Dog behaviourist prodding/nudging dog - ok or not?

[puppyprod]

I just wanted some advice. I am seeing a qualified dog behaviourist who I had only ever heard positive things about and who was personally recommended to me. I am seeing him about my 1.5-year-old dog who is reactive towards dogs, buggies, scooters and bikes. We have had a few sessions with him which had gone really well and we've made a lot of progress over the last 4 weeks. However, on our most recent session on Friday the behaviourist/trainer told me I needed to now toughen up and be more firm/give a bit of tough love to my dog. This involved him pulling on his lead twice (kind of 'popping' it) any time the dog walked ahead of him to get the dog to engage and walk to a heel. What I'm most unhappy with is that when the dog was reacting to dogs he would prod my dog in the side if the dog wasn't listening to his commands and holding him by the collar (he is trying to make my dog sit every time he sees a trigger). I noticed during that section of the walk when the trainer was holding his lead that my dog was constantly shaking off (which he rarely does) and shaking his head (which I've never seen him do aside from when he had an ear infection). It was at the very end of the session that this started as otherwise I probably would have asked to end the session early.

I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting and being over-sensitive but I don't feel comfortable with that? We have another session on Tuesday and I'm thinking of cancelling but I really need help with the reactivity and every other session has been more positive reinforcement-based and kinder/gentler. Everything on their website points towards them using positive reinforcement-based methods.

Does anyone have any advice or insight into whether this is an acceptable way of working with a reactive, nervous dog? I know there are lots of different trainers out there with different techniques and philosophies so maybe he's just not the right fit for us?

No, this is not ok. It’s an aversion technique and can exacerbate nervousness or anxiousness. You are now questioning the trainers technique (rightly so imo) so that trust has gone anyway. Bin him off, link into a positive trainer. There are some nutty and frankly abusive trainers out there. Protect your boy from them xx

Cancel the trainer! Not right for your dog

If I saw my dog trainer prodding my reactive dog when faced with a trigger I would go mad this isn’t acceptable and will set your dog back.

I wouldn't be allowing anyone to treat my dogs like that 😤

Find a kinder trainer.

Not okay. We've been working with a trainer to help our reactive dog and she's 100% against aversives because, as PP said, they can exacerbate the reactivity.

FWIW, her method has involved pairing graded exposure to triggers with positive consequences (lots of treats!) and we now have a much more chilled DDog

No. I would not want anyone doing this to my dog personally.

Cancel the next session.

Never right to treat a dog like this and they are not qualified behaviourists.

Out of interest what qualifications do they say they have?

If you give a rough idea of location I can recommend some qualified behaviourists

Hes causing the dog stress as seen by the shake offs.

Getting a dog to sit every time they see a trigger is nonsense - it makes them feel vulnerable to the thing they are scared of and allows them to focus/fixate even more. I would capture the dog looking before reacting with movement ,- either you stay still but use movement in delivery of food/toy reward or both of you move while you deliver i.e. turn and walk other way. Are you using marker word?

You are uncomfortable and questioning this because it's abuse. Well done for responding to it and not just assuming that the behaviourist (an unregulated title) is an expert.

If your dog is reacting, he's telling you he's uncomfortable with the proximity to whatever he's reacting to. You need to add some distance and work out what distance he's comfortable with. For some dogs that will be across the road. For others, it will be the length of 3 football pitches. You just need to find it. Once your dog is not reacting and just looking, you can say 'yes' and give a treat for calm looking. Keep that up until your dog starts turning to you when he sees the thing that triggers him - yes and treat. Eventually, he will see the thing that triggers him and instinctively turn to you. Once he's doing that, you can reduce the distance just a little. Repeat the process. If he starts reacting, you've gone too far, so take it back a bit.

Your dog is communicating to you, which is exactly what you want. Your 'behaviourist' is punishing him for communicating.

That’s awful. I’ve had dogs all my life and now have a pack of five large breed dogs and one small/medium sized dog and all are trained by my voice and praise.

No, as others have said not ok.

I have an reactive dog and all the sit and watch with treats or down and watch and treat, were almost like a trigger in itself.

In the end I did it myself: short lead & Walk On command - I use a specific tone of voice. I always put myself between hin and the other dog. First step with dogs on the other side of the road going opposite way.... he's now at a stage where he can walk off lead by my side and walk past dogs- as long as they don't bound over to him! If they do, I have to step in.
I think your dog needs to learn to trust you, that you keep them safe and that the other dog isn't a threat. You need a trainer that doesn't just work on the issue but also work on your overall relationship with your dog.
My advice on here is always formal dog training classes or K9 sports. Because with that you are building a unique trust and bond between you and your dog.

And always remember: dog training is a long process, you are conditioning the dog to do certain behaviours. That takes a lot of time & repetition.

No not ok. At all.

It's not about being tough - it's about your dog seeing the dogs and knowing it's ok and trusting you to sort things out.

I am a qualified behaviourist and have worked through my own dog and reactivity and only used the engage disengage method and it's now mostly sorted. No tough love. No firm treatment. No poking.

Nope, not ok. I had similar with a behaviourist who came highly recommended and in my naivity thought she knew what she was doing. The behaviour stopped for a little while but then returned - and some. I got a new behaviourist who explained why these methods don't work.

Thanks, everyone. I will cancel the session and look for another behaviourist.