Author: Vickie Davenport and Melissa Fallon
Length: 107 pages with 50 illustrations
Release Date: 2020

This book shines a light on the full range of methodologies and techniques that can be used for training dogs, and explains which might be the most suitable, depending on the dog in question and the goals you want to achieve.

Thankfully, dog training today is light years away from the dark days of making a stark choice between reward and punishment. This means we can use tailormade training programs to teach new skills and to change behavior. However, we are now faced with what can seem like bewildering choices:

• Which training method should we use?
• What are the pros and cons?
• What are the consequences?
• What effect is it having on the dog?

In Training For Dog Trainers, Melissa Fallon and Vickie Davenport, both highly experienced trainers, have gone back to basics and imposed a structure on all the methodologies:

• The starting point is to make a thorough assessment of each dog, highlighting individual preferences in terms of motivation and reinforcement, and finding out what might be perceived as aversive.

• Learning theory then comes under the microscope so that we understand how dogs learn and how learning influences behavior.

• This leads to an examination of the available training techniques and how to use them, including desensitization, discrimination, generalization, and the different levels of guidance that can be used to establish new behaviors.

• Then it's decision time! Training goals are defined and broken down into achievable steps, and success is measured so that adjustments can be made to ensure the best possible outcomes.

• Finally, there are a series of sample training plans that focus on teaching a specific behavior, explaining the learning theory that is involved and the techniques that can be employed.

A variety of diagrams and tables are used to make complex material more accessible, allowing readers to make informed choices and, most important of all, to train every dog as an individual. It is essential reading for all students and professionals involved in dog training and behavior as well as providing guardians with the resources to better understand their dogs.

About the Author
Vickie Davenport gained her BSc in animal behavior in 2004 before going on to work as Dog Welfare Manager at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. She has spent the last ten years teaching animal behavior and training, and currently works in higher education alongside Melissa. Vickie, whose interests center around both dog training and the human-animal relationship, completed her masters degree in Anthrozoology in 2018.

Melissa Fallon gained her MSc in clinical animal behavior at the University of Lincoln and is currently undertaking her PhD, focusing on impulsivity in dogs, at the University of Bristol. Melissa has been teaching dog behavior and training for over ten years and currently works in higher education. Her main interests centre around dog impulsivity and dog bite prevention, but she has also trained cats for TV.