Dog Health Questions: Do you like Ed Frawley's training methods?

For those of you who don't him here's a link

http://leerburg.com/dogtrainingebooks.ht…

Look at Ed Frawleys Philosophy on Dog Training

Personally all the dogs I've trained were by his ways and I've had excellent results and I love him. His training methods that is. I was just wondering what othes thought of him.

So You Want A Career In Dog Training

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Like a lot of trainers and training methods, I feel he's got things to offer that are "of value", and things I'd personally prefer to stay away from.

His techniques aren't suitable for all breeds, or all dogs for that matter, but for higher-drive working breeds like his GSD's and Malinois, I think he's got the right basic approach. His methods applied to my breed (Basenjis) or any sighthound, would be a disaster....they simply SHUT DOWN when you apply even a small degree of force or discipline.

He seems to think "purely positive" clicker and treat methods are "ineffective" and people only use them because they think it's "politcally correct".....yet Basenjis and sighthounds aren't at all motivated by a desire to work with people. I use treats and clickers because it WORKS for my Basenjis, not because I think other methods are "un-PC". I used a prong collar and many methods similar to Frawley's when I trained my late Boxer in Obedience and they worked WONDERS.....for her!

I disagree with his blanket statements in that regard...there is no "black and white" when it comes to a ONE BEST training method for all dogs. I think it's good for anyone who trains, to be knowledgeable about many different methods....not everything works for every dog!

I know that there is some debate in the "working dog world" regarding his advanced training methods for Schutzhund, Ring, etc. I have no real personal experience in this arena (just some research and a lot of hope that one day I'll be in a position to train my own dog in SchH :). So I don't know who's right and who's wrong....but I do know a lot of people disagree with Ed's methods and just plain DON'T LIKE HIM....lol.

I got curious one day because he does say a lot of things on his site that'd raise the hackles of some folks, so I did a web search to see if he had any "detractors" so to speak...he does! A whole website devoted to it, actually.....it didn't change my opinion of him much (I didn't really have a strong one to begin with), but it did make for some interesting reading, and gave me a little perspective:

http://www.sl-prokeys.com/wffcw/indexmen…

Small Dog Training - Obstacles You Need to Know About

• Mr. Frawley is a yank-n-crank trainer who cannot keep his stories straight. I've spoken with him via email because of my male's issues and the only thing he could come up with was either pay 500$ to send him up there for training or euthanize him. Meeting aggression with aggression escalates the aggression. This is bad, a dog is naturally armed whereas a human isn't. There are several petitions going around to get him charged with animal cruelty because of his 'training methods' and BTW, most of the supposed letters on his site are fake. He does it for publicity and to draw a gathering. I own his 'training' videos since a friend donated them to me and you can tell they are out dated. They also are very contradictory.
  
  I found a better way and the dog I was told to 'euthanize because he's in desperate need of being dominated or risk him killing someone' is no longer even close to being as reactive or aggressive. I prefer my dogs to show me 'submission' by their own choice than force them into a submissive role and risk them turning on me. Cooperation is much better than coercion. You should try it sometime.


• I have known Ed for about 20 years..he is really good at what he does and I agree with the vast majority of what he says and does. Do I agree with everything he says...no, I do not, but, over all I think Ed is one of the most knowledgeable people out there with a lot of great ideas to offer to anyone that is willing to listen!!


• I really like most of his methods. If it "ain't broke, don't fix it". You have had dogs that were obviously good candidates for his methods and it works for you. I have one GSD that would probably die if I tried his methods right now. He is a rescue and had never been on a leash, so I am making baby steps. Most of his methodology are things that I have used in the past with other dogs, mostly GSDs.


• My philosophy has always been to, "take what works for you" and file the rest away for another day. Even bad advice is good to be aware of. I never stick to one person's method. After all, "it's their method", and I'm not them. I recommend reading up on and trying out from many different "methods" to give you a feel for what works for you and thus, the dog.
  
  Dogs are not cookies to be cut the same way every time, and I've not met one dog who's read any books on how they should be trained.


• Not any more enamored by his methods than that dog whisperer guy - he is selling a product (actually lots of them) and the bottom line is the bottom line.


• Very interesting you asked this...I was just moments ago reading some of his articles.
  
  I'm still up in the air on my opinion. I like a lot of what I was reading, but there were several things I ran across that I can't see myself doing (ie...slamming my dog into the wall with my knee if he attempts to race past me down the stairs.) He does have a lot of good information though; I was just reading up on pack dynamics and dealing with dominant dogs.


• What people have to remember is that no one method is perfect for every dog. Out of my 5 dogs only 2 ever require the Leerburg type training and they are my more dominant, stubborn dogs, the other 3 rarely need anything more than a stern "NO" and doing what Ed Frawley suggests with those 3 dogs would likely scare them to death! That doesn't mean his methods don't have merit, just that it's not right for every dog or every person for that matter. Not every person is capable of training an aggressive dog the way he suggests.
  I agree with a lot of what he says and I think with the right dog and the right person his methods are 100% effective, with the wrong person that is not capable of doing it correctly or with the wrong dog, they could be a disaster.