*** NEW FOR 2012 ***
DANCES WITH DOGS
Who we are
Sit and Watch
Canine Behavioural School Inc (CBS) is a positive based training and behavioural management school. We train on Monday nights at Trinity Gardens Primary School, Adelaide.
CBS was formed in 2005 from the former Siberian Husky and Malamute Club.
Our Aims
- To provide training that will help make your dog a well-mannered and welcomed member of your family and your community.
- To help you train your dog for situations encountered in everyday life.
- To help you see life through a dog’s eyes so as to better understand him/her, thus providing a ‘forever’ home for your dog.
- To enhance your understanding of both dog behaviour and responsible pet guardianship. We choose the word guardianship, rather than ownership, as a guardian is one who should be trusted, relied upon to understand, to protect and to respect.
What we do
It's a dog's life
CBS has grown by teaching reward based, positive reinforcement methods that are suitable for all members of the community including the young, elderly and disabled as they do not require the use of force or physical strength. All family members are encouraged to attend.
We provide knowledge to enable training and behavioural management through positive reinforcement methods. Our programs are directed at the skills you need to teach your dog to sit politely when visitors come to the door; meet and greet other dogs in a friendly manner, go to bed when asked and many more everyday “life” skills necessary for harmony between dogs and their guardians.
Our programs attempt to achieve a lifelong relationship between dog and guardian that is based on mutual trust and respect. A more recent aim of the School is for students who have completed Bronze (Beginners) and Silver (Intermediate) levels to undertake and successfully complete the Canine Good Citizen™ Award Program and Test. This program tests the dog’s ability to correctly behave at the door, the gate, in a crowd, with strangers, under distraction, down the street and when the guardian is out of sight. Through a written paper it also tests the guardian’s knowledge of dog health, council requirements, first aid for dogs and dietary matters.
What we believe
We believe that training should be predicated upon sound, scientifically based guidelines. The principles of operant and respondent conditioning, desensitization and counter-conditioning are part of acknowledged learning theory upon which our methods are based. These methods are also the most conducive to improving the bond between you and your dog. A bond, built on trust and respect will enhance your training and firmly establish your dog as part of your family.
Our training methods comply with the Codes of Ethics of the Delta Professional Dog Trainers Association, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia, NZ, US and UK, the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB)
We, along with the organisations mentioned above and others believe that the use of punishment based methods is unethical, inefficient and can risk serious harm. AVSAB goes so far as to say “AVSAB recommends that veterinarians not refer clients to trainers or behavior consultants who coach and advocate dominance hierarchy theory and the subsequent confrontational training that follows from it” (Position Statement on the Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals, 2008). AVSAB has also issued a Position Statement advising against punishment based training methods.
Nicholas Dodman, Professor and Program Director, Animal Behaviour Department, Tufts University says:
“I think that the direct punishment-based techniques are outmoded, a thing of the past and should be avoided. Nobel Prize winners Lorenz, Tinbergen and Von Frisch might have disagreed on some points but the three of them were all in agreement that punishment teaches a dog nothing. All it does is to teach a dog how to avoid the punishment. Which is not the same as teaching the dog what to do. There is no learning, other than learning avoidance of certain actions…I work on the theory that if you can train a killer whale to launch itself out of a swimming pool, roll on its side and urinate into a small plastic cup, given only a whistle and a bucket of fish, without a choke chain, then you don’t need those confrontational techniques with dogs.”
About Our Volunteers
Several of our Volunteer Instructors are professionally trained dog trainers, mainly through the Delta Society CGC Instructors Course. All of our Instructors, Aspiring Instructors and Assistants are encouraged to keep their knowledge of dog behaviour and training methods up to date and always aligned with the Codes of Ethics of the positive training organisations to which they belong. To this end we encourage them to attend meetings and seminars that will further their ongoing knowledge. Aspiring Instructors and Assistants have regular in house training sessions of their own and regular Instructors’ meetings are held for all volunteer teachers.
We have Instructors who are also members of the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals (AABP) and two of our Instructors are on the Advisory Board of this organisation. Our Head Instructor holds a Diploma in Animal Behavior Science & Technology and a Diploma in Dog Training and Behavior Consulting through the Companion Animal Sciences Institute (CASI) and has, since graduating from CASI, been invited onto the Board of that organisation.
Despite being staffed by several professional dog trainers, ours is a volunteer organisation. All of the time given to CBS is donated, free of charge, by the Instructors and Administrative staff. All School fees are turned back into the School for the payment of expenses such as insurance and ground hire and the purchase of equipment and products for the use of CBS students and staff whilst training at CBS.
Training of New Instructors
In-house training - Holding for veterinary exam
CBS is also proud to be aiding in the development of new dog trainers. Those interested in becoming dog trainers are encouraged to formalise their studies and to also participate in our CBS training program. Students are mentored through their in-house program and help is offered to students during their formal education in positive dog training. We welcome any students who are undertaking positively based courses to inquire about becoming a Volunteer with CBS. If you would like to know more about being a dog trainer please do not hesitate to contact our Head Instructor at deb@positivelydogs.com
In 2012 we are asking our Aspiring Instructors to undertake and pass with distinction the UK based, internationally respected Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) Initially we will require CAP 1 (base level, plus successful completion of in-house training whilst building to a Distinction pass in CAP 2.) By being objectively assessed on their abilities by an external source, we believe that our Instructors will be better able to serve the community. CAP philosophy claims that a teacher “…needs to be skilled, very self aware, observant, able to analyse, adjust the teaching to suit that particular dog at that particular time. As they develop their skills their understanding of the process deepens and they are able to transfer the learning to other animals, other fields of interest and have genuinely learned to communicate with another species through skilled use of the clicker.” Learning About Dogs
Although still humble in size, through the hard work and perseverance of its Volunteers, CBS has established a reputation for producing good canine citizens. We are working on developing programs to attract more instructors and CBS has proved to be a popular training school for dogs, their guardians and those interested in becoming dog trainers.
We welcome your enquiry. Please contact us if you would like more information or, alternatively, download the registration form and information below.
