The mirror method

[sucittanna]

This is a long interview/article - here is the direct link to all of it http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/08/the- ... mosi-nagy/

Now one of Europe’s most celebrated trainers, NORA VAMOSI-NAGY is a co-founder of the celebrated Mirror Method of dog training. She and her partners have established several raining schools in Budapest, with more to come. What distinguishes Ms. Vamosi-Nagy is the profound degree to which she has taken positive reinforcement training, a view that has made her a leading and much sought after authority in Hungary and throughout Europe.

“The main idea is that everything is up to the owner,” she explains. “So, if you have a dog who’s not behaving or if you have a problem, then you should look at what you are doing wrong, rather than blaming the dog. A dog is a mirror in this whole process; he reflects what you are doing well or poorly. In our school we teach in groups of twelve, and the dogs are off-leash.”

[JudyN]

That's interesting! I wouldn't agree that whenever a dog has a problem it's because of something the owner is doing wrong (because if this was the case, obviously, I'd have a perfect dog... ). Dogs have their own personalities and tendencies and some less desirable tendencies can be very deeply rooted. However, it's true that in this case you shouldn't blame the dog but should ask yourself 'What can I do to make this better?'

I'd be very interested to know what exactly we should do to gain the dog's 'respect'. It sounds like it could be something similar to NILIF.

As for the dog mirroring the owner, I'm sure that's true. Regardless of training method, someone who is very ordered and likes things to be just so is more likely to end up with an obedient well trained dog. Someone with a more laissez-faire approach will settle for recall when the dog is ready, and won't mind much if the dog goes into a down instead of a sit. A fun-loving person will encourage the dog to have fun. Of course, the person may select a dog based on what they want their relationship to be - a control freak is more likely to choose a collie than a saluki.

How I apply this to the fact that Jasper has just this moment started humping his bed I do not know...

[jacksdad]

I have to agree with Judy. while we can be the source of some of our dog's issues, it is VERY important we don't setup people up to fail by laying ALL responsibility for a dog's behavior on the human. Because they will NOT always be the source of the issue. and how to "be" with your dog can get a bit fuzzy and vague and abstract to the point of discouraging people from working with their dogs due to "failing" to "be" whatever it is the trainer is claiming you need to "be" in order for your dog to behave. ie..."my dog isn't sitting" response, you aren't "being" X enough. that isn't training. that isn't understanding dog behavior, or how learning works. Is that what this lady's program is? i would need to know more...but it has that feel and it's something we need to be aware of.

I am also not sure "respect" from our dogs is even a valid concept. respect is a fairly abstract concept. Even IF dogs can "respect" another living being..what's their criteria? how do you know what this dog "respects" verse that dog?

I think focusing on being clear, safe, rewarding is a far more important goal/concept and more helpful in training dogs.

I skimmed the article...I noticed a few red flags for me, I am going to need to know a bit more about her "method" before I get to excited about it.

[doggiedad]

i read somewhere "when your dog isn't doing what you want you have to
stop and ask yourself what am i doing wrong".

This is a long interview/article - here is the direct link to all of it http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/08/the- ... mosi-nagy/

Now one of Europe’s most celebrated trainers, NORA VAMOSI-NAGY is a co-founder of the celebrated Mirror Method of dog training. She and her partners have established several raining schools in Budapest, with more to come. What distinguishes Ms. Vamosi-Nagy is the profound degree to which she has taken positive reinforcement training, a view that has made her a leading and much sought after authority in Hungary and throughout Europe.

>>>>“The main idea is that everything is up to the owner,” she explains. “So, if you have a dog who’s not behaving or if you have a problem, then you should look at what you are doing wrong, rather than blaming the dog. A dog is a mirror in this whole process; he reflects what you are doing well or poorly. In our school we teach in groups of twelve, and the dogs are off-leash.” [*]<<<<