According to the Larousse :
Teaching
« train someone by developing and fulfilling their personality » ; « develop a skill through appropriate exercises » ; « make someone acquire the customs of society ».
Training
« make an animal docile » ; « have him used to expected behaviors » ; « acquire through repeated exercises a behavior, an aptitude » ; « make someone acquire, through constraint, discipline ».
Very often, because of a fully subjective perception of words, because of various associations that have been made, we strip words of their definitions and give them a moral role.
A teacher transmits skills and develops social skills.
A trainer transmits behavioral skills in a given context.
Very often, the trainer is associated with this individual with a whip in a circus, facing wild animals in captivity, who in order to obtain a behavior that is not intrinsic to them (such as balancing on a small support) threatens them with his whip, or even touches them with it.
Teaching is about passing skills on.
Training is about getting to obedience, controlling the action.
Very often, terms associated with training are perceived negatively because they have long implied the use of physical force and intimidation.
Still, and fortunately !, the human behaviors have changed :
in zoos, animals are trained to demonstrate their intrinsic behaviors through positive reinforcement among other things
in rescue forces, dogs are trained to assist their human partners in finding people.
Beyond the words – teaching or training –, beyond the passion that drives some people on the subjective perception of these words, the actions, the behaviors, the techniques used, speak much more to me. Under the guise of teaching, dogs uncomfortable with their peers were immersed among them, dogs frightened of humans were forced to stand still in a market, dogs panicked at being left alone are left on their own until they stop vocalizing. I could cite tons of such examples.
I know colleagues who contribute to the (re-)placement of dogs in rescue services, who therefore train the dogs for particular missions, which many dog "teachers" would have to observe in order to be educated on kindness. Personally, I consider participating in the education of dogs, because I ensure that they develop skills to be as comfortable as possible in a society governed by humans.
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