05/31/2026
This is the distinction that nobody explains and it's the reason corrections fail.
If the dog doesn't understand the behavior yet, what you're doing isn't a correction. It's punishment. And those are not the same thing.
A correction communicates. It says: I know you know this, and that wasn't it.
Punishment just hurts, emotionally - even if not physically. The dog has no idea why. He learns nothing except that you're unpredictable.
In over 20 years of training, the most common mistake I see isn't people correcting too hard. It's people correcting too early, before the dog has been taught, before the behavior has been proofed, before the dog is even in a state where he can learn.
You cannot correct what you haven't taught.
Three things have to be true before any correction is fair.
1. The dog has to understand the behavior.
2. He has to be capable of performing it.
3. He has to be in a teachable state.
Most people are zero for three and don't know it.
If corrections have ever made your dog more confused, comment CORRECTION
below and I'll send you my Correct vs Redirect decision framework.
