09/12/2025
It’s incredible how far science has come since the 1980s — in neuroscience, psychology, education, and yes, dog training.
We understand learning and behaviour today in ways the 80s simply couldn’t. And yet, parts of the dog training world are still behaving like nothing has changed and still train like Baraba Woodhouse
Neuroscience has shown that punishment increases stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline), which shut down learning pathways in the brain.
Behaviour science confirms that reinforcement builds reliable behaviour, while aversives suppress behaviour — often only temporarily.
Stress and fear impair cognitive processing in both humans and animals. That’s not an opinion; it’s decades of peer-reviewed research.
We have clear evidence that dogs trained with aversive tools show more anxiety, reactivity, and aggression over time.
We now know dogs experience frustration, fear, and stress similarly to young children, because their brain structures are comparable.
This is modern science, across multiple fields, learning theory, ethology, psychology, and neurobiology.
So with all this solid evidence…
why haven’t balanced trainers moved forward?
Aversive methods can create rapid outward behaviour change, which looks like success but is actually stress-induced suppression. That makes them easy to market.
Big bloody egos
Updating your methods requires accepting old methods caused harm — and not everyone is willing to face that.
Many balanced trainers rely on outdated dominance theory, which has been scientifically disproven for over 25 years.
It’s easier to hold onto tradition than to learn modern ethology and neuroscience.
Confirmation bias — when a dog “stops” a behaviour after a correction, it feels like proof, even though science tells us suppression ≠ learning.
Prats on TV still show 1980s theory, so new owners believe what is shown
Science has moved on.
Behavioural understanding has moved on.
Every major veterinary behaviour association worldwide rejects aversive methods because the data is that strong.
Dogs deserve training grounded in evidence — not nostalgia.
We know more now.
There’s no scientific justification for staying in the past. The Barbara woodhouse days are long gone.
If your trainer trys to justify grots, prongs, check chains, e collers (which ARE SHOCK COLLARS) Slip leads or any other aversives ..... leave and dont look back
Dogs deserve more than that abuse
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