Animal Training.

Hi Dave,

Hope you are well.

I remember you mentioning that you sometimes felt John Warfield used the same training methods on you guys as he did on his german shepherds.

I know it was a tongue in cheek comment but I'm curious as to what methods he used to ensure that he got the result he wanted from people. AND to ensure that they actually found their own way to the end result.

cheers
Chris

I assume this refers to behavioural aspects, not physical ?

My choi instructor has a sseries of videos on Primates and how they get their strength and has incorporated some of this into his teaching.

well just for clarification, it was GORDON Warfield (John's brother) who was big on training bloody great monster german shepherds...

But yes, there were some 'mental' similarities..

Reward and ignore was one..

if you werent training as, how shall I say ..err yes.. diligently...as he felt you should, and you asked a question he would just ignore you (ignore dogs bad behaviour and they re-assess that behaviour)

Both John and Gordon could make you feel you almost 'owed' it to them to go that one step further.. it almost became an 'honour' to be dragged out the front for a pasting Ha Ha...

"Where's Dai Boy?" .. usually meant Turton was going to get a battering of some sort..

yet when he DIDNT say that and dragged say Jeff Keen out, I was a bit jealous.. "I usually get that face hold put on me not Jeff" or similar.

PLEASING the 'master' and being part of the pack, an important part was always our subtle subliminal goal..

John could make you leave a meal or a cuppa half eaten/drunk as a favour to him if he wanted to emphasise a point..

Once at Gordons on Llanelli Hill (and I mean HILL) it was 2.30am, and one of my guys had asked a question that I only half heard.. Gordon said "Dai.. we'll go on the grass and show them OK?".. so at 2.35am up a Welsh mountain in bloody February I was being tossed about on the back lawn with a great big wolf (sorry Dog.. called Mabon)and a very nasty alsation bitch barking their heads off... and I was feeling chuffed it was ME!

Lots more on that vein

including one of John's sayings that is familiar to dog breeders..

"It's always better to work one what the animal already HAS than to introduce it (him!) to something alien"

so some techniques or methods would be amphasised more and some less to fit each individuals' own 'uniqueness'.