Dogs hold a special place in our hearts; many consider them beloved companions. To fulfil their crucial role as companions in a predominantly human-orientated world, dogs need to be guided. Teaching a dog life-skills is about so much more than training – it equips him with skills that allows him to be a successful dog living in human households. This includes being trained to eliminate outdoors, refraining from excessive barking, and behaving appropriately around visitors and children, among other things. Unfortunately, behavioural difficulties in dogs are a common reason for them being given up for adoption or euthanised (Reisner I. The learning dog: A discussion of training methods. In: Serpell J, editor. The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People, 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press; 2017. pp. 211–226).
From this need to teach dogs how to live with humans, a wide range of dog training methods arose, ranging from those that primarily use aversive techniques, such as positive punishment and negative reinforcement (choke chains, shock collars, prong collars, jerking on lead, shouting, hitting and causing the dog physical and emotional distress, while inhibiting positive learning and damaging the relationship between person and dog), to those that focus on positive reinforcement (using encouragement, guidance, patience, clear signals and anything the dog considers rewarding to motivate him to learn better and faster, while creating a wonderful bond between him and his his human – guess which one we believe is the better approach!) In the past, dog training was often associated with asserting dominance and using rigorous methods. However, with the emergence of more force-free and positive reinforcement trainers and behaviourists, we have realised that this traditional approach is no longer appropriate.
A recent study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7743949/#pone.0225023.ref002) demonstrated that dogs trained using aversive methods experienced lower welfare during training sessions compared to dogs trained using reward-based methods.
Let’s begin by understanding what “aversive” means…
“Aversive” refers to something that causes dislike or disinclination. If something is considered aversive to your pet, they will actively try to avoid it. This is important to remember – it’s all about how it’s percieved by the individual on the recieving end, not how it’s intented by the person on the giving end! For instance, using a prong collar when a dog pulls on the leash, tightens the collar and causes discomfort and pain as the prongs stick into the dog’s neck. The theory behind this approach is that the dog will stop pulling on the leash to avoid the discomfort caused by the prong collar.
Some examples of aversive products include choke collars, slip leads, shock collars, citronella collars, anti-bark systems, invisible fence systems, spray bottles, and shaker cans. Even behaviours such as yelling, alpha rolls, holding your dog’s mouth closed, and physical corrections like spanking are aversive.
Let’s delve into the science behind it: In training, there are four quadrants of operant conditioning:
- Positive reinforcement: Adding something desirable, like treats, to a dog’s environment to increase a specific behaviour.
- Positive punishment: Adding something undesirable like a prong collar to a dog’s environment to decrease a certain behaviour in less than three trials.
- Negative punishment: Removing something desirable, like rewards, to decrease a behaviour.
- Negative reinforcement: Removing something undesirable from a dog’s environment to increase a specific behaviour.
The four quadrants can be a bit of a nightmare to navigate if you’re not extremely familiar with them – but the big thing to remember is this: Positive means adding to, not necessarily “good”, and negative means “taking away”, not necessarily “bad”. Reinforcement means something that increases a behaviour happening, and punishment means decreasing a behaviour happening. And remember – it’s all about how an experience is perceived that determines where it falls! Let’s take the example of leash pulling. Using a prong collar on a dog that pulls on the leash would fall under positive punishment, as it involves adding something really unpleasant to the dog’s environment to decrease the behaviour. On the other hand, rewarding your dog walking nicely at your side without pulling on the leash would be an example of positive reinforcement, as it involves adding something enjoyable to increase the behaviour. Here’s a fun fact – for a dog who really enjoys walking and sniffing, a treat is not even needed. You can use the environment as a reward for walking nicely. When you walk nicely next to me, we get to go forward and you are rewarded for walking nicely by accessing new smells and sights. If you pull, we stand still and no new fun things happen. Motivational training is about so much more than just feeding treats the whole time – it’s about using positive emotions to encourage what you’d like to see more of.
Many trainers who employ aversive methods or products may argue that they are effective and can be to some extent. Why is this? It’s because aversive methods are something that your dog actively seeks to avoid. For instance, to avoid the pain caused by a prong collar, your dog will likely learn not to pull on the leash WHEN he’s wearing the prong collar. But does he know how to walk on a loose lead without out? Not likely….So why are we against such methods? Simply put, we believe these methods are unnecessary and inhumane, and we firmly believe there is a better way to train your dog. Just because you can use force to teach, doesn’t mean you should!
The consequences of using aversive methods can be far-reaching. While they may appear to work in the short term, they often have serious negative effects. Using aversive methods can create substantial negative associations in your dog’s mind. For example, consider the case of a shock collar: if your dog barks at another dog passing by your gate and receives a shock as a consequence, the intended association is “bark = shock.” However, your dog may instead associate it as “dog walking past = shock,” leading them to believe that dogs walking past cause pain. Or even worse… “outside = pain”, or “daylight = pain”… it can quickly generalise, and create even more serious challenges. Think how you would feel if you got into your car to drive somewhere you HAVE to go to (i.e. work, where you need to earn a living to buy food), and you nearly got into a huge accident. If the incident happened at an intersection you need to cross every day (and you have no other choice), and the scare was big and aversive enough, you would start having feelings of anxiety or even panic attacks at the thought of having to cross there. If it progresses, and you start feeling stressed about leaving your house during the week (but not the weekend, because then you dont HAVE to go there), it would start to affect your emotional wellbeing overall, and you may eventually avoid going out at all.
These associations can increase your dog’s anxiety and fear of specific stimuli, potentially resulting in fear-driven reactions and aggression.
Studies have indicated a higher incidence of aggressive behaviour in dogs trained using positive punishment and aversive tools (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141540.htm).
Of course, as an owner, you cannot directly perceive the associations your dog is making in a given moment, as you are not inside their mind. However, you can take every possible measure to prevent negative associations by avoiding using aversive methods altogether.
Research has consistently shown that positive reinforcement training, such as clicker training, is more effective than training involving positive punishment (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00508/full?fbclid=IwAR2KnncUI7QbcJhGmUqzZJ5f4OAG3Vtkmn7Q0mTn3LdIsohcz_BWV1dbkr4). Dogs are shown to be more enthusiastic about training and learn faster when they are rewarded or encouraged for correct responses, as opposed to being punished for incorrect ones.
Training should not solely focus on the end result but also on the relationship built throughout the process. After all, dogs are considered man’s best friend for a reason – and it’s our responsibility to advocate for our dogs and to protect them from emotional or physical pain.
