Drayton Michaels

In 2010 Premier Pet Products merged with Radio Systems Corporation. The main concern for many people in the humane non-pain dog training community was that RSC is the main supplier of shock collars in the US and that Premier would in some way now sell and endorse shock collars.

Janet Velenovsky was the head of Premier’s training and behavior division for 7 years. She resigned from Premier in September of 2011.

This interview was conducted via email and was not edited or embellished in any way by me. What you read is what was asked and answered.

As I walk into the park by my house I see a man kicking a dog that is down on the ground. He is methodically kicking the dog and saying “AAHAT” each time.

I rush over and say, “Please stop”! The man hurls an epithet or two and mutters that he “knows what he’s doing” and then goes back to kicking the dog. I tackle the man to the ground. The dog is then taken by a two women that had been watching and wincing with each kick. They call the police.

I subdue the man and the police arrive and arrest the man. He is convicted of animal cruelty and serves a year in jail.  I am considered a “hero”.

However what if the man says “ I am a dog trainer, I wrote a book, I am a behaviorist, I have been helping dogs for 20 years”!

Then would I go to jail for assault? Would the “trainer” get away with his “methods”, and I am then considered the problem?

Sad as it is there is still a segment of our society that has a prejudice against Pit Bulls. Despite the CDC, respected animal behaviorists and even the Department of Justice all saying that there is no need to ban dogs, some people persist in their xenophobic ways towards “pit bulls”.

To quote Bill Maher the host of Real Time with Bill Maher “It is not a debate when you have scientists debating non scientists”. He was speaking about global warming, but it could just as easily have been about dogs. This is not a debate; it is science trying to get the uneducated masses to see how unwarranted their fears about dogs are.

 The three D’s of dog training are known as Distraction, Distance and Duration. They come into play in every context and all training exercises.

Distractions are part of life especially for dogs. Let’s face it a dog can be distracted by just about anything from the high value food reward to the wind blowing leaves. Distractions are part of dog training no matter what, so we might as well begin to work with them and take them into account.

 Always start with the lowest amount of distraction and build on it as your dog does better with the training.

For example, if you are working on down stays, get the dog rock solid in the house and the back yard before attempting the down stays at the barbecue at your neighbor’s house.

Distractions are often the reason for the dog breaking the stay, or tuning out or becoming frustrated.