The Ethical Dog Trainer

AABP 2008 Multi-Media Awards for Excellence - Winner of the Best Dog Book of 2008 (miscellaneous category) Dog trainers face ethical decisions all the time. Do I keep working with a client when it is obvious that the owner will not keep up the training program to the detriment of the dog? Should I accept payments from other dog professionals to whom I refer clients? What is the proper way to interact with other dog trainers who use methods I disagree with? Author Jim Barry dives deep into the ethical questions frequently faced by dog trainers and offers up a systematic approach to helping trainers resolve difficult dilemmas. Click here to view an excerpt. What reviewers are saying... DOG WORLD
“The personal biases that influence dog training rarely receive the attention they warrant. Anyone who has visited a training chat group knows that open-minded discussion of alternate ideas is not the general rule. In The Ethical Dog Trainer, Jim Barry veers into dangerous waters as he investigates the underlying reasons dog training invites such militant viewpoints. He provides invaluable guidance to navigate this minefield, thanks to his combined background as a dog trainer and an educator specializing in ethics, conflict resolution, and politics. His chapter on dogs and society examines how attitudes toward animals are shaped by religious and cultural values. He courageously acknowledges that many incendiary disagreements arise from the ongoing debate over dog training as a profession or craft. “For most of its history, dog training was a craft or an art handed down from master to novice,” Barry writes. “Dog training was considered to be a skill that individuals acquired in real life, not in a classroom.” He traces the growing popularity of training certification programs and profit-based organizations that have evolved to meet this demand. Although he is an accredited trainer, he concedes that professional associations vary greatly in :their emphasis on knowledge and hand-on skills,” which makes it difficult to evaluate the merits of individual programs. This is an ambitious book, and it deserves to be read. However, I question whether the polarized factions of the dog-training world are ready to heed these sensible recommendations.” Amy Fernandez