09/04/2026
I spent and am still spending an unacceptable amount of time reading through a post on a Facebook group.
It's a dog training group and the question was this:
'Please share stories of a time you used an aversive on a puppy 6-12 months of age.'
Here's the thing I've learned in 15 years of dog training: dog trainers do not agree on the definition of aversive.
So... I asked for clarification, what does the poster mean when they say aversive?
It was not me being facetious, though I'm sure some people may have seen it that way.
I truly enjoy having conversations, yes I said conversations, with people who see things and do things differently. I might learn something.
I never got an answer but reading through the various answers is exactly why I asked the question.
Some people believe aversive means prong collars and e-collars. Some expand that into head halters, some expand it to consequences, and some expand it to anything the dog finds uncomfortable.
No one is on the same page.
People are arguing.
Not because they want to, because they aren't talking about the same thing.
They're getting frustrated, heated, thinking less of their peers because they're reading from two different books where the characters have the same names and trying to discuss who the antagonist is.
So I keep reading, watching people get themselves wound up while speaking different languages and am completely fascinated by it.
