Dominance & Dog Training
I believe that aversive collars should not be used when training animals because they are outdated, slow the training process, and hurt the relationship between the owner and the dog. Safer, more effective methods exist, but sadly, there are still trainers who use these tools today. Unfortunately, force-based training methods have been perpetuated by people who have been training dogs for a long time and haven’t updated themselves on the newer, safer methods available. The dog training industry is one that is severely under-regulated and this has led to some really awful advice being given to unsuspecting pet owners in the name of “training”. Some organizations strive to regulate the dog training industry by developing a structured curriculum, testing, and practical hour requirements to become certified. The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers is one of the organizations committed to developing standards for the field and putting an end to the outdated “dominance” techniques of the past.
When owners are told that their dog is behaving in a “dominant” manner they are much more likely to switch to using an aversive training method. These collars may “work” to temporarily stop the behavior because the dog doesn’t want to feel the uncomfortable feeling again. However, quick fixes can quickly come undone. This technique usually doesn't have any lasting effect on behavior because the method isn’t focusing on teaching the dog what to do instead. These trainers will reach for an aversive tool even for the most common behavior problems like pulling on a leash, barking, and jumping on people. Reward-based training takes time and patience. It is definitely not a quick fix but it will have a much more lasting effect on behavior. The other added benefit of training with kindness is that you get to enjoy a more satisfying and rewarding relationship with your dog.
Without force-based methods, dogs learn much faster because they aren’t stressed. Studies have shown that the part of the brain responsible for learning and retention simply can’t function when under stress. When we focus on punishing the dog when they “get it wrong”, we eventually have a dog who is less likely to offer any behavior which makes them harder to train. Dogs, like people, have personalities that fall on a continuum. This means that some pups are resilient, however, using an aversive on a shy or timid pup could have disastrous, lasting effects. It is not recommended to use an aversive collar on a puppy because it can cause quite a bit of physical and emotional damage. It can be highly detrimental to the dog’s development if they are exposed to a strong aversive stimulus at a young age.
"Traditional training methods ignore the underlying cause or emotional state driving the undesirable behavior and instead focus on stopping the outward signs. Updated training methods rely on changing the underlying cause and recognizing how the dog is being rewarded for undesirable behaviors so that the rewards can be removed and only desired behaviors are rewarded.” Yin
The fact is, that there is a logical explanation for every behavior and the solution is not to punish your dog. There is an easier, less stressful way to teach your dog how to behave. When you focus less on correcting your dog for misbehaving and more on teaching them what you want them to do instead, you get a dog who behaves much more consistently and in a way that you like. You don’t need to alpha roll your dog to show them that you are boss, you just need to control the resources and become the predictable access to those resources. Once your dog understands what is expected of them, training becomes much easier as their natural desire to please will show.
“Leadership is established when the owner can set clear limits for the dog’s behavior and can effectively communicate the rules by always rewarding correct behaviors as they occur while preventing or immediately removing the rewards for undesirable behaviors before they are accidentally reinforced.” Yin
Many dog owners are given the advice to growl at their dog, stare at their dog or even roll their dog over to their side and hold them down. These techniques are very outdated and can be dangerous especially if attempted in houses with children present. The only thing we are teaching the dog by physically confronting them is to be afraid of people. Unfortunately, these techniques are perpetuated by professionals who haven’t updated themselves on newer, more effective techniques. The theory that dogs are descended from wolves and therefore adhere to a wolf pack social structure is one that has been debunked for decades now. We know that the studies done on wolves between 1940-1990 were done on wolves from many different walks of life forced into captivity. What they witnessed was quite a bit of aggression as the wolves fought for resources and established a hierarchy for survival. We now know that this is not normal behavior observed within a wolf pack in their natural environment. Wolf packs consist of a mating pair and their offspring of the last couple of seasons. There is rarely if ever any aggression observed within these natural wolf packs. The very study that every dominance trainer bases their philosophy on was flawed from the get-go. As behaviorists, we follow where science leads us. We are using the same principles that guide human behavior and applying them to how we train animals.
To treat aggression we don’t need a heavy hand. A lot of dominance trainers insist that positive reinforcement only works for teaching tricks while aggression or challenging behaviors need to be dealt with using force. This could not be farther from the truth as the only way you are going to see lasting results from training is if you use only force-free methods to treat aggression. You see, the dog that is barking and lunging at every person and dog is saying that they are afraid. Fearful dogs tend to project an aggressive front in an attempt to get the scary thing to go away, and it usually works. Treating aggression by adding pain is only going to increase the dog’s stress level causing them to have a negative association with that environment leading to increased aggression.
“Such misinformation damages the owner-dog relationship, and may lead to fear, anxiety and /or aggressive behaviors from the dog. Dogs cannot speak our language and they can find themselves thrust into situations in our homes that they find difficult to comprehend, by owners trying to behave as they mistakenly believe “alpha” wolves do.” APDT
Pavlov’s dog experiment showed us that we can condition an emotional response within an animal by simply providing a consistent marker signal and a reward. We know now that the only time the word dominance should be used is to describe the winner of a particular resource. We only see hierarchies form when resources are limited. When one individual gives up the fight to another, the winner is seen as dominant. Wolves do not use violence to communicate under normal circumstances and so we shouldn’t use violence to communicate with our dogs. Finally, I would like to mention that your dog knows you are not a dog. You don’t need to communicate with them the same way another dog would.
The person I hope to reach through my writing is the average dog owner who is working with their dog and maybe feels a bit lost or frustrated. My goal is to communicate that there is a much more effective method of training that doesn’t involve punishment. The average owner cannot be blamed for choosing a trainer that steers them in the direction of aversive tools. These trainers are everywhere and they market tools that are perceived as quick fixes. I, of all people, understand the urge to see fast results especially when the behavior problem is severe. The problem is with the industry as a whole failing to develop proper guidelines and a path for becoming a reputable dog trainer. Slowly but surely we are seeing a shift from the outdated aversive method to the more patient, reward-based method. Most people simply are not aware that there is another way to train a dog. The challenging part of convincing a population is competing with decades of misinformation being pumped into the media. It’s everywhere. I think that once people understand the emotional toll that these devices have on our furry friends they will change their minds about aversive tools. My goal is to change the way average dog owners go about seeking professional training help as well as to reach an established trainer who may share a different opinion.
“AVSAB’s position is that punishment (e.g. choke chains, pinch collars, and electronic collars) should not be used as a first-line or early-use treatment for behavior problems. This is due to the potential adverse effects which include but are not limited to: inhibition of learning, increased fear-related and aggressive behaviors, and injury to animals and people interacting with animals.” - AVSAB
Punishment may make an animal fearful of doing the wrong thing but it also doesn’t teach them what to do instead and it may also affect their desire to offer any behavior at all which is not desirable when training. You may be able to teach an animal to do something to avoid punishment, but why would you when you could teach them to seek a reward instead? I would rather have cookies in my pocket than a shock collar on my dog's neck. Whenever there is an undesirable behavior we want to change, we focus on what we want them to do instead and then train that. By train, I mean to reinforce the desired behavior. What we know about the laws of learning is that what gets rewarded gets repeated. To fix an unwanted behavior we reward the alternative and remove reinforcement when undesirable behavior occurs. If you want to stop your dog from jumping on guests we remove the dog when the jumping occurs and we reinforce sitting in the presence of the person until we can do this off-leash. There is an easier way to do things that is enjoyable for both the human and the dog.
“To use shock as an effective dog training method you will need:
A thorough understanding of canine behavior.
A thorough understanding of learning theory.
Impeccable timing.
And if you have those three things, you don’t need a shock collar.” - Dr. Ian Dunbar
This quote from Dr. Ian Dunbar is one of my favorites because it sums up that we as trainers have evolved past the use of aversives in training and any trainer who still uses these methods is stuck in the past. Dr. Ian Dunbar and others have been diligently working to apply science to the way we train animals. I hope that I can convince my reader that dogs deserve so much more than the punishment-based training techniques that we have reduced them to. Thanks for reading!
References:
Ha, J. C., & Campion, T. L. (2019). Debunking dominance: Canine Social Structure and behavioral ecology. Dog Behavior, 155–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-816498-3.00009-2
Phenix, A., Katims, L., Kauffman, M. L., & McClain, A. (2021, July 2). There is no reason to use a shock collar. in fact, it should be illegal. Dogster. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/the-pet-professional-guild-formally-denounces-shock-collars-and-it-is-right-to-do-it
The thinking K-9. The Thinking K9. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.thethinkingk9.com/
Yin, S. (n.d.). Sophia Yin | University of California, Davis, California | UCD ... Research Gate. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sophia-Yin-4
Debunking dominance in dogs - vet behaviour team. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://vetbehaviourteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Debunking_dominance_in_dogs.pdf