It's not just the bullying behavior, but the "if it's not working for you, you MUST not be using it right" attitude.
I am a dog trainer, a horse woman, and I have spent most of my life working with and training exotic animals. I'm very familiar with the science of clicker . . . and the flaws in the research.
I see what the clicker-only revolution has done to dog training. It's come to the point that today, a group stay is considered dangerous. Why? Because people can't seem to train a reliable stay. (Also, in with the positive-movement came a belief that ANY dog can do ANYTHING but I'm sorry, some things just shouldn't be rehab projects.)
I currently have 2 dogs who are not happy clicker trainers. One gets rather annoyed when you don't tell him what you want. He HATES the guessing game, the uncertainty if it all. I have another that came to me with some issues, and from day one, we've likened him more to a horse than a dog. He seems to excel when we use the pressure and release techniques of horsemanship, as opposed to the hands-off approach of clicker.
It's not always the trainer, sometimes . . . it's the dog. But I think they're afraid to learn that their technique isn't 100% perfect. It has it's place, it works for many situations and animals. But not all. And that is OKAY. It's not just the bullying behavior, but the "if it's not working for you, you MUST not be using it right" attitude.
I am a dog trainer, a horse woman, and I have spent most of my life working with and training exotic animals. I'm very familiar with the science of clicker . . . and the flaws in the research.
I see what the clicker-only revolution has done to dog training. It's come to the point that today, a group stay is considered dangerous. Why? Because people can't seem to train a reliable stay. (Also, in with the positive-movement came a belief that ANY dog can do ANYTHING but I'm sorry, some things just shouldn't be rehab projects.)
I currently have 2 dogs who are not happy clicker trainers. One gets rather annoyed when you don't tell him what you want. He HATES the guessing game, the uncertainty if it all. I have another that came to me with some issues, and from day one, we've likened him more to a horse than a dog. He seems to excel when we use the pressure and release techniques of horsemanship, as opposed to the hands-off approach of clicker.
It's not always the trainer, sometimes . . . it's the dog. But I think they're afraid to learn that their technique isn't 100% perfect. It has it's place, it works for many situations and animals. But not all. And that is OKAY.