I am a crossover trainer, and we tend to like to tell our stories.
“Crossing over,” and “crossover trainer” refer to a trainer who switched from punishment based, or mixed training that included aversives, to training that is centered around positive reinforcement and avoids force, pain, and actions intended to “dominate” the dog.
I have written the story of my transformation, and Ines Gaschot is graciously hosting it at her blog, “The Crossover Trainer.” She has lots of interesting crossover stories over there as well as many other lovely blog posts. I hope you’ll not only go over and read mine, but check out the rest of her blog and website too if you haven’t already.
So here is how to get to my crossover story, complete with an embarrassing picture of Summer and me graduating from our first obedience class in 2006. (She didn’t much like the mortarboard.)
Crossing Over: A Pet Owner’s Story
Thanks for reading!
Coming up:
I have found that a firm voice when the command is given and very positive praise. I have a per bred boxer that has a very strong will , he is 21 months old so basically still a puppy, but learning daily