There are two main themes we hear about in dog training, positive and negative training. Positive training rewards a dog for a good behavior and negative training gives the dog a negative pressure or correction for doing something undesirable. It seems to be a popular mindset that positive based training methods are the gold standard in dog training, and the farther you stray away from complete positive reinforcement training the closer you get to being a mean, unfair, or even abusive dog owner or trainer. But does strict adherence to positive based training methods guarantee positive behavior in dogs? As a trainer I use positive training with every dog I work with, and during my agility classes I will even correct an owner for telling their dog "no" if their dog makes a mistake on a piece of agility equipment in a beginners level agility class. That being said, I also firmly believe that there is a time and a place to use negative pressure as a means to correct a dog for an unwanted behavior, and this seems to be an unpopular opinion. It is commonly thought that anyone who is fair and loving towards their dog must follow the path of positive only training and never consider using any type of negative pressure to correct a dog. It is taught that if we just reward our dogs consistently enough for all the good things they do, then the bad behaviors will become extinct and we will not have to correct our dogs. People will even go as far as to say any use of negative pressure towards a dog will damage your relationship and destroy your bond with the dog. Well here are my thoughts on that. It is impossible to have a dog and not expose it to some level and form of negative pressure. 99.9% of pet dogs will at some point be on a leash, will visit a veterinary clinic, and be exposed to other dogs, and all these things put negative pressure on your dog. So then if we can agree that some forms and levels of negative pressure are unavoidable, who then decides what level of pressure is okay and what form it can come in? If it is okay to subject your dog to being on a leash, and the dog pulls on the leash and creates negative pressure, how much pressure is an acceptable amount of leash pressure for them to endure? Is pressure okay as long as it is coming from a harness or a flat buckle collar and not a prong collar or a remote collar? Who decides where the line is that separates the gold standard of positive training from something unacceptable or mean? It would seem to me that most positive training followers are as gentle as possible and as firm as they feel is reasonable. It often times seems that they also limit themselves to using only training tools that look and feel gentle and mild. The truth of the matter is this works…for some dogs. Strict adherence to pure positive training methods does work for some dogs that have soft personalities, and lower distraction thresholds and high food drives. The low levels of negative pressure delivered through a harness or flat buckle collar, and the pressure created by changing ones tone of voice and body posture combined with high value food rewards are enough to shape the dogs behavior. But what about the owners with high strung dogs, or stubborn dogs, dogs who could care less about a treat or toy when there is a distraction present, or dogs with pesky problem behaviors that they can't seems to resolve, what are they left with? For many of these dogs the results of positive based training by itself will yield occasional obedience at best. Many owners are left with guilt and assume they just didn't follow the methods correctly, or perhaps they look for an excuse to hold on to like "My dog was a rescue, it was probably abused." or "Maybe I just have a bad dog." So then, are there any solutions for these "stubborn" dogs, for the "selective listeners", the "she's really good except when..." dogs? Positive training purists promise that anything you do to your dog that isn't reward based will result in an unbalanced, fearful, or aggressive dog. It is not uncommon however, for traditional positive only training methods to leave you with a dog that still pulls on the leash, barks at every dog it sees, or is unable to focus or respond to known commands when distractions are present... but are these dogs happy?
"My goal as a trainer is simple:
to communicate both 'yes' and 'no'
to the dog, being as gentle as
possible, but as firm as necessary."
to communicate both 'yes' and 'no'
to the dog, being as gentle as
possible, but as firm as necessary."
How much stress and pressure are the dogs in these pictures feeling both physically and mentally? Was it really a fair training method if this is the result? This is not a positive state of mind for any dog to be in, and it isn't fair to let your dog continue down this path. If all we ever do is tell the dog when they are doing something right we are doing them a great disservice. In school a teacher will use a red pen to bring a mistake to a students attention. If the teacher only gave out gold stars for academic success but never showed a student when they made a mistake progress would be greatly slowed down and in some cases students could become terribly confused. Our dogs need this same type of guidance and communication. We are the teacher and they are the student, except we can't sit down with them with a red pen and point out where they made a mistake. Dogs only understand yes and no, reward communicates yes, and negative pressure communicates no. Why then are we letting books and training theories decide what is the appropriate level of communication we can use teach our dogs? My goal as a trainer is simple: communicate both "yes" and "no" to the dog, being as gentle as possible, but as firm as necessary. I positively reinforce good behaviors that I want to see more of but I also balance that with using pressure to correct undesirable behaviors. How much pressure will I use? As little as possible but as much as necessary. The type of pressure and the amount used varies from dog to dog and situation to situation. I also use whatever training tools best allow me to communicate clearly both "yes" and "no". Every dog is different and as dog trainers and owners we need to recognize each dogs individual personality. There should be no shame in needing to use more pressure to get a Jack Russel Terrier focus then it might take to get an Australian Shepherd to focus, they are just different dogs and need different levels of pressure. Even with dogs of the same breed and the same litter you will find differences in personalities. My goal is to recognize the rainbow of different personalities, to communicate both "yes" and "no" to the dogs I work with, and to be as gentle as possible but as firm as necessary with each and every one.