Zak George has started a whole series on training and dealing with a very reactive adolescent German Shepherd

[shammysdad]

@julie3685 They aren't real rescue dogs. Check out next time how he actually makes the dogs perform bad behaviour. It is fake. Watch closely and you will spot the set ups everywhere. How can he train a real rescue when he cant even train the ones he lives with?

 

[julie3685]

@shammysdad I've not seen any evidence of fakery or that the dogs are not in fact rescue dogs. I'm also not prone to believe conspiracy theorists.

From what I can see his experiences with reactive dogs is exactly like what having a reactive dog is like. Hindsight is 20/20 and you can't set up every situation perfectly.

You know what I've never seen him do? Yell at the dogs, hit the dogs, jerk the dogs, shock the dogs, throw things at the dogs. Does he push their thresholds sometimes? Who hasn't? I know my reactive dogs thresholds change depending on a whole lot of factors so what is a good distance one day is too close on another.

 

[shammysdad]

@julie3685 If you are not one of his fake reviewer goons from all the products he pushes, I challenge you to watch more closely. If there is a part where he says the dog is pulling, it is actually Zak leaning backwards and pulling the dog, so as to make it pull. There is even one where he says the dog chews on the leash, slow it down and see he put the leash in the dogs mouth and tugged and pulled backwards.

Dog Trainer Reacts: ZAK GEORGE TAKES HIS DOG TO THE DOG PARK – THIS IS WHY PEOPLE HATE POS REINF!

And besides zak brainwashing you to think it, no one is teaching hitting, yelling, throwing things etc. The people who make money on shock collars pretend to be trainers too, to sell them (like upstate canine academy and the like) and also use fake actors and actor dogs, just like Zak. If you continue to watch Zak you will ALWAYS have a "reactive dog" (nice term for blaming the dog instead of the owner). You will feel warm and fuzzy but your dog will be confused and anxiety ridden.

P.S. I don't believe in conspiracy theories either but I can spot a conman and fake reviews. The strange exaggerated reviews look like ones you would get if you paid people.

 

[julie3685]

@shammysdad If you think that having dogs who are more sensitive to their environments than others is solely an owner issue you know nothing about dog training.

Obviously on a channel dedicated to dog training he would use rewards. You don’t normally watch someone train a dog that is already trained.
The same techniques used are on kikopup. It’s similar style of training.

The only ads I see is one at the beginning for bark box.

I will also disagree that Cesar Milan produces fast and humane results.

 

[shammysdad]

@julie3685 Where did I say dogs don't have different sensitivities? Please watch his dog park video and maybe a few of the other trainers who break it down to show how clueless he is as he fosters aggression into his dog. Behaviour is an owner thing. Aggression is a learned behaviour. Zak has made his dog reactive and aggressive. Watch more closely. You have to be kidding about bark box (is that who you work for?). He has ads even in the middle of videos. Ads are everywhere. From the treat he shoves in their face to the pouch he is using. How could possibly compare kikopup to a moron with no timing and who never gives a dog a clear command. He talks the entire time. When his dog sits he acts like he has made a huge accomplishment (a 4 week old puppy can learn to sit). Kikopup has a 12 week old puppy doing tons of tricks in a row and Zak gloats that an adult dog can sit with a treat right in its nose.

P.S. Re products pushed. The video this thread is discussing has a huge commentary stuck in while he fake feeds the dog so he can go on and on about the placement of the vegetables in the product he wants you to buy, and its not bark box. And why did he put a muzzle on a dog that according to him only "didnt like a particular chicken". My guess to sell muzzles. There are many other purchase references throughout of other stuff for sale as always.

 

[purefaith31]

@julie3685 I really like absolute dogs (though so also find them a smidge annoying!). I did their sexier than a squirrel course with my other (non-reactive) dog to improve his recall as a teenager and it worked pretty well. I didn’t realise they had a course specifically for reactivity though - is that the naughty/nice one?

 

[aver]

@angelic_melody987 I really like his series, since they provide insight into real dog training and not only theoretical perfect training sessions (probably prerecorded several times to get it right). I don't mind "commercial breaks", he gives his high quality content for free and needs to make a living, so what...

 

[helenee]

@aver I don't mind either, I just skip them. I watched so many of his videos now I can usually guess how far ahead I have to fast forward lol.

 

[ibbj]

@angelic_melody987 Zak is actually stressed for once, which is nice to see. Puppies are much easier to train than reactive dogs, I like the realism in this series a lot.

 

[angelic_melody987]

@ibbj The series with his new BC he released recently had some stress in it as well, particularly the 'first time at the dog park' episode, where his dog was not a fan of bigger dogs.

 

[ibbj]

@angelic_melody987 Do you mean the episode where the German shepherd bowled Inertia over and she snapped at him? That was a golden training realism moment. I really do appreciate him sharing the successes and "failures" of dog training

 

[angelic_melody987]

@ibbj Correct, and then also she got overwhelmed and decided to hang out under the park bench as well. He made some great points about not forcing the dog to come out, and not letting the interaction build when he just picked her up when she was snapping.

 

[ibbj]

@angelic_melody987 It's so important to let dogs decide what they do and don't want to interact with. That video showed why I personally don't mess around with dog parks, but it also showed how to respond if you're going to venture into one with an apprehensive dog.

 

[angelic_melody987]

@ibbj Yeah, I don't really bring mine there anymore even though he really likes it, because he has trouble with rough play and herding at the park. He is just as happy going to the local soccer field and playing disc with me on a 100 foot lead, and no risk of getting into it with the dogs owned by people unwilling to manage or train their dogs.

 

[shammysdad]

@angelic_melody987 You mean the one where he ignores all the dogs fear and calming signals and teaches her to be reactive and then picks her up and hugs her to reinforce it?

 

[brideforchrist]

@ibbj I felt pretty good when he said he was overwhelmed since he's a professional and well-regarded trainer. My little monster has about a 75% overlap with her issues (she does GREAT in her crate but has a few other issues this dog doesn't). I was so happy to see that dog chew through that tether because my dog would have done that immediately.

 

[shammysdad]

@ibbj Realism. Lol There is no trainer more fake. He tells you he is stressed. It is part of the act!

 

[minodora]

@angelic_melody987 Agh I'm so grateful for this series. All of the other dogs he trains on video just seem to pick things up immediately and are usually brand new puppies without any major issues. We have a 7mo frustrated greeter GSD, so hoping to learn a lot from this series!

 

[angelic_melody987]

@minodora Editing also helps those other dogs along, a 15 minute video might be anywhere from 1-4 hours of working with a dog.

That said, it's easy to forget that a lot of dogs aren't a struggle at all. Reactivity is common, but by no means the norm for people who actively train.

 

[godsgirl9]

@minodora

All of the other dogs he trains on video just seem to pick things up immediately

That’s because the whole thing is an illusion videos are edited to make it look like he is training the dogs quickly.

ZG isn’t training the dogs on video, he probably shoots a little bit of the “before” and the initial learning, trained the dog off camera for some period of time and maybe had the people practice with the dogs for a few days or longer, then shot the after “oh look how wonderfully trained!”

It’s not that hard if you let a few days or more pass to let the dog get better, just make sure people are dressed the same and nobody gets a haircut, shaves his beard, or makes another dramatic change, and if you are outside it is a little later in the day or if you are inside that the room looks the same.

Basically what you see is not reality and don’t measure your dog’s progress against ZG videos.

Disclaimer: I don’t know if this is what ZG is doing or not, this is just speculation about how someone could easily make it look like a dog picks up training a lot faster than reality. I’ve never done it, but it doesn’t seem that hard.