The Real World: A Word On Management - a podcast by Ty Brown

In this post, I want to offer some words of caution about the concept of management, a term that is often used by dog trainers. All this means is setting up an environment where your dog can have success.

We work with a lot of dogs who have aggression problems, and can often do an enormous amount to help these dogs get over their issue. But eventually, we may reach a point where we see a diminishing returns. Let’s say that the dog does very well in situations A, B, and C, but scenario L is something like being on a paved path and seeing another dog charging toward them. Even if the dog does perfectly in so many scenarios where they used to be aggressive, this is completely different. It’s a lot to ask a dog not to be aggressive when another animal is charging at them.

That’s a situation where management would be key. What does good management mean? For starters, it means recognizing that the scenario at hand is too much for your dog to handle. In this specific circumstance, you might get off the path ten or fifteen feet, have your dog lie down, and shoo away the other dog if it comes further toward you. Your responsibility as an owner is to manage the scenario. This is just one example of management. But putting your dogs in scenarios where they’re more likely to have success and make good choices is an important part of long-term success.

Now, there is a problem with management, and it has to do with dog trainers. If you’re in Utah, of course, I’d recommend that you come to us! But for the people reading this all over the country, I want to warn you about something to watch out for when you’re choosing a dog trainer: many trainers actually manage more than they train!

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