| Seventy-one professional trainers and handlers of pet, law enforcement, search-and-rescue, and service dogs, as well as various other canine agency representatives, were surveyed about their perceptions of how dogs for which they were responsible learned during training. Participants' responses were used to determine the extent to which canines they had trained exhibited preferences for any of the Dunn and Dunn Learning-Style Model's 21 variables. They also were asked to identify the different techniques they had used with the canines they trained. Data showed that a multitude of strategies had been employed.; Trainers also were asked whether particular canine breeds exhibited different learning-style characteristics. Sixty-six percent indicated that canines did exhibit different characteristics related to the Dunns' Model. Sporting and Herding dogs, and to a lesser degree, Terriers and miscellaneous breeds were perceived as being highly Motivated, Persistent, Responsible, and Sound-Sensitive. Conversely, they were somewhat likely to prefer warmer Temperatures and Time-of-Day preferences for learning in the Evening.; Non-Sporting and Working dogs were highly likely to prefer cool Temperatures and to be Persistent, and receptive to Sound, as well as being Team workers. However, they were highly unlikely to be either Visually oriented or highly-Motivated, and had little preference for Learning in the Evening. Hounds and Toy Dogs were highly likely to be Visual learners with high Persistence. These dogs preferred warm Temperatures and were sensitive to Sound.; More than 66 percent of the responding canine trainers affirmed that individual canines were unique in how they learned. The respondents verified the need for literally individualizing instruction for the animals they trained.; A majority of the respondents reported that canines preferred selected clusters of the Model. Those clusters most frequently associated with specific breeds were: sensitivity to Sound (German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Border Collies); high Motivation (Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds); high Persistence (Labrador Retrievers); high Responsibility (German Shepherds, Border Collies, Labrador Retrievers); and highly Visual (Border Collies). |
