Dog Trainer, Tammy Stillwater with her top winning Border Collie.
ABOUT TAMMY'S TRAINING BACKGROUND
1996, Training a Service Dog Puppy.
Since 1979, I have been training and showing dogs in many AKC Dog Sports including Obedience, Rally, Conformation, Freestyle, Dock Diving and Tracking, as well as training in Carting, Biking, Schutzhund and Service Dog training.
A NEW METHOD OF oBEDIENCE TRAINING EMERGED........
In the world of obedience training, it was dog trainer Max Parris of Chattanooga, TN, who influenced me and many trainers in the 80's. I'd say he was the the best thing to hit the obedience world EVER during that time period. Max was the first trainer who came out and proved that 'food training' was the most intelligent, effective and gentle way to train dogs, and he based his methodical approach on Sea World trainers. Thank goodness he came along and disproved a lot of what, at that time, was being upheld as the only truly reliable way to train dogs, the old Koehler method. (Fear and control based.) Oh, it worked alright...but at what cost to the dogs on the receiving end of some pretty harsh treatment bordering on abuse, and at what cost psychologically to the trainers who loved their dogs and wanted this hobby to be FUN? Thank goodness Max showed those of us who desired better way to train, an excellent and methodical NEW approach to training.
I will forever remember Max's amazing border collies "OTCH Vikay's Ten Speed " and "OTCH Wondereye Val" . I'm sure there were others as well, but those two made the lasting impression on me, as did Max's idea of numbering his commands for returning to heel for the dog. "One" meaning finish to the right, "Two" meaning finish to the left and "Three" meaning through his legs, which isn't allowed in the ring! Max made obedience FUN, and in my opinion he isn't credited enough for paving the way to huge changes to come in how dogs were trained and how they were shown. Thank you, Max, for showing me how to have FUN with training, validating what I already knew but kept a secret (shhhh food training really works!), and showing us all how to create great relationships with our dogs, which is why we all were drawn to the sport of dog obedience in the first place!
Max's training eventually led me to get involved with Karen Pryor's "Clicker Training'. Karen Pryor is a very well known and popular trainer and author. Her book called "Don't Shoot The Dog" was one of the most valuable books I've ever read in my entire life, and has influenced much more than dog training, as it's a book about reinforcement, not just about dog training.
I will forever remember Max's amazing border collies "OTCH Vikay's Ten Speed " and "OTCH Wondereye Val" . I'm sure there were others as well, but those two made the lasting impression on me, as did Max's idea of numbering his commands for returning to heel for the dog. "One" meaning finish to the right, "Two" meaning finish to the left and "Three" meaning through his legs, which isn't allowed in the ring! Max made obedience FUN, and in my opinion he isn't credited enough for paving the way to huge changes to come in how dogs were trained and how they were shown. Thank you, Max, for showing me how to have FUN with training, validating what I already knew but kept a secret (shhhh food training really works!), and showing us all how to create great relationships with our dogs, which is why we all were drawn to the sport of dog obedience in the first place!
Max's training eventually led me to get involved with Karen Pryor's "Clicker Training'. Karen Pryor is a very well known and popular trainer and author. Her book called "Don't Shoot The Dog" was one of the most valuable books I've ever read in my entire life, and has influenced much more than dog training, as it's a book about reinforcement, not just about dog training.
My daughter with Poco CDX, CH Barney CDXTD, and Talon CD. These dogs visited numerous schools and performed all over sw VA in the 80's.
Ch Trinity CD, Kuvasz.
For info on building a relationship of mutual respect, communication and understanding with your dog, contact me at Anywheredogtraining.com about upcoming clicker training classes.
