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Social Media & Dog Training: Wading Through the Swamp of Information

By Cindy Rhodes

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Let me start this off by stating that while I do work in the video business and we use social media at Leerburg, I am writing this as a dog trainer and my personal social media usage.

I've been training dogs in some fashion since the mid-1960s. I didn't know that's what I was doing at the time, for me it was just learning how to communicate with my best friend, the family dog. What I really wanted was a horse but since my parents couldn't get one for me, I decided to train our Doberman to be a horse. I didn't teach her to heel. I taught her to walk behind me on a lead and I made all kinds of saddlebags and harnesses for her. We spent many hours out tromping through the woods and swamps. She was an amazing dog and put up with a lot from 7-year-old me.

By the time I was 13, I had a dog training business going. I didn't try to start a business but a few neighbors were watching me work with my dog around the neighborhood and approached me about working with their dogs every day. I had the dog training equivalent of a paper route. Each day after school I would go along my route, pick up the dogs one at a time and teach them to walk nicely on leash, sit, and down. I'll never forget those dogs and their owners for what they taught me. I also was paid 50 cents a day per dog. They paid me to train their dogs! I was in heaven.

I had no formal training or even any idea of using food or toys to reward dogs. My only reference material was a book my mom had on the shelf. It was written by Blanche Saunders and was titled Training You to Train Your Dog. It was published in 1952 and I haven't read this book since the early '70s. In those days you used a chain slip collar, leash corrections, and verbal praise.

Around the time I was 14, my parents gave me real dog obedience lessons as part of my Christmas present. These classes were held in a church basement in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. I was hooked.

I worked with our poodle everyday and while she had a sketchy temperament, she was a pretty darn good obedience dog. One of my dad's friends was at our house and saw me working with her and said, “You know, I compete in AKC obedience. You should look into that.” I had no idea there was such a thing! I didn't compete with that little poodle but my next dog (a Shetland Sheepdog named Sam) was the gateway into all kinds of training and eventually competition in AKC and CKC obedience, IPO, and Mondioring with several different dogs.

Since that time, I've learned many different methods of motivating dogs and used many different tools. I like to think that I have evolved and learned something new from each dog I work with, hopefully, something that makes me a better communicator. I feel fortunate that I was not exposed to social media in my formative years as a trainer simply because I learned so much through all my hands-on experience as well as traveling and watching so many other trainers. I never heard the terms learning theory or quadrants or operant conditioning when I started. I had to find my way by observing and comparing. For me, the hands-on personal experience (whether doing or watching others in person) kept me focused. Video clips are great and technology has made many things easier but at times, I get an uncomfortable feeling about the sheer volume of material.

The material itself is not the root of my discomfort entirely, it's also the commentary surrounding it. I feel that people are ruder and snarkier online than they might be in person. I know and am well acquainted with the saying, “the only thing 2 dog trainers can agree on is what the third trainer is doing wrong” but this goes beyond that.

I've witnessed people tearing apart a new trainer online when they post a video and ask a legitimate question or for feedback. I've seen some trainers post caveman-style methods and then justify the abuse the dog has had to endure.

There are also some very misinformed and/or inexperienced people out there presenting material on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The problem with this is that new trainers may stumble onto these videos and believe because of the flashy production that the material is valid. The truth is that anyone with a smartphone can create professional-looking videos these days and it's hard to sift through all of it. The editing that takes place in many of these videos also gives a false and unrealistic sense of the actual time and breakdown of the exercises. As a dog trainer, I want to see all the problems as they happen, not just the successes.

Now that I've written all that, I definitely have seen and learned from some amazing trainers via social media with excellent training methods being used. Some of these trainers live in a distant location and I would never have the opportunity to see what they are doing without social media. It's also very possible that without social media, you wouldn't even be reading this right now.

It's a fact that the worlds' attention span is getting shorter and we are bombarded with media from every angle these days. I find myself getting distracted and agitated sometimes just because of all the information being thrown at me. I find this affects my motivation at times.

I often wish for a simpler less "noisy" existence. I'm making a conscious effort to unplug myself from my devices more often and only use them for a limited time each day. That has certainly helped to create more calm and quiet in my mind. If I want my dogs to be calm and focused, then it starts with me being in the right emotional state before I ever pick up the leash.

For me personally, I'm really glad I didn't have to wade through the swamp of social media as a brand new dog trainer.

I know that everyone is different, so I'd love to hear how social media has affected you and your dog training journey, both positively and negatively.

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About Author

Cindy Rhodes

Cindy Rhodes has been training dogs since the 1980s. She has competed at a national level in Schutzhund (now called IPO) and Mondio Ring. Cindy has bred Dobermans and Malinois under the kennel name Kaiserhaus since the 80s. Cindy has also worked as a dog groomer for 15 years. Her experience and wealth of information led to the development of Leerburg's advice column. If you are looking for free dog training advice from an expert trainer, you can view Leerburg's Ask Cindy section. Cindy also offers in-person training in puppy training and dog sport foundations here.