Center for the interaction of Animals and Society School of Veterinary Medicine,   University of Pennsylvania Dr. James A. Serpell, Director
	Seventh Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Relations with Animals and the Natural W orld NEW DIRECTIONS IN ANIMALS TRAINING, HANDLING & RESTRAINT

New Guidelines for Humane Dog Training

(Abstract)

Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D.

Animal Behavior Associates, Inc., Littleton, CO.

Training dogs is big business. Probably the largest segment of the dog training industry involves training the average family dog to respond to basic commands and be well behaved at home and when accompanying the family on outings. Considering just the numbers of dogs who are taken to obedience classes, it is really quite astonishing that there are no industry-wide standards or guidelines for trainers, no licensure or generally accepted certification programs, and no standardized training programs for people interested in becoming dog trainers. Historically, dog training techniques tended to focus on physical force, physical dominance and aversive procedures. Techniques that have promoted the need for the owner to dominate the dog have served as a rationale for the use of harmful and abusive procedures. The use of food rewards in training has been strongly discouraged or even prohibited.

There is no doubt that dogs have been subjected to cruel practices during training, and some have been injured and even killed. To give a few examples, two puppies in different states have choked to death when trainers put their hands down the puppies' throats to correct them for nipping. In a midwestern state, a dog was blinded from lack of oxygen to the brain when she was "strung up" and "helicoptered" for allegedly trying to bite the trainer. Thus, for many years the field of dog training has relied on aversive methods which are at best unpleasant and at worse cruel and have been known to result in injury. Despite these problems, in one state, the cruelty to animal statutes specifically exempt dog trainers.

It is neither practical nor appropriate to attempt to devise comprehensive, inclusive and exclusive lists of acceptable training procedures. Instead, the Guidelines for Humane Dog Training are criteria that can be used to evaluate common training practices to determine if they represent scientific, practical and humanely ethical training procedures. The Guidelines have been developed by a group of professionals from the fields of applied animal behavior, veterinary behavior, positive reinforcement based dog training, and animal welfare and ethics, and have been subjected to broad peer review.

Suzanne Hetts holds a Ph.D. in animal behavior from Colorado State University and is certified as an applied animal behaviorist. Since 1982, Dr. Hetts has consulted with pet owners, veterinarians, animal care and control professionals and attorneys regarding animal behavior problems, through her private practice, at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at CSU, and at the Denver Dumb Friends League (DDFL), a large, privately funded humane society. In the past, Dr. Hetts has been active in obedience competition, and instructed puppy, beginning and advanced obedience classes for over 10 years. She has been a member of several of Delta Society's task forces involving canine learning and service dog issues and currently serves as a consultant to their SDES program, is an AKC obedience judge emeritus, is the past chair of the Animal Behavior Society's Board of Professional Certification and currently on the Board of Directors of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She is also the Scientific Director of American Humane Association's Humane Dog Training Project. Dr. Hetts co-owns Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. an animal behavior consulting firm. She is a frequent speaker at veterinary medical, national humane and animal control conferences, as well as writing articles for both professional journals and popular magazines. Her book Pet Behavior Protocols: What to Say, What to Do, When to Refer, written for animal shelters, dog trainers and veterinary medical professionals is a practical guide for resolving behavior problems based on animal learning theory and ethology.

[top of page]