Talk:Zak George

Comments by User:Fragilite

The following comments were added to the bottom of the page

There are four major errors that must be pointed out in the "Principles" section of this biography. First, there is no such thing as a "positive" school of dog training. The correct moniker is "positive reinforcement training". Nor does PRT, as the article incorrectly suggests, advocate the annihilation of aversives in training, as there are several types of aversives that are both humane and effective. However, protagonists of PRT -- which, in addition to Zak George, include the overwhelming majority of veterinarians, animal behaviorists, dog trainers, and professional organizations dedicated to the humane treatment of animals, to speak nothing of the sheer abundance of scientific evidence and proof -- vigorously condemn the use of methodologies that advocate physically abusive techniques such as stringing, flooding, and learned helplessness, all of which have been clearly shown, in hundreds of empirical studies over the last sixty years, to lead to aggression in dogs, and physical harm. With regard to discussions on YouTube that call into question the validity of Zak George's methodology as they might relate to aggressive dogs, these are hardly reliable or even legitimate, given the fact that the majority of respondents are not professional trainers, behaviorists, veterinarians or scientists. Finally, Cesar Millan is NOT, nor has he ever been an accredited psychologist or animal behaviorist. He holds no degrees whatsoever in these disciplines from any institution of higher learning -- a verifiable fact -- and thus has no bona fide scientific authority to reliably hold forth on these subjects. For an authoritative, scholarly, detailed and exceptionally comprehensive review and analysis of such studies in canine behavior, psychology, physiology, and training, see Dr. Steven R Lindsay's monumental three-volume "Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training" (Iowa State University Press, 2000)

Hack (talk) 08:28, 13 August 2012 (UTC)