At the Dog School, the bone of discord is not buried. As with children, the principles of “good” education raise debates between defenders of a certain firmness and those who think that only a “positive” approach is permitted. And a lot of questions from owners who are often lost in the jungle of proposals and promises from dog trainers that are sold on the networks.
“For a long time, the principles of dog training – we were not yet talking about education – were based on the idea that man had to impose himself as quickly as possible on his animal, to dominate it, so that it would obey him. by fear », summarizes Christophe Blanchard, dog handler and sociologist, specialist in animal mediation at Sorbonne-Paris-Nord University. Trowels, spiked collars or chokers were used to tame or punish the disobedient animal.
Over the past ten years, going against these coercive methods, so-called “positive” education, focused on encouraging and rewarding good behavior while ignoring or redirecting bad behavior, has begun to impose itself. “By studying dog training manuals over seventy years, we are struck by the analogy with human education, continues the researcher. In the 1950s, we were still talking about child training. »
If no one openly defends violent methods anymore, the debate remains lively and often caricatured between supporters of the two approaches. The “positives” accuse the “traditional” ones of mistreatment, who relay the “permissiveness” of the “ultra-benevolent”. “You have to show a lot of humility and nuance when it comes to dogsrecalls Christophe Blanchard. However, the education of canines has become a lucrative market for evangelists of all stripes who will sell their “turnkey” method to overwhelmed or ignorant owners, looking for solutions. »
Skills that are difficult to verify
Shocking videos, pack formulas, “10 day” challenge… Just type on the Internet “how to train your dog?” » to realize the extent of free and paid content offered by dog trainers or behaviorists, whose skills are difficult to verify. The training requirements for this profession remain light. There is indeed a diploma recognized by the State, the professional dog trainer certificate, but it is not essential to practice. Only the Acaced (certificate of knowledge for pets of domestic species), obtained after three days of training, is compulsory.
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