Hey, y'all,
There was a professional dog trainer in Hollywood named William Kohler
who wrote several dog training books. He wrote one,
The Kohler Method of Dog Training, wherein he strongly disagrees with
the people who believe that positive reinforcement alone will solve
all dog misbehaviors, and outlines his own training program, which, he
said, would in itself end most doggie misbehavior, and the back of the
book is taken up with how to correct REALLy tough problems likely to
result in a dead dog, like car chasing, biting people, attacking
livestock, revenge piddling and so on. I used his approach myself, on
several different dogs I owned over a long period, and it WORKED, on
every level. The dogs stopped misbehaving, and were transformed into
calm, happy guys who were a joy to take anywhere, because I could
control them just by voice.
Dogs are confused and miserable when they are treated as if they were
the owners' best/only friends ,or spoiled children,and are robbed of
their dignity and denied the right to be DOGS. They need a leader to
follow, not a patsy who coos baby talk and showers them with treats
and pushes then in a stroller or carries them everywhere, and they
CERTAINLY don't need jewelry,nail polish, hair ribbons, booties or
clothing! They need to be corrected when they're bad, and shown
affection and kindness when they are behaving.
Thus saith Cindy. I await your kind response.

In article
,
" wrote:


There was a professional dog trainer in Hollywood named William Kohler
who wrote several dog training books.

No. William KOEHLER was a dog trainer. Kohler makes toilets.

He wrote one,
The Kohler Method of Dog Training, wherein he strongly disagrees with
the people who believe that positive reinforcement alone will solve
all dog misbehaviors, and outlines his own training program, which, he
said, would in itself end most doggie misbehavior, and the back of the
book is taken up with how to correct REALLy tough problems likely to
result in a dead dog, like car chasing, biting people, attacking
livestock, revenge piddling and so on. I used his approach myself, on
several different dogs I owned over a long period, and it WORKED, on
every level. The dogs stopped misbehaving, and were transformed into
calm, happy guys who were a joy to take anywhere, because I could
control them just by voice.

Agreed. Many people only focus on the really tough problem section
though, and I disagree with much of what is written there, but for many
people the only other answer is euthanasia, which is not ideal either.
Commitment to a program is the biggest problem dog owners have though,
and I don't think that extreme measures are usually warranted.

Dogs are confused and miserable when they are treated as if they were
the owners' best/only friends ,or spoiled children,and are robbed of
their dignity and denied the right to be DOGS. They need a leader to
follow, not a patsy who coos baby talk and showers them with treats
and pushes then in a stroller or carries them everywhere, and they
CERTAINLY don't need jewelry,nail polish, hair ribbons, booties or
clothing!

I'll disagree on the booties or clothing, For some dogs, in some
environments, booties and clothing can be important protection. Hair
ribbons? Just fancier ways than a plain old clip or rubber band to keep
hair out of the face for some breeds. Pretty harmless.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

wrote in message
...
Hey, y'all,
There was a professional dog trainer in Hollywood named William Kohler

Not quite. His name was Koehler. And WAS is the operative term; the book
you reference is 45 years old.

and the back of the
book is taken up with how to correct REALLy tough problems likely to
result in a dead dog, like car chasing, biting people, attacking
livestock, revenge piddling and so on.

Ah, yes. The part where he tells people to do things like hold their dogs'
heads under water, and beat them with leather belts.

As a side note, I do not believe that "revenge piddling" is something that
dogs do.


. The dogs stopped misbehaving, and were transformed into
calm, happy guys who were a joy to take anywhere, because I could
control them just by voice.

I have dogs like that, too - dogs who were adopted from shelters, after
being discarded by their first owners for behavioural problems, and whom I
not only rehabbed into good everyday canine citizens, but have taken to
high-level titles in agility.
And it was done primarily with positive reinforcement, not by old-fashioned
harsh "dominance"-based training; in fact, the majority of it was done
off-leash.
Using positive reinforcement does NOT equate to lack of control or respect
from dogs, or lack of calm authority on the part of the handler.

They need to be corrected when they're bad,

Dogs need to be told when behaviour is unwanted or unacceptable, yes. But
that doesn't equate to dogs being deliberately "bad", and "correction"
doesn't have to be force based, or even physical. I am not opposed to
physical correction, but it should not be one's primary means of
communication.
And dogs EQUALLY need to be guided to the wanted behaviour, and reinforced
for it.

Trying to train a dog - or teach any individual of any species - is more
effective when balanced methods are used, rather than relying on primarily
negative communication. Most effective modern trainers work at about 80-90%
reward, 20-10% correction. And again, "correction" does not have to equate
to collar pops, beating with belts, etc - it can be as low key as the
trainer saying "Anh" quietly, followed by praise when the dog changes or
stops the unwanted action.

and shown affection and kindness when they are behaving.

Dogs should be shown affection and kindness at all times. And they will
never learn to "behave" if all you do is "correct" them when they're "being
bad".

Koehler was right about dogs needing consistency and leadership, but his
methods as outlined in the book you reference are outdated, unbalanced, and
sometimes cases criminally abusive. He's still worth reading, but I would
never recommend his book as a primary reference for how to train a dog, and
nor without strong warnings.

"sionnach" spoke these words of wisdom in
:


wrote in message
...
Hey, y'all,
There was a professional dog trainer in Hollywood named William Kohler

Not quite. His name was Koehler. And WAS is the operative term; the
book
you reference is 45 years old.
Yes and Koehler is now with the dear departed.

and the back of the
book is taken up with how to correct REALLy tough problems likely to
result in a dead dog, like car chasing, biting people, attacking
livestock, revenge piddling and so on.

Ah, yes. The part where he tells people to do things like hold their
dogs'
heads under water, and beat them with leather belts.

As a side note, I do not believe that "revenge piddling" is something
that dogs do.

Koehler also trained dogs for the military. He had great dog insight. I
don't agree with all the methods, but if I had a really tough nut to crack
where nothing else worked, I'd give them a try. But really, if a dog is
that difficult, I'd probably save a dog from the pound instead that was
actually a more rehomable dog.


Koehler was right about dogs needing consistency and leadership, but
his
methods as outlined in the book you reference are outdated, unbalanced,
and sometimes cases criminally abusive. He's still worth reading, but I
would never recommend his book as a primary reference for how to train a
dog, and nor without strong warnings.

Exactly
If a dog was that bad a case, the person needs to be contacting a
professional trainer. I do think it's a must read for professional trainers
who are interested in theory.

In article ,
"sionnach" wrote:


Dogs need to be told when behaviour is unwanted or unacceptable, yes. But
that doesn't equate to dogs being deliberately "bad", and "correction"
doesn't have to be force based, or even physical. I am not opposed to
physical correction, but it should not be one's primary means of
communication.

How true.

Something that REALLY bugs me is when people say "s/he's bad",
especially with a new puppy. How does a puppy (any more than a baby)
KNOW what IS bad? They have to try things, learn from them, be
instructed (or corrected, but again, as you say, just a "sorry - bad
choice").

Even with an adult dog, when presented with a new situation, how do they
know good from bad except as we guide and instruct them?

Yes, gearing up for the annoying relatives saying stupid things........
although Marcie is quite an angel (did I mention that I got my nose
bitten this morning?).

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Janet Boss spoke these words of wisdom in
:


Yes, gearing up for the annoying relatives saying stupid things........
although Marcie is quite an angel (did I mention that I got my nose
bitten this morning?).

--

A puppy bite! She kissed you!
Now she can join the ranks of Mr Snappy-grabby

In article , diddy none
wrote:



A puppy bite! She kissed you!
Now she can join the ranks of Mr Snappy-grabby

It's a nice little gash. We've been trying to get her in the mode of
"go out and pee and poop and then come back and hang out in bed until we
want to get up and feed you". Only Marcie's early morning version of
hanging out is romping from one end of the bed to the other. Grab at
Rudy, grab at OOPSSSS! Mom screamed! Better not try that again. Well,
at last mom's up but she's going for a bandaid!

She was known as "the shark" at the breeder's, and she's actual done
very well here, but I think I can forgive an 11 week old forgetting
herself in the excitement of the morning!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

She was known as "the shark" at the breeder's, and she's actual done
very well here, but I think I can forgive an 11 week old forgetting
herself in the excitement of the morning!


I think you can forgive her!

"diddy" wrote:


Koehler also trained dogs for the military.

And as I understand it, at that time the policy was to look on military
dogs as expendable equipment; if it "broke" while being "manufactured', oh
well. Such "equipment" was also considered "surplus"after use, and abandoned
or destroyed; the U.S. military's record on combat dogs is shameful.
I don't know if that policy has changed or not, but it was in place through
the Vietnam war.

He had great dog insight. I
don't agree with all the methods, but if I had a really tough nut to crack
where nothing else worked, I'd give them a try.

The thing about his methods is that even if they work, what's the cost?
What kind of relationship can exist where, for example, the owner has
hidden, waited for the dog to make noise, and then burst in and beaten the
dog with a leather strap until it's sure it's going to die, as Koehler
instructs?

Yeah, you might cure the barking... but you're also highly likely to end up
with a mentally and emotionally damaged dog, who will develop OTHER
behavioural issues as a result of Koehler's "cure".



Exactly
If a dog was that bad a case, the person needs to be contacting a
professional trainer.

Yeah, well, Koehler WAS a professional trainer. :-P

do think it's a must read for professional trainers
who are interested in theory.

I agree - as long as it's done in the same way that a medical student might
read about Civil War era surgery without anesthetic.

"Janet Boss" wrote:

Marcie's early morning version of
hanging out is romping from one end of the bed to the other. Grab at
Rudy, grab at OOPSSSS! Mom screamed! Better not try that again.

Ooops indeed - and OUCH! Nothing like needly puppy teeth.