29/12/2025
The world of dog training is constantly evolvingā¦
Dog training courses are always talking about āthe four quadrantsā, ācounter conditioningā & ādesensitisationā. They are the basis of dog training. A dog reacting at another dog? Positive reinforcement, counter conditioning (pairing something scary with good stuff - usually food) and desensitisation (gradual exposure to the trigger whilst feeding the dog).
These days - I very rarely use counter conditioning & desensitisation. This came up in the recent conferences I attended this year too. Maybe - just maybe - this is becoming out of date š¤.
What if - we are actually just teaching our dogs to tolerate?
Yep our dog is near another dog. Eating the food - great š. They are stood right next to the dog - no reactions. Yay! Problem solved.
Or is it?
Is the dog genuinely okay? Genuinely feeling safe? Or are they just tolerating being near the dog, eating the food because itās thereā¦ but actually counting down the minutes until they can get as far away from there as possible?
I have seen far too many examples of counter conditioning & desensitisation training programmes failing. Yes - it looks like the dog is fine and doing amazing. But actually, underneath the dog is tolerating. So, as soon as that dog comes out of that environmentā¦ they are straight back to reacting.
I am way more interested in helping a dog feel truly safe within themselves. Be able to fully relax so that they are not so worried about the triggers in the first place. Only then can we get closer to the triggers because the dog is genuinely comfortable to - not because they feel they have to.
And I WANT to see reactions. Because often - āreactiveā dogs react because itās all they know. The further into training we go - a dog may (and actually should) react out of habit. If weāve done things right, chances are there isnāt any real emotion behind the reaction anymore. But they need to do that reaction, to see that actually they are safe and donāt need to do it anymore.
This isnāt something that should be done without a trained eye. My job is to tell you when something is genuinely too much for your dog. Or if I think they are okay and we can push them just a bit further. Often - this is the bit standard dog training courses do not teach.
If they are reacting - they are not suppressing & therefore comfortable enough to tell us how they feel. I want them to do that!! It tells me they feel safe enough to tell me how they feel.
If a dog is tolerating, suppressing & not reacting because they donāt feel safe enough to do soā¦ thatās a problem. Thatās not progress.
Training a āreactiveā dog is not simple. It isnāt easy. Itās complex - each dog is completely unique. The dog training world is changing and we are understanding this more. Thank goodness. But as with everything - it takes time for that understanding to grow. Always be careful with the trainer you choose to help you with your dog. Sometimes, far too many times actually, they may be causing more damage than good š¾.
