03/26/2026
Want to hear some different versions of a favorite catchphrase used as justification for incorporating aversives into dog training?
"Just train the dog in front of you"
"I choose the training method best suited to the dog in front of me"
"I like to use either positive reinforcement or positive punishment depending on the dog in front of me"
I don't know if you can believe this... but for more than a decade, I have also "just trained the dog in front of me"🤯 and I have never thought to myself, "you know, I really think I should *pop, hit, swat, spray, jerk, grab, yell, roll, scruff, scare, intimidate* this dog for improved learning."
Even when the dog in front of me has been...
✨An aloof Mastiff
✨An excitable teenage Husky
✨A Pointer that has only known training involving aversives
✨A Border collie that wants to chase everything that moves
✨A Scottie with their own agenda that doesn't involve me
✨A German shepherd that... is a German shepherd😅
My +R colleagues would agree with me when I say that positive reinforcement based training isn't limiting and our toolboxes are massive! We are highly observant, creative, and compassionate humans committed to improving, not damaging, the relationship between owners and their dogs.
So here's to all of my +R colleagues that are 💜training the dogs in front of them every day💜 keep doing the work.
