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Leadership and animal training - the Authoritarian

Harsh training methods like rollkur are used as shortcuts.

Dogs are shocked into submission using electronic devices.

This type of trainer uses force, coercion and devices to train. They are into shortcuts and fast results. They put their hands on the animals; they push and they prod. They 'break' horses with the aid of side-reins, tie-downs or martingales, leverage bits, flash nose bands, whips and twitches. When training dogs they use electric shock collars, prong collars, choke chains and punishment.

 

Often this type of trainer will deny that animals can feel sadness, confusion or even pain, but they will quickly accuse an animal of being stubborn, disrespectful, defiant or belligerent when it fails to perform as expected. Very paternalistic, this type of leader "knows what's good" for everyone, and they nit-pick every attempt the animal makes to perform the behavior requested.

 

Authoritarian trainers use words like 'alpha' and 'dominant'. They require a certain amount of fear from the animal in order to effectively train. This is the bully type of trainer who fights with horses and dogs. They may punch a horse in the stomach or choke a dog with a leash. They may withhold food and water or confine or restrain the animal as a form of punishment. Many of them yell and curse at animals. They may even berate the owners, bringing them to tears.

 

While they can be charming and convincing when trying to cultivate business, these trainers generally scorn most people as not being smart enough to train their own pets. These are the trainers who want the dog or horse sent to them for training, telling the owner that it's their fault the animal has problem behaviors and therefore the owner cannot fix it. If the owner requests to attend the training session, they will be told that their presence will make the animal anxious. Another phrase this type of trainer frequently utters is "you've spoiled your animal". This type of trainer may call his or her program a 'boot camp'. 

Sometimes their methods work and sometimes they don’t. This type of trainer will ‘get rid of’ animals that do not respond to their training agenda. They cannot bear failure and instead of evaluating their own methods for flaws, they blame the animal for being ‘untrainable’ or ‘no good’.

 

Don't send your dog or horse off for training with one of these authoritarian leaders. You would not approve of their techniques if you knew what they were, and when your animal returns home, there will be more problems, for instance the horse may have become head-shy from having his ear twisted and the once enthusiastic dog may now be timid and urinate whenever you try to touch her.