If you have ever talked to me about dogs you know that I am a firm believer in non aversive and reward based training. The methods that we suggest always start with teaching the dog what we want it to do, rather than punishing it for something we want it to stop.
I am excited to be on the forefront of dog trainers’ education on a national level. I started 2015 as an incoming member of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Professional Dog Trainer (APDT). APDT’s Core Purpose is “To advance excellence in the profession of dog training and behavior consulting.” Of course anything I can do to help share that is part of our mission at “I Said Sit!” too.
Right off, I was able to participate in a collaboration of a joint position statement in the Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive (LIMA) training protocol. LIMA says a lot of things about how to choose methods and a frame of reference on how to start to train a dog. Right from the start, LIMA asks you to decide, “Is what I’m doing in the best interest of the animal?” You can access the whole LIMA document here.
