03/10/2025
It is heartbreaking to see dogs damaged and broken by punishment. So unnecessary.
This week, like most weeks, we have taken in a dog whose owner had sought help from someone who calls themselves a balanced trainer. Someone who uses aversive consequences as ‘corrections’ alongside positive reinforcement to ‘reward’ when working to change a dog’s behaviour.
Let us be absolutely clear: Spaniel Aid does not support or endorse any form of “balanced” training, or any use of aversive training methods or tools. When we are out and about in public places, we are increasingly seeing dogs wearing prong collars, choke leads or anti-bark collars. These tools are designed to change a dog’s behaviour by teaching them to avoid something painful or scary. In the short term, they may be effective in suppressing the unwanted behaviour, but they do nothing to change it for the better in the long term. Often, in order to keep suppressing the behaviour, the intensity with which the tool is used has to be increased, and that has a detrimental effect on the dog’s welfare. Overly controlling and aversive training methods don’t address the root cause of the problem behaviour, or change the way a dog feels about a perceived threat or attraction. All they do is change the response to it, leaving the dog feeling fearful, confused and uncomfortable. Because these negative emotions form part of the training process, the saddest consequence of using aversive techniques is the damage it can do to the relationship, and the loss of trust, between a dog and their human.
If you are struggling with your dog’s behaviour and you seek the help of a trainer, ask them if they use these methods to shut down the behaviour you want to stop. Then ask yourself if you really want to do that to your dog. At Spaniel Aid we see damaged dogs who need to learn to trust and rebuild their relationship with people after unethical training methods have been used, and our fosterers must cope with the behavioural fallout and often unpredictable reactivity that is frequently a result of the use aversive equipment and training techniques. In contrast, ethical training using positive reinforcement focuses on understanding why the dog is behaving how it is, encouraging long lasting behaviour change by setting the dog up to make good choices, and helping the dog to develop new neural pathways, all while building a trusting relationship with their handler. Reward based training results in a dog that feels happier, more relaxed and more self-confident, because they are being listened to and supported in learning at their own pace.
Spaniel Aid supports positive reinforcement training because evidence from multiple well regarded scientific studies shows it’s effective, because it doesn’t damage the dog’s emotional state, and because it’s kind and ethical. Please help us to fight the misinformation and the cruelty inherent in so many of the training practices currently being promoted and offered to owners. Ask questions of anyone you ask for training advice to find out what methods they use, and how they will teach you to support your dog in learning new skills and responses. If their answers don’t feel right in your heart, walk away - our dogs need us to be their advocates because their lives depend on us. Please stand against cruelty: Be another shoulder to the boulder and one day it will roll.
For telephone support: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/get-help/behaviour-support-line
To find an in-person trainer/behaviourist: https://abtc.org.uk/ or https://www.imdt.uk.com/
For online support: https://fbdtas.com/
