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👇 REFERENCES👇
What Are the Five Freedoms (And What Do They Mean To You?)
https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2018/11/what-are-five-freedoms-and-what-do-they.html
The Five Domains Model Aims to Help Animals Thrive (this is a proposed update to the Five Freedoms)
https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2017/01/the-five-domains-model-aims-to-help.html
Updating Animal Welfare Thinking: Moving beyond the “Five Freedoms” towards “A Life Worth Living”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4810049/
The Brown Dog Affair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Dog_affair
Timeline of Animal Welfare and Rights
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_animal_welfare_and_rights
Animals to be formally recognized as sentient beings in UK law (2021)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/12/animals-to-be-formally-recognised-as-sentient-beings-in-uk-law
Detailed Discussion of European Animal Welfare Laws 2003 to Present: Explaining the Downturn
https://www.animallaw.info/article/detailed-discussion-european-animal-welfare-laws-2003-present-explaining-downturn
History of Animal Rights
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animal_rights
Animal Rights general info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights
Women and Animal Advocacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_animal_advocacy
Animal Welfare Science general info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_welfare_science
American Humane (the association behind "no animals were harmed")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Humane
Hollywood's Long History of Animal Cruelty
https://www.salon.com/2012/04/02/hollywoods_long_history_of_animal_cruelty/
Animals Were Harmed
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/animals-were-harmed-hollywood-reporter-investigation-on-set-injury-death-cover-ups-659556/
Animal Rights By Country or Territory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights_by_country_or_territory
Searching for Animal Sentience: A Systematic Review of the Scientific Literature
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494450/
Animal Machine (Descartes)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_machine
History of the ASPCA
https://www.aspca.org/about-us/history-of-the-aspca
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Horses are still beaten today. Monty Roberts has been on a mission for years. Love that man’s heart.
Monty Roberts is a frauder . He sure might be able to make a mental conversation with a horse , but he doesn’t show the owners how they could get that contact , too . He only gives them the physical advices , while he is psychical with the horse . So when the owners are back alone with their horse , nothing changed . Or let’s say , he works temporarily from the inside , but leaves the owners work from the outside in . Horses might still be beaten by their owners , but You wouldn’t like to know , how strangers are treating someone’s horses to make them aggressive , wild , fearful ….
@Here This
All I can offer is the physical advice and the mental practice behind it.
I can’t get the owners into that mind frame. And many are alienated by it as I’m basically saying they’ve been harming their animals.
It’s very very hard to.communicate good practice without being seen as judgemental over the people for their bad practices.
The horse community, in general, has been slow to move toward more positive training methods. And many people are trying to help horses being mistreated and carriage horses. I refuse to take a carriage ride with a horse pulling because I don’t know how that animal is being treated. Worst of all, too many horses are sent to the “glue factory” when their usefulness has passed.
I think if you get a dog from a shelter or a certified breeder they should be giving a everyone information on local dog trainers in their area that provide safe and healthy realionship to come. If they uses this dog trainer the dog trainer can take 5% off for them because they are using them. I think everyone should have to go through dog training school. To help their pet.
I also recommend Zach’s videos and book.
Wow. This is just a brilliant educational piece. Thank you for doing this. I know how much time went into it. Thank you for all the work you do. You are the number one reason the culture of dog training is changing for the better. Sharing this far and wide. 🙏❤️
@Samantha I agree with all that.
BTW, in my example of quickly opening and closing a door when a dog always tries to bolt out an opened door, the trick is to do it very quickly at first so there’s no chance at all of getting out and once the dog knows that is going on, and dog is waiting, over repetitions, slow down the quickness, then leave the door open a little bit longer each time…soon the dog is sitting there in front of an open door and not making a break for it.
Then you take dog out or ask dog to go out.
@Samantha Zak characterises covering up a treat as a mild aversive.
See what I mean about going too far with a politicized agenda but never laying out the terms with sensible definitions and instead, yammering on about science deniers and learning theory?
@Thank Me Later I can see where you are coming from and I would happily teach a dog not to rush the door using this method. So I think we agree on what is acceptable but have different ideas on what constitutes an aversive or suppressed behaviour. The definition of suppress is “to forcibly prevent, restrain or put an end to” so I would say say that you are not suppressing the behaviour because there is no force involved. The dog ceases the behaviour entirely of their own accord in order to get a more positive outcome. There is no coercion physical or mental occurring. They are just problem solving. The door is just acting as the non-reward marker in this case so again I would prefer the dog to be well versed in shaping or at least in a very calm and relaxed state of mind to learn this.
@Samantha I’d point out that that definition of “suppress” is only one definition and the next definition after “forcibly put an end to”.
“the uprising was savagely suppressed”
is “prevent the development, action, or expression of (a feeling, impulse, idea, etc.); restrain.”
“she could not suppress a rising panic””
That is the suppression in training.
@Samantha Dogs used to being allowed to go first out the door or to bolt out through an open door are often hyper excited but they have no problem seeing a door open a crack and shut quickly. From there it’s just the same over and over slightly more open each time and they get bored.
That’s all that happens.And it’s good. Get bored, overly excited dog. Learn to wait because you have to wait a long time and get bored if you don’t. 🙂
Just don’t train the dog when it needs to pee. 🙂
Pushback is very normal in many fields when it comes to change and scientific breakthroughs (genetics, medical technologies, agriculture, etc. Heck even the invention of cars!). One thing that these breakthroughs have in common is that there were renegade people/scientists that broke through these hurdles consistently until society didn’t fear the unknown so much and it became common place.
There is also transformation in how we handle animals in the veterinary clinic. For many years it was ” hold the animal down and get the thing done ” which is extremely stressful to most animals. True, veterinary workers still sometimes have to do things animals don’t like for the animal’s own good. But we have learned how to significantly reduce the stress an animal experiences in the veterinary clinic. Using only the minimum restraint needed to get the job done, using sedation if necessary, making syringe needles nice and sharp so they don’t hurt as much going in. We now know ways to help an animal without six people holding them down.
@Jill Shuey true, I’m a vet tech student and the didn’t teach me a lot about behavior. I had to learn about that independently. I mostly learned how to get an animal to trust me. There is a thing called fear free certification and I think everyone who works in the veterinary field should learn that.
@Parley Eubanks 100% agree. And kudos to you for taking that initiative! Everyone who works with animals should get fear free certified. Where I live, nobody has that certification, so I travel 2-3 hours to professionals who do have that certification to ensure the proper handling methods are used. It makes a world of difference when a professional has that certification!
@Jill Shuey it’s also important to learn how to read animals. During my first externship I quickly learned that some dogs calm right down if you hold them just a little more securely. But other dogs do better if you just hold on to their leash to keep them from wandering off. Then other dogs will just have none of it and they might need a sedative. You need to know how to read the body language and know when they are not comfortable with what is going on. Most dogs ( and other animals. But this channel is about dogs ) will give many warnings before they totally freak out.
@Parley Eubanks Again, I agree 100%. Learning to read body language is crucial. Their differing reactions to how you hold them has everything to do with the reason they are uncomfortable in the first place. I am encouraged hearing what you have to say as an up and coming vet tech. I am hopeful that your understanding and perspective is representative of the majority of those entering the profession. If everyone had your attitude and openness in understanding that learning is a never ending journey, far fewer dogs would need behavioral rehab! All the best to you in your career!
@Jill Shuey one thing they warn us about in school at least is some species will actually die if their stress level gets too high. Rabbits, birds, sheep, pigs, and probably a few others. All of these will literally die on you if they are at a super high level of stress. It can happen to dogs too if they are extremely sick. Like if a dog has a really bad heart condition too much stress could cause their heart to give out. They don’t fully teach fear free in school ( although, students can get it for free) but they do teach the less is more approach. Where you just use the minimum amount of restraint necessary to do whatever you need to do.
Of course my dog is sentient! I can’t believe anyone who has a dog would question this!
Yes. They definitely have sentience. I saw a study where they determined that dogs are mentally and emotionally equal to a 5-7 year old human child. Plus, anyone who has spent time with a lot of dogs can easily tell when a dog is happy or sad (or any of the other emotions in between). They are clearly thinking, feeling beings.
I think all animals have sentience. That’s one reason I’m a vegan. I even try to take insects that get into the house back outside (although I must admit I have, likely, an unreasonable fear and dislike of spiders and I’m too afraid to get the spider back outside, so I call my wonderful husband to do that for me). People, scientists in particular, used to think animals didn’t have emotions or sentience. Anyone that has had a close relationship with an animal knows that’s bunk. And (luckily) today, science has helped us infer that animals do have emotions. Studies with the fMRI (functional or awake MRIs) and looking for evidence of chemicals like cortisol or dopamine in the animal’s blood, saliva, or scat (poop) also help us infer animals have emotions. Notice I say “infer” rather than “prove”.
@Jan Hankins Do you realize how many animals die due to the crap you eat? At least 55 sentient animals die to produce 100kg of useable plant protein: 25 times more than for the same amount of rangelands beef. What about the animals that live in your veggie fields? Screw them I guess, right?
No, I think the average is like a two year old really smart dogs like border collies might be at a 3yr old kid level, Chimps are at about a 6 year old kid level, I think crows and Ravens are suppose to be at about a 3 year old level.
@Jeff K Comparison to human intellect doesn’t matter to me (and is probably just a guess, any way–there’s no way to really equate this). I just want to treat animals kindly because I believe it’s the morally and ethically right thing to do.
Thank you for your kind heart and educating the public on animals’ feelings. I love animals and can’t imagine hurting my pet. I can’t even kill a bug in my house. I just found out animals are now allowed to be sacrificed in homes in a Detriot community for religious reasons. Should not be happening!!Thank you for fighting for animals!!! They feel pain and are emotional creatures. However, what do you do when you have a highly reactive dog known to bite? One that growls, lunges, and wants to hurt people or other animals? How do you get them to calm so that they don’t have to be put down? Please start showing us these training techniques. They are so needed.
First, get a muzzle (basket muzzle) and desensitize your dog to it. There are some good You Tube vidoes showing you how to do that. Second, work on desensitizing and counterconditioning your dog to people and other dogs. Start with one thing–either people or other animals (don’t try to work on them together; work on them separately). I am going to assume you start with people. Put the muzzle on your dog (once your dog as a conditioned emotional response to it–that is, the dog thinks the muzzle is a great thing because I get yummy treats when it is on) and go out where there are people. Start where the dog can see the people but isn’t close enough to react with aggression to them. Praise your dog and give lots of good treats. Ask the dog to do some simple “trick” (sit, touch, watch me, spin, whatever you choose except down because down is a vulnerable position and fearful dogs will not want to lie down when a “scary” thing is around). People = petting and good treats!! If you’re too close when you can see people, back up to where your dog can only smell the people! Once you’ve got your baseline distance and you’ve done several training sessions (treats and praise and attention for being calm around people), take a step forward. Does your dog begin to look uncomfortable, like he or she might react? You’re too close. Back up to your original position and praise and give treats. Take half a step forward. Keep on with this until your dog can pass by people without reacting. How long this will take depends upon several factors (such as your dog’s age–the younger the dog, the faster it usually goes; your dog’s experience–dogs that have “practiced” the behavior for a long time usually take longer to learn another way to deal with people, your dog’s personality, etc.). Go at your dog’s pace–not your pace, not some other dog’s pace. Don’t hurry, or it will blow up in your face before long. Then do the same with animals. I know a lot of people would like videos of this, but it makes for pretty boring viewing. Someone is standing 100 feet away from other people petting and giving treats to their dog. They take a step forward, stand there and praise and give treats to your dog. Pretty much of a yawner–no one would really watch that. And if you’re out with our dog and you are “surprised” by a person, don’t sweat it. Try to get the dog out of the situation before he or she reacts if you can. Life happens, and sometimes, you’re surprised. But your goal is to never have your dog react in an aggressive manner during training. The muzzle will give you some confidence (if the worst thing happens, your dog can’t bite anyone) and the muzzle will probably discourage people from walking up with the “dogs love me” line and then reach to pet your dog, even if you tell them not to. You want to change your dog’s equation from people = scary to people = praise and treats! Bring on the people!! If you resort to using aversives, you’re only confirming your dog’s original equation: people = scary, bad things happen to me when I see people (I get pinched, chocked, shocked, etc.). That isn’t going to change the equation. It will only make your dog more afraid of seeing people (because seeing people predicts BAD things). We want seeing people to predict GOOD things (praise and treats). Best of luck.
@Jan Hankins Thank you!! I do have him muzzle trained and have been working with him since he’s been a pup. He goes to daycare and is fine. He walks in campgrounds and is fine, but sometimes he goes insane. I can’t quite figure him out. I thought it was the leash but then he acted up without it. He seemed fine with people who aren’t afraid of him but then bit the mail lady who tried talking to him. He grabbed very lightly, but still. If only he could talk, so I knew exactly what he was reacting about. He’s 2 years old now and we love him to pieces. We won’t give up🙂
Great and educational video Zak. I love the journey you have taken me on recently, and how much you have moved me when it comes to how I view dog training. Not that I was ever into serious punishments like shocks, prongs or things like that, but you have definitely moved me to want to not resort to aversive methods of any kind if I can avoid it. I would love for you to make a video on how to reform a new more equal and trusting relationship with your dog when going from having used some aversive methods before to no longer doing that in any intentional way. Thanks for all you do!
I grew up with a dog, and from this time comes my favorite quote from my mom: “Koer on ka inimene” – “Dog is a human too” or maybe it would translate better into “Dogs are human too”. I heard it a lot when growing up and I think it sums up my stance pretty well, I wholeheartedly agree.
Disclaimer: And no, it isn’t meant literally, our dog was never dressed up or anything like that. The point is much deeper. It means that dogs have the same feelings as humans, they deserve the same level of love and care. Being older and wiser now I’d say they deserve it even more than humans.
Are you familiar with Alexandra Harowitz? She wrote a book called Our Dogs and Ourselves that dives into a lot of the stuff you speak about in this video. I love this mini deep dive you have done. I have been doing a lot of reading recently on animal welfare.
Came for the subject matter. Stayed for the sleepy Inertia ❤️
😂
Inertia did look particularly cute, didn’t she??
Can confirm; she’s a perfect, peaceful background for this video. I’d never be able to film like this with my dog in the background; if the gas didn’t chase me out of the room, the snoring would mess up the audio.
This video reminded me of the “Alpha wolf – theory” published by Rudolph Schenkel in 1940s, where it is falsely reported that a top ranking “alpha” wolf and his mate eventually emerged after fighting their way up the ranks of the pack, and thus dogs descended from wolves, they would have the same alpha/dominance based social hierarchy as their wolf ancestors.
Altough this theory has been since proven wrong, there is still many trainers and dog owners using the “alpha dog” concept adversely in their training.
Exactly. People have doubled down on this debunked idea for decades.
Agreed
Agreed
Agreed
I believe the leaders of a wolf pack are actually the parents of the other wolves in the pack. The other wolves follow their lead because it’s natural to follow mom and dad.
I once had a very heated discussion with one of my lecturers about dogs having a sense of self. He asserted that they couldn’t because they’re not human and they failed the Mirror Test. My counter argument was that they just don’t understand that as a meaningful way of recognising individual dogs or differentiating themselves from other dogs, and it was arrogant to assume that nonhuman animals didn’t have sentience or a sense of self because they don’t show it the way humans understand.
My instincts were confirmed a few years later when I discovered the work of Alexandra Horowitz who proved what I suspected that they CAN distinguish themselves from other dogs, but they do it through scent, which is a more meaningful sense to them because more of their brain is given over to it.
I have had two dogs in my life, one of whom was a rescue and obviously had emotional scars. It was a sad way to learn just how sensitive they are, but I’m so grateful for the lesson.
I’m looking into getting an Assistance Dog at the moment and seeing what dogs can do in the way of emotional support has convinced me that they are incredibly sensitive to our emotions and that’s what makes them so perfect to train to respond to our needs needs, be they practical or emotional.
Whenever anyone tells me that dogs aren’t sentient or intelligent because they fail the mirror test, I have an answer. First, dogs visual acuity is not nearly as sharp as ours is. We would have “terrible” vision if we saw what dogs saw. Second, dogs can recognize their own urine and the urine of unfamiliar dogs (and tell a great deal about that other dog, such as gender, health status, where an intact female is in her estrus cycle, etc.). Can YOU recognize your own urine? I have never tried and have no immediate plans to do so. Maybe it’s we who are not as smart as dogs because we’d likely fail the urine sniffing test.
This is so eye-opening. I’d certainly like to be on the right side of history.
This was a great episode. The history and facts really laid everything out clearly in favor of your point. Looking at inertia in the background it seems crazy to even think about putting an electric or prong collar on her she doesn’t deserve that, and no dog does. I absolutely believe dogs are sentient. There are arguments that even rats are sentient
yes, dogs definitely have feelings and emotions. I think people should have more compassion for dogs, and they should stop doing harsh things to dogs, in my opinion.
Dogs absolutely have sentience. Just because they articulate these feelings in unfamiliar ways, we humans recognize many of their nonverbal means of communication. Hell, we even recognize canine facial expressions and anthropomorphize their experiences. We domesticated dogs over 20,000 years ago, and therefore in many ways large populations of humans spent a not-insignificant amount of time evolving alongside them. But this is a consistently human problem, this push and pull between what is convenient, and what is right.
This is important so we need to keep talking about it. The more discussions there is, the more we educate and spread awareness. Animals are worth it and I will fight for them for the rest of my life
I went to a dog training class about 12 years ago, everything seemed friendly and appropriate until the trainer brought a rescue German Shepherd to class. When this dog growled at another dog in class she grabbed it and threw it to the ground in what she called an Alpha Roll. I was so disturbed I never went back. I did a little research and this manoeuvre had been discredited long before then. It made me sad that this apparently well respected dog trainer in our community was practising this method. However, it was the start of realising that there was (at that time) no clear definition of “good dog training”. Thank you for opening up the discussion further.