Dr. Sophia Yin’s incredible legacy in the world of force-free animal training and beyond

sophia-yin-jonesy

Dr. Sophia Yin and her dog Jonesy.

On Monday Dr. Sophia Yin, one of the world's most respected and important veterinarian behaviorists, committed suicide. She was 48.

Dr. Yin was a pioneer in the field of force-free positive reinforcement dog training. It would be hard to overstate her contribution to the world of humane animal training. At School For The Dogs, there is not a day that goes by where we don't reference one of her books or videos. She also developed the Treat & Train, the remote-controlled treat dispenser that is hand's down my favorite dog training tool.

I saw Dr. Yin speak a couple of times, and have watched many of her videos. I was particularly moved by her appearance in the short film Tough Love, where she talks about  her life with dogs prior to discovering positive reinforcement training.  I related big time: As a child, I did things to my dog that I now think of as pretty awful. I yelled “No” in my deepest voice, bit his ear, forced him on his back and growled in face. Dr. Yin's treatment of her own childhood dog sounds like it was even more severe.

Kate and I are heartbroken that she is gone, but grateful for all she did for dogs and the people who love them. Her legacy will live on, and we are proud to be among her many, many disciples.

Annie Grossman
annie@schoolforthedogs.com