The Deadly Dog Training Myth: interview with author Eric Letendre

In episode 66, Sean interviews author Eric Letendre author of The Deadly Dog Training Myth.  Sean and Eric talk about dog training philosophy, dog training politics, and some of the reasons you may be a little frustrated in trying to solve your dog’s behavior issues.  Eric has been training dogs since the 1980’s and has served as a K-9 security officer, an animal control officer and is now a dog trainer in Massachusetts

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In this session:

What are the four quadrants in Skinner’s Operant conditioning?

What is negative reinforcement?

What is positive punishment?

Details In this Session

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Rescue Dog of the Week:

Here’s Bitsy’s page

If she’s already been adopted by the time you see this, contact PUP and they can certainly help you find the right dog for you.

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Interview with the Director of PUP Dog Rescue:If you’d like to know more about PUP Dog Rescue and more about how to find a good rescue organization, as well as get some tips about picking a good rescue dog for you, here’s my interview with Laura Tonkin (She’s the Director of PUP Dog Rescue)

http://thedogsway-070117.dev/session-11-in-this-episode-i-interview-laura-tonkin/

Eric’s Information

Eric’s Website

http://ericletendre.com

Eric’s Phone number

774-319-6351

The Deadly Dog Training Myth Book

http://deadlydogtrainingmyth.com

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Let me know what you think of Eric’s book.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

All the Best,

Sean

About the Author: Sean

I’ve been training people and dogs in Seattle for the last decade and a half. My main focus when working with clients every week in one-on-one, private lessons is to help people learn to get their dogs to a functional level so that they can actually enjoy spending time every day with their dog instead of stressing about their dog’s behavior issues.

3 Comments

  1. Pam C August 17, 2017 at 7:54 am - Reply

    Oh if I had only known sooner!! Thanks, Sean, for sharing this interview and helping to call attention to this book. We have personally experienced “the church” and it’s resulted in us having to surrender our dog … in fact, we say goodbye to her in just two days. My heart is breaking and I don’t know how I’m going to make it through.

    We adopted a 15 month old GSD rescue 9 months ago. Within 3 weeks of joining our family she began to get all barky, lungey, scary looking when we would have people come over. Like we-could-not-hold-her-back scary. You know what I’m saying. She was beyond bad and terrified anyone who saw her in this state. We brought her to the humane society for an evaluation. They determined she had anxiety and immense fear, and referred us to a veterinarian behaviorist (at $450 an hour).

    The behaviorist put her on very strong medication and then worked with us on management skills. 8 months, 4 expensive office visits, too many meds to count (trazadone, Clonidine, Amitriptyline, etc…yikes!) , 2 “indoctrinated” private trainers and several thousand dollars later, we still have not received one ounce of instruction on WHAT to do to STOP her from reacting. All we can do is keep her isolated and shove treats in her mouth. I won’t go in to detail but this has affected our jobs, our family relationships, friendships, and even our marriage and finances. We’re at our wits end, exhausted, stressed beyond belief, and simply can’t carry on.

    We are surrendering her back to the rescue, but first we are going to place her in a 2 month board-and-train with a GSD Breeder / Handler that is affiliated with the rescue. (We were actually going to board our dog with this breeder/handler several months ago but the doc said “no” because she trains police dogs as part of her services … we thought it would be an excellent training program but Doc said no way. Hmph.) Anyway, we talked with the trainer about having her rejoin our home after the training program but ultimately decided that it would be best for HER to be rehomed where she could start fresh with her newly learned skills. Our friends and family will always be terrified of her regardless of any assurances we could offer, and it would be very easy for her (and us) to slip back in to old behavior patterns once she gets back in to familiar surroundings. We know our limitations. Had we gone down this path 8 months ago we would have the stamina to carry it through.

    So now … because of the “church”, I – a dog loving PETA member who always puts animals first – has to go against every fiber in my being and surrender an otherwise loving, delightful dog who touched my heart.

    Please, Sean, bring Eric back from time to time and share your conversations … and continue to do the good work that you do. Love the podcasts, stories, and down-to-earth advice.

    (By the way: When I told the vet behaviorist that I found your podcasts several months ago and was enjoying them she checked you out. For whatever reason she decided you didn’t meet her criteria and told me to stop listening. I didn’t …I just didn’t tell her! Keep up the great work)

  2. gary l hermsmeyer April 21, 2018 at 9:30 pm - Reply

    Wow. I’m new to the podcast and absolutely loved this. Great information that was very well explained, and really entertaining. My new favorite podcast!!

  3. […] with Eric Letendre, a great trainer based in the Massachusetts area. Last time I spoke to Eric (in episode 66) he’d published his first book, The Deadly Dog Training […]

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About Sean

I’ve been training people and dogs in Seattle for the last decade and a half. My main focus when working with clients every week in one-on-one, private lessons is to help people learn to get their dogs to a functional level so that they can actually enjoy spending time every day with their dog instead of stressing about their dog’s behavior issues.

Ask Sean a question!

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If you have a question you’d like me to respond to on the show (and you want to hear yourself on a future episode) leave me a voice mail!  1 (844) 364-7929 or email me here.

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