Regulation & Accreditation

 

Regulations, Associations, Certifications, LIMA

Dog Training is an unregulated industry in North America. This means that I, as well as you, can state you’re a dog trainer and you can start offering services. Since we have no regulatory body in the dog training industry, where can you look?

Certifications are a good thing! Research into their requirements. Who taught the material? Are they reputable? Are they well-respected within the industry? Are they associated with any of the larger associations? Is the material being taught up to date? Certifications can come from 1st, 2nd, or 3rd party sources. In 1st party sources, the individual or company backs their successful members. In 2nd party certification, an association to which the member belongs provides backing for its members given their criteria are being maintained. In 3rd party certification, an independent source comes into play. This prevents any bias or other factors which could alter the outcome of their assessments.

An easy answer? Associations. Associations provide codes of ethics that members must abide by in order to retain good standing. These criteria can include promoting LIMA, maintaining professionalism, and treating animals and clients respectfully.

A large, well-known American association, the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (*https://www.ccpdt.org/*), and the most prestigious international animal behavior association, the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (*https://iaabc.org/*), promote animal welfare, up to date scientific research, and ongoing training for their members.

LIMA (*https://iaabc.org/en/lima*)

A staple of these associations is to promote a principle called LIMA. LIMA stands for “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” Effective Behavior Intervention.

“LIMA describes a trainer or behavior consultant who uses the least intrusive, minimally aversive strategy out of a set of humane and effective tactics likely to succeed in achieving a training or behavior change objective.”

“LIMA does not justify the use of punishment in lieu of other effective interventions and strategies. In the vast majority of cases, desired behavior change can be affected by focusing on the animal's environment, physical well-being, and operant and classical interventions such as differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior, desensitization, and counter-conditioning.”

So what are we even talking about?!

If you’ve been around here for a while. Some of these terms will already make sense to you!

LIMA is about minimizing pain and discomfort as a price for achieving the “right” behavior. LIMA states that positive reinforcement and understanding the learner should be the priority. They expect the teacher to implement systematic problem-solving strategies, prevent forms of abuse, and promote agency - choice, and control for the learner.

Humane Hierarchy (*https://iaabc.org/en/humane-hierarchy*)

The Humane Hierarchy is a tool to assist trainers, owners, and animal care professionals, in their decision-making process during training and behavior modification. To begin we have “Wellness”; health, nutrition, physical factors, medical condition, etc.

Next is “Antecedents Arrangements”, put simply, this is how we set the dog up for success.

Following “Antecedents Arrangements” comes “Positive Reinforcement”, which is providing something the animal desires as a result of providing the desired behavior. This can be food, play, praise, affection, or whatever else they deem pleasurable!

The next stop is “Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviors”. This is a combination of reinforcing an alternative (incompatible) behavior while eliminating reinforcement for the prior, undesirable, behavior. An easy example of reinforcing an alternative behavior could be reinforcing your puppy for sitting in front of your guests instead of jumping up to see them.

“Negative Punishment, Negative Reinforcement, or Extinction” comes next. Negative Punishment includes withdrawing the positive reinforcer to reduce the behavior. Negative Reinforcement is when you withdraw an aversive (bad thing) to increase a behavior. Extinction is removing the reinforcing aspect of the behavior to reduce it back toward its baseline frequency and intensity.

Now, after that nerdy talk and your brain feels like Jell-O, shake your head and focus!

You can see how many things happening before punishment-based tactics should even be considered. You’d have to completely clear your dog on a physical and physiological level. You’d need to continually minimize your dog’s stressors, and modify their environments based on their current abilities which vary day by day, context by context! You may have to make significant changes to your current routine or lifestyle!

When training begins, we want to change how the animal FEELS about that “thing”, or that the skill is appreciated. By pairing positive experiences via food, play, praise, affection, or other forms of positive reinforcement, we are directly associating these feelings with the associating context. When done correctly, over time, and with repetition, at your dog’s pace, your dog’s response will become increasingly positive, resulting in more preferred behaviors.**BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!**We still have the option to reinforce an alternative behavior! Simple eye contact, stationary or moving skills (depending on your dog’s preference), or otherwise!

Punishment-based strategies simply suppress the animal's emotional response to the stimulus (“thing”). This doesn’t address the core of the behavior being expressed… the EMOTION. Punishment-based training is also simply not ethical. There are also COUNTLESS studies from different areas of research, from all over the globe, that will collectively advise against the use of aversive methodologies. Many titles, excerpts, and studies can be found here if you want to read more! *https://banshockcollars.ca/studies.php*

If you have found your way to me, you care about your dog. Whether you work with me, or someone else, ensure that the wellbeing of your dog, your family, and the public are always at the forefront of your decision!

Accreditation

I am an Accredited Dog Trainer from the most prestigious international animal association in the world, The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants!

Thank you all for your ongoing support as I continue to improve the quality of service I can offer to our community!