviorists" claim to be certified "behaviorists"? That is also a lie. All they push is the same old garbage - the quadrants of dog training under Konrad Most.

But they all blame B.F Skinner? This is the lie - this is the scam. I can have the same conversation with any dog trainer, any behaviorist, any vet behaviorist - or any human psychologist - and it will be the same conversation. All about reward and punishment - the quadrants.

Hate to break it to you - none of this is Skinner. These certifications are in Konrad Most and his book training dogs - they are certified in IGP dog training - formerly known as Schutzhund. They are certified in Edward Thorndike's Law Of Effect - AKA Methodological behaviorism.

As a Radical Behaviorist - Skinner would tell you to replace your dog with a human child and ask you what you would do different. You wouldn't shovel food into the face of a scared and sentient child - but you do it to your sentient dog. You wouldn't dare shock or prong a scared child - but you do it to your dog? Make it make sense?

Now - why would Skinner as a Radical Behaviorist tell you to replace your dog with a child? Because he replaced human beings with dogs, pigeons and rats in his lab. And he did experiments on these animals to understand HUMAN BEHAVIOR - we were the target of his research. He understood that the causes of human behavior is no different from the causes of the dogs behavior - but that takes asking the question why. That's a question that never gets asked anymore - why is the dog acting this way? Causality - cause and effect. You are told to focus on the effect - shut down the effect instead of understanding and focusing on the cause - the emotion causing that "fight or flight".

But it's that pesky belief that humans have in Free Will that keeps us from understanding truth. You have no free will when it comes to the way you behave. Your free will is in your mind - and you mind doesn't control your behaviors.

But none of this is convenient to a dog trainers wallet -  there is no money in pushing B.F Skinner. But there is a cash cow in lying about him. And that cash cow is a $100 billion dollar industry folks. It's time to wake up. 

When dog owners learn some basic behavioral psychology 101 - dog trainers won't be needed anymore. You are the only one that can fix your toxic relationship with your dog - and dog trainers don't want you to know that. They want and need you in a toxic relationship - that trauma bonded relationship - that transactional relationship of reward and punishment.

Then all we hear - "Hire a trainer cause you can't do it on your own!". The biggest lie ever told.