01/10/2026
A GOOD WORD FOR TROUBLED AND TURBULENT TIMES
Dogs are extremely variable animals in terms of size, temperament, drive, and bidability.
Some dogs will "Velcro" to their owners without any training at all, and some are so calm that they will never jump on a person, bolt out the front door, or chase a cat.
This is rare enough, however, that an entire profession surrounds the 97% of dogs that are the exceptions.
Can you get basic obedience with rewards-based training?
Absolutely. In fact rewards-based training is core training for a great deal of what you want to a train a dog to do.
But dogs have epic Attention Deficit Disorder, and the drive to chase a cat, greet another dog, or follow a luscious scent upwind will, at some point, be stronger than the power of the kibble in your bag.
The result is a dog that is terrific, until it isn't. This is the dog that knows to come, but sometimes "forgets".
This is the dog that does a down-stay, but gets up and begins to slowly wander as soon as you turn your back or leave the room.
To get a dog that is truly "bomb proof" you need a "no" signal that is every bit as strong as any "go" signal they will ever receive.
Trying to train a dog with only positive signals is like trying to drive a car without brakes or a reverse gear; it may take you far, but without the confidence, control, or precision required for true safety. And it will take you a lot longer in terms of time.
This last point is not small. Every time we make dog training more expensive in terms of time and money, the more unhappiness we guarantee in the world of dogs and dog owners, the more tragedies occur, and the greater the number of dogs that end up in shelters or dead by the side of the road.
Whenever someone tells you they are all about "pure positive" dog training, remember that there is nothing "pure positive" about failure.
Failure? I can hear it now. No pure positive dog trainer will ever avere to failure.
Right.
But they KNOW, don’t they?
And I know they know.
I know because, some years back, I observed that when someone tells me they have a well-trained dog, I ask if they are willing to prove that by walking their unleashed dog two blocks down the median strip of a well-traveled highway.
The howls of indignation could be heard on four continents.
People were outraged — outraged, I tell you — that I had asked the question.
Put a dog’s life at risk? No! Never!
Right.
But they missed it, didn’t they?
I was not asking, or forcing, anyone to walk their unleashed dog down a busy-road median strip.
It was a WILLINGNESS question.
Willingness questions expose “mens rea” or the guilty mind.
If a police officer asks if he can look in your car trunk, and you express *outrage* and say NO, and under no circumstances, you have told that officer quite a lot.
And so if I ask a pure-positive dog trainer, or owner, if they are willing to walk their dog, leash-free, down a busy-road median strip, their response tells me quite a lot as well.
Mens rea — it’s the spoor of lies and self-deception, which makes it a very good word to know in these troubled and turbulent times.
