07/21/2025
What does it mean to decolonize dog training?
Decolonizing dog training means critically examining and dismantling methods and philosophies rooted in dominance, control, and exploitation - concepts that directly mirror historical and present-day colonial practices.
Traditional aversive methods rely on imposing force, fear or coercion to extract a desired behavior. They reflect a legacy of oppressive and hierarchical power dynamics that persists everywhere in society, including the dog training field.
In working to “decolonize” dog training, we embrace approaches that prioritize consent, autonomy, mutual respect, and collaboration between dogs and humans.
This perspective not only lines up with modern behavioral science but also challenges the entrenched, often unexamined assumptions about our relationships with animals.
Decolonized dog training rejects dominance-based frameworks, prioritizes positive reinforcement and force-free techniques, respects dogs as individuals with their own emotional needs and boundaries, and advocates for ethical, evidence-based practices.
When we commit to decolonizing our training methods, we step away from historical patterns of oppression and toward a more compassionate, equitable future for both humans and dogs.
Decolonizing dog training isn’t about politics.
It’s about respecting animals as partners, not property.
