100%. I spent 8 years in a municipal shelter. Fellow volunteers attacked me for giving corrections. One fellow volunteer so overused treats thinking it would stop one of the dogs from barking and biting at the kennel gate that all his teeth became broken or worn down. Needless to say, the others were not professional trainers.
My local shelter states they support "positive only" dog trainers ...One day, I, out of curiosity, asked one volunteer trainer /who also works as an Animal Control Officer, how he was able to successfully train so many surrendered unruly German Shepherd dogs by using only harnesses, "positive only" method, thus ... NO corrections). He said -- when the facility closed ...away from the public eye... AT NIGHT --- he'd train the "hard" breed dogs using "balanced training" methods, which required prong collars ( or martingale collars ) -- He corrected these dogs for the wrong behavior, taught them the correct behavior AND rewarded them when they performed the correct behavior. Due to the image of this shelter, they are reluctant to publicly support trainers who "correct" dogs for fear it loses public donations and sponsors. Robert Cabral, as always, 100 percent correct! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
That's some serious dedication, giving up evenings at home in order to hopefully secure a better future for those dogs. That's so great, much respect...
Martingale collars are not necessarily prong collars. I use non-buckle, non-prong martingales on most of my dogs in public and they are the collar I recommend to owners to keep their dog safe. I've seen way too many dogs back out of harnesses and standard collars.
@@merholland8707 Hey man, thats why he said prong collars OR martingale collars. Anyone with good vision can see that a prong collar and martingale are 2 different tools.
A shelter where I volunteered hired a trainer to give classes to newly adopted dogs and their people. If the class hadn’t filled up, a volunteer could join in and work with a current shelter dog. That was my favorite part of being at that shelter. A group working with the shelter footed the trainer’s bill.
I run a non-profit two person dog rescue out here in California. I would love to take your shelter dog training class but it's honestly far outside of our budget. But I agree, purely positive is so detrimental to these dogs. Personally my approach to the majority of dog training is the old farmer/rancher way of bringing up dogs. Correct it when it does something it shouldn't, praise it when it's making good decisions, let it make decisions and hold it accountable for the decisions it makes and get the dog out into the world with you. Be a positive influence for the dog, but be fair with the corrections and create rules and boundaries. I know that's not applicable to quite a few cases out there, and those are always an opportunity for me to learn how I need to do things differently for that specific dog. Thanks for your content.
I totally get running a nonprofit on a tight budget. I highly respect Robert as a person with integrity & tons of wisdom & experience as one of the best dog trainers. I highly recommend investing the $20/month to become a member where there is lots of great videos to help rehab your rescues & train them to be great companion dogs. We have a special program that we’re working on for Rescues/Shelters and we’re located in So Cal. Working together we change a broken system & truly save dogs.
@@StarkK9Academy The most demoralizing thing I've come to realize about the dog rescue world is how broken it is. From the PP nonsense to the multi billion dollar companies who tout their support for rescues and shelters, which they only give to quota based shelters that model their adoption processes around putting as many dogs into homes as possible without regard for the quality of life for the dog, with the mindset that "if 1000 dogs are put into homes, and 100 of them stay in those homes and live out their lives safe, happy, and healthy. Then that's better than the alternative.". We're up in north cali, this year we took in 65 dogs, did 56 adoptions, and helped 208 families to not surrender, rehome, or dump their dogs. I know those aren't impressive numbers, but with two of us it's a lot. I'll definitely look into the monthly subscription thank you.
You could utilize Affirm or Klarna to break it into monthly payments. I know Affirm offers the option to use their payment method on any payment portal with their virtual card method. They don't charge crazy interest fees. The monthly membership he is offering is also valuable, but Affirm and Klarna are options I have utilized before with larger purchases.
TYSM Robert for addressing my question and as a person who has helped raised both kids & K9’s the purely positive & passive parenting approaches more often than not lead to detrimental results. I am in agreement the individualized balanced approach is best. When you said that we need to join forces as dog trainers, dog owners, and we could add (Shelters/Rescues) this is something I am strongly passionate about as well and would love the opportunity to talk with you and your awesome wife Janet on creating steps to reach this shared goal & how we can create strong strives in 2025 to change a broken system that is often counterproductive to Saving Dogs.
@ she was set upon by a dog she was walking, a simple thing like taking her sweatshirt off, set him off. She was close enough to the shelter, someone heard her yelling for help. The response from the person running the shelter……didn’t you take treats? 😬 Apparently the dog was rated a ‘2’ on a 1,2,3 scale….whatever that meant 🤷♀️
@ your sister’s safety & the safety of other workers, and future dog owners is an important reason we need to network together in order to change the laws. Great shelters will only have their experienced staff members handle the severe cases. However, great shelters are 🦄 these days due to extreme over population business cut back on adequate staff and training for staff. Your sister can advocate for herself and say she hasn’t received the necessary training to deal with the severe cases. Again, great shelters will almost always have male staff members deal with the severe cases cuz pound for pound dog muscle/weight is at least 2X if not more the strength of a human’s. If your sis likes working with dogs, a vet assistant is a safer choice if the vet cares about his/her staff to take precautionary measures.
Agreed! If a rescue hires a dog trainer, it is often a R+ only perso that gets them for thousands of dollars to "train" one dog and then throws his/her hands in the air saying the dog needs behavioral meds. When the crisis at Los Angeles Animal Services was starting a couple of years back, I suggested they'd train dogs to crate, walk on a loose leash, and to muzzle. Three basic simple things to increase their chances of getting adopted and staying in the new home instead of being returned to the shelter. I also suggested Los Angeles Animal Services bring you, Robert Cabral, in as a consultant. They never followed up on any of it. The people running LAAS are also, for the most part, bureaucrats with no actual experience with animals. The last GM bailed, the new interim GM is the old interim, AKA the same person that got LAAS in the predicament it is in, in the first place 🙃
@StarkK9Academy I mean, that would be great. Provided the changes in laws would go in ways that truly make sense AND be properly implemented. LAAS was recently fined over 1/2 a million $ for OSHA violations pursuant the Leslie Corea mauling. There's also going to be a huge payment (this one will likely be multiple millions) LA City is going to make to Leslie Corea. There have been and will be more settlements for employees/volunteers hurt because of poor management/choices. That's human suffering that could be spared and money that could go to the animals instead. However, so much of what is wrong with LAAS is systemic, as well as mentalities of people in it. Then the people who truly help get hurt. The "LA City employee mindset" (and it is a thing) is at one of its most dangerous applications in Animal Services. So, yeah. It'd be great if there were the correct changes to the laws AND if they were properly implemented. Are such changes and implementations going to happen? Not likely.
@ I also live in Cali, so I totally understand where you’re coming from when you refer to the “LA Mindset”. If We the Dog People of America come together and “Fight Fight Fight like hell” we can first change the law & hold those accountable to implement the law to save the lives of humans & K9s. I am with millions being wasted that could have been used to educate & train employees, new dog owners & dogs.
It really depends on how much the donors care about the methods. Ive been a trainer and behavior manager at a municipal shelter and a private very well funded rescue, both were run by people with a lot of horse experience, one had show dog experience, much more old school and realistic in terms of behavior and training. I was given a LOT of freedom at those jobs. One was rural low country SC, the other was in the capital city of SC.
@StarkK9Academy Definitely not the majority and most of the trainers affiliated with shelters are probably volunteers. More opportunities for actual employment or contractual work near cities, Id assume. But I definitely think we're given more freedom on what sort of training we want to do with the shelter dogs depending on what area of the country we're in. And again, it's the donors who have the last say. If the shelter doesn't manage how they want, no more funding beyond what the city allows them every year.
@@Jaeghound yes I agree with you that different parts of the country have different views on dog training methods similar to views on effective vs detrimental political ideologies/policies. 😉
Watching the video I couldn't help but think, "Now, Robert Cabral, do children." So much common sense on this channel: ample rewards/affection and the fair, judicious use of correction work for dogs and children.
Actually back in the 80’s there was research on three different parenting styles/approaches: Passive Parenting analogous to Positive Only. Authoritative Parenting, the Balanced Approach. Authoritarian Parenting analogous to Yank & Crank. Take a guess on which approach yielded the worst results.
@ You guessed correctly. No correction parenting/training is worse than a harsh one. Those who were raised with passive parenting had unrealistic expectations/ideologies which led to problems with interpersonal relationships and workplace relationships.
I agree 💯percent I was a rescue for years and the dogs would benefit greatly from it.Rescue usually a small one can not afford to train every dog due to lack of funds.
Unfortunately Rescues & Shelters don’t put it in their budget to get training for themselves which is an essential investment, because the owner can then train the foster parents.
The ”purely positive” sales pitch is rife here in the UK, even amongst those who purport to be trainers of the rescued protection breeds that they own. Then, when those same “trainers” cease to be able to train their protection breeds using their Zak George-approved methods, they hire a balanced trainer to do the necessary, before announcing, “look at my well-behaved dog”…. If only irony, humility and critical thinking were examinable at high school. As the owner of three Dobermanns, they readily communicate their feelings & needs and so there is little excuse to misunderstand.
The same type of folks that have been ruining everything else the past few years, are the same ones that are running these shelters. Its shameful and disgusting behavior.
Those who live in Fantasy Land vs those with Common or Uncommon Sense. 😉 I think those with Common Sense will win in the long run and maybe the new presidential administration is a sign that if those of us will network & enjoy forces. We can change things for the better.
You work with problematic dogs, you need to have yourself well insured as dog trainer. Nobody pays for your insurance, why would you risk your own life doing that risky volunteer, especially it's written on paperwork that the shelters are only R+. So if you take the risk, even paying for your own insurance, you can get denied when you need that insurance because shelter likely snitched on you to the insurance to save their image. To summarize, the ones who focus on money and image are shelters. Your kindness can be exploited to ruin your own life. That's why any competent ethical trainers would distance themselves from shelter volunteer work, unless shelters specifically "hire" to make it clear in writing for legal purpose.
Zero point in volunteering at a place that ABUSES dogs with castration. The dogs will not be very trainable. Dogs abused with castration won't respond well to any form of training because they are suffering from hormonal issues and simply will never be healthy.
@@WVDB7153 I can understand some countries with smaller population may find it difficult. However, the issue goes deeper. Even big counties with plenty of eye opening funding and donation, they (the higher management) still mess up. So much funding spent toward anxiety meds and in shelter injuries due to fighting, biting, digging into the fences!!! So this shelter system only creates more unadoptable dogs because the +R cult can't fix even minor behavioral problem, that can normally be fixed in one session. So these dogs with minor issues are stuck in the shelter along side dogs with serious problem, only means that the former also get bad by learning from the latter! Meds for most case only temporarily suppressed the misbehaviors. However, it also hinder dogs ability to engage in training too. Bad training + drug effect hinderance + no kill ideology = "jailed" forever. Expelling the ideology cult in shelter system, so much money can be saved and used toward hiring good trainers. Each shelter doesn't require to hire many trainers. A good training program means that volunteers and fosters can maintain the training for dogs all while helping making more dogs adoptable.
The Pollyanna methods of animal ownership are creating a lot of problems. I have a house full of what I call "boomerang" dogs and bite dogs (only one of which was actually aggressive) And all those pollyanna animal rescue videos where they ascribe human reactions and emotions are adding to the problem. I'm sure they are income producing, but they're nails on a chalkboard to me.
the issue with shelters is that they will never be able to allow a dog to fufill its needs because they dont have the tools to do so. you can teach a border collie how to sit still all day but that dog still has herding hardwired into its DNA and needs to let that out and most shelters dont have sheep or even a lure for them to herd. all of the training in the world wont stop it from herding because thats what they were born to do and need to let it out. i think a lot of shelter dogs suffer from having too much drive and nowhere to release it in a constructive way and get stuck in a vicious loop of being too much dog to handle.
Shelters and "rescues" are in the business of moving dogs down a pipeline and/or making money... RESCUE MILLS will always put making money as the highest priority. Also... basically regardless of what sort of training you do, a dog that has been ABUSED with castration will not respond well to training. Sure... Robert shares the myth that dog training works for resuce dogs but frankly he would never have a dog of his own that has been ABUSED with castration and in his heart he knows that dog training is not as effective for dogs that are abused with castration. Until shelters and rescues stop ABUSING dogs with casteration, there is no point in even attempting training.
I "share the myth??" You have no idea what I think. I've trained countless dogs that were neutered, and owned two as well. Janet had two, so that makes 4. I have no idea of your expertise in dog training, but guessing by your uneducated stab at my position, I wonder. Shelters are not in the business of making money. So basically everything you wrote is a load of garbage...
I have owned & trained both rescued & “purebreds” over 30+ years and while pediatric castration can cause both physical & psychological issues in a dog it does not make every dog untrainable. Your anger with “ Rescue Mills” is being displaced onto Robert via your assumption that he has not owned “a castrated dog”. Rescue Mills do exist, they are the new Backyard Breeder who goes to shelters adopts a litter or group of adorable pups and sells them 3-10x what the shelter charges.
Not spaying and neutering is simply not an option in many areas, like mine. And it is largely not an option for dogs within the shelters and rescues, and humans are completely to blame. If you would like to debate the moral ethics of expecting people in these places to responsibly manage their dogs, I would invite you to go out with your humane society on a homeless camp animal seizure sometime and witness what happens to those unwanted puppies, puppies often used only for panhandling purposes. Also as far as "rescues" moving dogs for a profit, I can only speak from my own experience as a rescue worker. Every dog I adopt out has at least $500 into it's medical alone. My adoption fee was recent upped to $200 from $100 just to help alleviate the burden of cost, and because I do a lot of work in regards to manners, socialization, and obedience with dogs in my care. I work 4AM to 10PM 7 days a week, with no pay. FYI my personal dog was from a litter I helped seize from a large homeless camp. I have trained him for HDR and area live find, one of his siblings is also being used as a SAR live find dog. I rescued a 10 week old dutch shepherd what was being beaten in front of a store in town, that dog is now serving as a registered service animal for a disabled veteran. All were altered at young ages. I suggest you go and do something useful in life that will allow you to adjust your perspective.
@@saveadog64 What is the name of your Rescue & where are you located? When I meet ppl who want to rescue a dog I recommend going to an Ethical Rescue vs. a local shelter. Unfortunately “Rescue Mills do exist, they are the new Backyard Breeder who goes to shelters adopts a litter or group of adorable pups and sells them 3-10x what the shelter charges. I have witnessed it first had an awesome adorable dog comes in a shelter, the dog/puppy is not even featured on the shelter’s website, becomes available at 10am and if there is no other person who wants the dog the Fake Rescuer gets the dog/s, if there is more than one person that wants the same dog, than ppl are given raffle tickets, Fake Rescuers usually have their accomplices with them to get extra tickets, other shelters operate on first come basis and Fake Rescuers are there waiting before the shelter opens, other cases shelters have gotten in trouble due to reserving awesome dogs for Fake Rescues, and these dogs are not available to the general public. I have seen the paperwork on the dog’s kennel have Reserved for a specific Fake Rescue. I recommend that you keep increasing your adoption fee to include the $500 medical investment & basic obedience training. I like that your Rescue gives the dogs basic training & in some cases speciality training, this sets you apart from other Rescues.
@StarkK9Academy Camp Barry, crescent city. I've seen similar situations with pet stores that get designer small breeds from the Midwest (usually Amish) pipelines. I might have misunderstood the original poster's differentiation between rescues, shelters, and mills. It would be super convenient to increase adoption prices, but ultimately, our adoption pool here isn't very great. We're a prison town with a high cost of living, low income, and a massively increasing homeless population. We vet all of our adopters and do home checks before finalizing adoptions.
100%. I spent 8 years in a municipal shelter. Fellow volunteers attacked me for giving corrections. One fellow volunteer so overused treats thinking it would stop one of the dogs from barking and biting at the kennel gate that all his teeth became broken or worn down. Needless to say, the others were not professional trainers.
"Purely positive cult mindset" really does hit the nail on the head, doesn't it?
My local shelter states they support "positive only" dog trainers ...One day, I, out of curiosity, asked one volunteer trainer /who also works as an Animal Control Officer, how he was able to successfully train so many surrendered unruly German Shepherd dogs by using only harnesses, "positive only" method, thus ... NO corrections). He said -- when the facility closed ...away from the public eye... AT NIGHT --- he'd train the "hard" breed dogs using "balanced training" methods, which required prong collars ( or martingale collars ) -- He corrected these dogs for the wrong behavior, taught them the correct behavior AND rewarded them when they performed the correct behavior. Due to the image of this shelter, they are reluctant to publicly support trainers who "correct" dogs for fear it loses public donations and sponsors. Robert Cabral, as always, 100 percent correct! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
that is one GOOD GUY!!!
That's some serious dedication, giving up evenings at home in order to hopefully secure a better future for those dogs. That's so great, much respect...
@@jennifereason1884agreed & putting his current job & Rep at risk if getting caught.
Martingale collars are not necessarily prong collars. I use non-buckle, non-prong martingales on most of my dogs in public and they are the collar I recommend to owners to keep their dog safe.
I've seen way too many dogs back out of harnesses and standard collars.
@@merholland8707 Hey man, thats why he said prong collars OR martingale collars. Anyone with good vision can see that a prong collar and martingale are 2 different tools.
A shelter where I volunteered hired a trainer to give classes to newly adopted dogs and their people. If the class hadn’t filled up, a volunteer could join in and work with a current shelter dog. That was my favorite part of being at that shelter. A group working with the shelter footed the trainer’s bill.
I am working on setting up a similar program with a local shelter. What is the name of the shelter you volunteer at?
I run a non-profit two person dog rescue out here in California. I would love to take your shelter dog training class but it's honestly far outside of our budget. But I agree, purely positive is so detrimental to these dogs. Personally my approach to the majority of dog training is the old farmer/rancher way of bringing up dogs. Correct it when it does something it shouldn't, praise it when it's making good decisions, let it make decisions and hold it accountable for the decisions it makes and get the dog out into the world with you. Be a positive influence for the dog, but be fair with the corrections and create rules and boundaries. I know that's not applicable to quite a few cases out there, and those are always an opportunity for me to learn how I need to do things differently for that specific dog.
Thanks for your content.
I totally get running a nonprofit on a tight budget. I highly respect Robert as a person with integrity & tons of wisdom & experience as one of the best dog trainers. I highly recommend investing the $20/month to become a member where there is lots of great videos to help rehab your rescues & train them to be great companion dogs. We have a special program that we’re working on for Rescues/Shelters and we’re located in So Cal. Working together we change a broken system & truly save dogs.
@@StarkK9Academy The most demoralizing thing I've come to realize about the dog rescue world is how broken it is. From the PP nonsense to the multi billion dollar companies who tout their support for rescues and shelters, which they only give to quota based shelters that model their adoption processes around putting as many dogs into homes as possible without regard for the quality of life for the dog, with the mindset that "if 1000 dogs are put into homes, and 100 of them stay in those homes and live out their lives safe, happy, and healthy. Then that's better than the alternative.". We're up in north cali, this year we took in 65 dogs, did 56 adoptions, and helped 208 families to not surrender, rehome, or dump their dogs. I know those aren't impressive numbers, but with two of us it's a lot.
I'll definitely look into the monthly subscription thank you.
You could utilize Affirm or Klarna to break it into monthly payments. I know Affirm offers the option to use their payment method on any payment portal with their virtual card method. They don't charge crazy interest fees. The monthly membership he is offering is also valuable, but Affirm and Klarna are options I have utilized before with larger purchases.
Thank you for sharing this! Most ppl have NO knowledge of this!
TYSM Robert for addressing my question and as a person who has helped raised both kids & K9’s the purely positive & passive parenting approaches more often than not lead to detrimental results. I am in agreement the individualized balanced approach is best.
When you said that we need to join forces as dog trainers, dog owners, and we could add (Shelters/Rescues) this is something I am strongly passionate about as well and would love the opportunity to talk with you and your awesome wife Janet on creating steps to reach this shared goal & how we can create strong strives in 2025 to change a broken system that is often counterproductive to Saving Dogs.
Absolutely agree. My sister works in a shelter where only pp training is applied. The stories she tells me…I do worry about her working there.
Your concern is very valid given the not every dangerous dog is easily identified.
@ she was set upon by a dog she was walking, a simple thing like taking her sweatshirt off, set him off. She was close enough to the shelter, someone heard her yelling for help. The response from the person running the shelter……didn’t you take treats? 😬 Apparently the dog was rated a ‘2’ on a 1,2,3 scale….whatever that meant 🤷♀️
@ your sister’s safety & the safety of other workers, and future dog owners is an important reason we need to network together in order to change the laws.
Great shelters will only have their experienced staff members handle the severe cases. However, great shelters are 🦄 these days due to extreme over population business cut back on adequate staff and training for staff.
Your sister can advocate for herself and say she hasn’t received the necessary training to deal with the severe cases. Again, great shelters will almost always have male staff members deal with the severe cases cuz pound for pound dog muscle/weight is at least 2X if not more the strength of a human’s.
If your sis likes working with dogs, a vet assistant is a safer choice if the vet cares about his/her staff to take precautionary measures.
Agreed!
If a rescue hires a dog trainer, it is often a R+ only perso that gets them for thousands of dollars to "train" one dog and then throws his/her hands in the air saying the dog needs behavioral meds.
When the crisis at Los Angeles Animal Services was starting a couple of years back, I suggested they'd train dogs to crate, walk on a loose leash, and to muzzle. Three basic simple things to increase their chances of getting adopted and staying in the new home instead of being returned to the shelter.
I also suggested Los Angeles Animal Services bring you, Robert Cabral, in as a consultant.
They never followed up on any of it.
The people running LAAS are also, for the most part, bureaucrats with no actual experience with animals.
The last GM bailed, the new interim GM is the old interim, AKA the same person that got LAAS in the predicament it is in, in the first place 🙃
Maybe we need to take an indirect approach?
@@StarkK9Academy Meaning?
@@thejindoman7471 changing the laws to reform shelters.
@StarkK9Academy I mean, that would be great.
Provided the changes in laws would go in ways that truly make sense AND be properly implemented.
LAAS was recently fined over 1/2 a million $ for OSHA violations pursuant the Leslie Corea mauling.
There's also going to be a huge payment (this one will likely be multiple millions) LA City is going to make to Leslie Corea.
There have been and will be more settlements for employees/volunteers hurt because of poor management/choices.
That's human suffering that could be spared and money that could go to the animals instead.
However, so much of what is wrong with LAAS is systemic, as well as mentalities of people in it. Then the people who truly help get hurt.
The "LA City employee mindset" (and it is a thing) is at one of its most dangerous applications in Animal Services.
So, yeah.
It'd be great if there were the correct changes to the laws AND if they were properly implemented.
Are such changes and implementations going to happen?
Not likely.
@ I also live in Cali, so I totally understand where you’re coming from when you refer to the “LA Mindset”. If We the Dog People of America come together and “Fight Fight Fight like hell” we can first change the law & hold those accountable to implement the law to save the lives of humans & K9s.
I am with millions being wasted that could have been used to educate & train employees, new dog owners & dogs.
It really depends on how much the donors care about the methods. Ive been a trainer and behavior manager at a municipal shelter and a private very well funded rescue, both were run by people with a lot of horse experience, one had show dog experience, much more old school and realistic in terms of behavior and training. I was given a LOT of freedom at those jobs. One was rural low country SC, the other was in the capital city of SC.
Do the majority of Shelters in SC have a dog trainer on staff?
@StarkK9Academy Definitely not the majority and most of the trainers affiliated with shelters are probably volunteers. More opportunities for actual employment or contractual work near cities, Id assume. But I definitely think we're given more freedom on what sort of training we want to do with the shelter dogs depending on what area of the country we're in. And again, it's the donors who have the last say. If the shelter doesn't manage how they want, no more funding beyond what the city allows them every year.
@@Jaeghound yes I agree with you that different parts of the country have different views on dog training methods similar to views on effective vs detrimental political ideologies/policies. 😉
Thank you for sharing this precious content!
Watching the video I couldn't help but think, "Now, Robert Cabral, do children." So much common sense on this channel: ample rewards/affection and the fair, judicious use of correction work for dogs and children.
Actually back in the 80’s there was research on three different parenting styles/approaches:
Passive Parenting analogous to Positive Only.
Authoritative Parenting, the Balanced Approach.
Authoritarian Parenting analogous to Yank & Crank.
Take a guess on which approach yielded the worst results.
@StarkK9Academy I'm guessing you'll say the Passive Parenting practitioners had the worst outcomes, even worse than the Authoritarian group?
@ You guessed correctly. No correction parenting/training is worse than a harsh one. Those who were raised with passive parenting had unrealistic expectations/ideologies which led to problems with interpersonal relationships and workplace relationships.
I agree 💯percent I was a rescue for years and the dogs would benefit greatly from it.Rescue usually a small one can not afford to train every dog due to lack of funds.
Unfortunately Rescues & Shelters don’t put it in their budget to get training for themselves which is an essential investment, because the owner can then train the foster parents.
Happy New Year !
I love your work
The ”purely positive” sales pitch is rife here in the UK, even amongst those who purport to be trainers of the rescued protection breeds that they own.
Then, when those same “trainers” cease to be able to train their protection breeds using their Zak George-approved methods, they hire a balanced trainer to do the necessary, before announcing, “look at my well-behaved dog”….
If only irony, humility and critical thinking were examinable at high school.
As the owner of three Dobermanns, they readily communicate their feelings & needs and so there is little excuse to misunderstand.
Balanced trainers & those with common sense need to stop being on the defense and play offense in 2025.
You could have just said THE GOVERNMENT
Yep, the typical suspects.
As in Government owned & run businesses are usually 💩
The same type of folks that have been ruining everything else the past few years, are the same ones that are running these shelters. Its shameful and disgusting behavior.
Those who live in Fantasy Land vs those with Common or Uncommon Sense. 😉 I think those with Common Sense will win in the long run and maybe the new presidential administration is a sign that if those of us will network & enjoy forces. We can change things for the better.
@StarkK9Academy Agree. We need to be motivated to show up and change the local and state leadership like we did the President.
Could it be cost prohibitive also? It would be awesome if trainers could do as you do. Volunteer.
You work with problematic dogs, you need to have yourself well insured as dog trainer. Nobody pays for your insurance, why would you risk your own life doing that risky volunteer, especially it's written on paperwork that the shelters are only R+. So if you take the risk, even paying for your own insurance, you can get denied when you need that insurance because shelter likely snitched on you to the insurance to save their image.
To summarize, the ones who focus on money and image are shelters. Your kindness can be exploited to ruin your own life. That's why any competent ethical trainers would distance themselves from shelter volunteer work, unless shelters specifically "hire" to make it clear in writing for legal purpose.
Our county pound can barely pay its dog keepers and has good ones, but paying for trainers? Sadly impossible.
Zero point in volunteering at a place that ABUSES dogs with castration. The dogs will not be very trainable. Dogs abused with castration won't respond well to any form of training because they are suffering from hormonal issues and simply will never be healthy.
@2024Tex Exactly, welfare advocates who butcher them at the first opportunity. That's the sole reason I could never adopt one
@@WVDB7153 I can understand some countries with smaller population may find it difficult. However, the issue goes deeper. Even big counties with plenty of eye opening funding and donation, they (the higher management) still mess up. So much funding spent toward anxiety meds and in shelter injuries due to fighting, biting, digging into the fences!!!
So this shelter system only creates more unadoptable dogs because the +R cult can't fix even minor behavioral problem, that can normally be fixed in one session. So these dogs with minor issues are stuck in the shelter along side dogs with serious problem, only means that the former also get bad by learning from the latter!
Meds for most case only temporarily suppressed the misbehaviors. However, it also hinder dogs ability to engage in training too. Bad training + drug effect hinderance + no kill ideology = "jailed" forever.
Expelling the ideology cult in shelter system, so much money can be saved and used toward hiring good trainers. Each shelter doesn't require to hire many trainers. A good training program means that volunteers and fosters can maintain the training for dogs all while helping making more dogs adoptable.
Thank you, well said!!!
I rescued a six month old Malinois female 3 weeks ago. I sent an email to your website and have not gotten a reply.
The Pollyanna methods of animal ownership are creating a lot of problems. I have a house full of what I call "boomerang" dogs and bite dogs (only one of which was actually aggressive)
And all those pollyanna animal rescue videos where they ascribe human reactions and emotions are adding to the problem. I'm sure they are income producing, but they're nails on a chalkboard to me.
💯
the issue with shelters is that they will never be able to allow a dog to fufill its needs because they dont have the tools to do so. you can teach a border collie how to sit still all day but that dog still has herding hardwired into its DNA and needs to let that out and most shelters dont have sheep or even a lure for them to herd. all of the training in the world wont stop it from herding because thats what they were born to do and need to let it out. i think a lot of shelter dogs suffer from having too much drive and nowhere to release it in a constructive way and get stuck in a vicious loop of being too much dog to handle.
Dog trainers could volunteer some Time
many do and are rejected because they are not force free 100%
100%!
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My local shelter sends certain dogs to the nearby prison. These dogs get socialized and basic commands.
Its gatekeeping
Come together. Stop the nonsense. Focus on training these dogs🙌
Shelters and "rescues" are in the business of moving dogs down a pipeline and/or making money... RESCUE MILLS will always put making money as the highest priority. Also... basically regardless of what sort of training you do, a dog that has been ABUSED with castration will not respond well to training. Sure... Robert shares the myth that dog training works for resuce dogs but frankly he would never have a dog of his own that has been ABUSED with castration and in his heart he knows that dog training is not as effective for dogs that are abused with castration.
Until shelters and rescues stop ABUSING dogs with casteration, there is no point in even attempting training.
I "share the myth??" You have no idea what I think. I've trained countless dogs that were neutered, and owned two as well. Janet had two, so that makes 4. I have no idea of your expertise in dog training, but guessing by your uneducated stab at my position, I wonder. Shelters are not in the business of making money. So basically everything you wrote is a load of garbage...
I have owned & trained both rescued & “purebreds” over 30+ years and while pediatric castration can cause both physical & psychological issues in a dog it does not make every dog untrainable.
Your anger with “ Rescue Mills” is being displaced onto Robert via your assumption that he has not owned “a castrated dog”.
Rescue Mills do exist, they are the new Backyard Breeder who goes to shelters adopts a litter or group of adorable pups and sells them 3-10x what the shelter charges.
Not spaying and neutering is simply not an option in many areas, like mine. And it is largely not an option for dogs within the shelters and rescues, and humans are completely to blame. If you would like to debate the moral ethics of expecting people in these places to responsibly manage their dogs, I would invite you to go out with your humane society on a homeless camp animal seizure sometime and witness what happens to those unwanted puppies, puppies often used only for panhandling purposes.
Also as far as "rescues" moving dogs for a profit, I can only speak from my own experience as a rescue worker. Every dog I adopt out has at least $500 into it's medical alone. My adoption fee was recent upped to $200 from $100 just to help alleviate the burden of cost, and because I do a lot of work in regards to manners, socialization, and obedience with dogs in my care. I work 4AM to 10PM 7 days a week, with no pay.
FYI my personal dog was from a litter I helped seize from a large homeless camp. I have trained him for HDR and area live find, one of his siblings is also being used as a SAR live find dog. I rescued a 10 week old dutch shepherd what was being beaten in front of a store in town, that dog is now serving as a registered service animal for a disabled veteran. All were altered at young ages.
I suggest you go and do something useful in life that will allow you to adjust your perspective.
@@saveadog64 What is the name of your Rescue & where are you located? When I meet ppl who want to rescue a dog I recommend going to an Ethical Rescue vs. a local shelter.
Unfortunately “Rescue Mills do exist, they are the new Backyard Breeder who goes to shelters adopts a litter or group of adorable pups and sells them 3-10x what the shelter charges. I have witnessed it first had an awesome adorable dog comes in a shelter, the dog/puppy is not even featured on the shelter’s website, becomes available at 10am and if there is no other person who wants the dog the Fake Rescuer gets the dog/s, if there is more than one person that wants the same dog, than ppl are given raffle tickets, Fake Rescuers usually have their accomplices with them to get extra tickets, other shelters operate on first come basis and Fake Rescuers are there waiting before the shelter opens, other cases shelters have gotten in trouble due to reserving awesome dogs for Fake Rescues, and these dogs are not available to the general public. I have seen the paperwork on the dog’s kennel have Reserved for a specific Fake Rescue.
I recommend that you keep increasing your adoption fee to include the $500 medical investment & basic obedience training. I like that your Rescue gives the dogs basic training & in some cases speciality training, this sets you apart from other Rescues.
@StarkK9Academy Camp Barry, crescent city.
I've seen similar situations with pet stores that get designer small breeds from the Midwest (usually Amish) pipelines. I might have misunderstood the original poster's differentiation between rescues, shelters, and mills.
It would be super convenient to increase adoption prices, but ultimately, our adoption pool here isn't very great. We're a prison town with a high cost of living, low income, and a massively increasing homeless population. We vet all of our adopters and do home checks before finalizing adoptions.