11/03/2023
A hot topic these days - let’s talk about corrections in dog training. Get in your comfy chair, this is a long one. 😂
For these purposes, we assume that the dog is motivated to work with their handler through positive means, and that expectations have been taught using methods of positive reinforcement, rather than compulsion to begin with.
**Aversives I refer to and use in training with my own and client dogs include, and are limited to: negative verbal marker, spatial pressure (moving into the dog’s space), and brief leash corrections.
First, a correction is not about punishment. The goal of a proper correction is to provide clear communication, using a method easily comprehensible to a dog. Corrections should be given to provide a boundary which encourages the dog back into a desired behavior, which can be rewarded. Unstable or uneducated handlers should NOT be using corrections. Many people advocate for a purely positive method of training, and while that is possible for some human and dog temperament duos, that just isn’t the way communication works for most people.
Especially not in the context of having fun!
As an example, let’s consider two versions of the game “hot & cold.”
Game Scenario 1:
Player 1 hides an object and Player 2 has to find that object based off of Player 1’s feedback - “hot” when they’re getting closer, “cold” when they’re going further away.
It’s a really fun game! My favorite part is when I get frustrated because I keep getting “cold” feedback, but then I figure out which direction to move in and hear “hot!” It’s exciting and I feel clever when I figure it out.
Game Scenario 2:
Now imagine the same game, but Player 1 only says “hot” when I’m getting closer, no “cold.”
That….is a really boring game. It consists of a lot of me wandering around, looking at Player 1 for their body language/facial expression reactions to my movement, then a slightly confusing search sequence, and I’m not super excited to find the item at the end.
In the first scenario, as P2, I’m enjoying the challenge. I’m hearing P1 tell me when I’m going in the wrong direction, and I can quickly correct my mistake and find the right direction based on their feedback. They’re in the game with me, getting excited about giving me feedback, our energy builds until I find the item and we both have a great time.
In the second scenario, I’m bored. I’m disconnected from P1 because I’m working so hard to figure out what direction I should go in, and we don’t share in an intense, rewarding game experience that builds in energy. I want more information so I can actually win in a fun way, and P1 restricting their communication is more of a frustration factor than I can cope with and still have fun.
> Things would be very different in both of these scenarios, but especially scenario one, if P1 were yelling “cold” angrily, or slapping me in the face when I was going in the wrong direction in stead of telling me. Especially if I didn’t know the rules ahead of time and were expected to figure it out. None of that would be a game, that would be abuse.
So, it’s obvious that training needs to be an enjoyable thing for your dog overall so you can provide information-rich corrections that motivate them to perform rather than punish them. A bonus is that structuring training this way eventually has behaviors backed up by internal motivators because your dog wants to do well in the game you play together - not because he is afraid of losing, but because he enjoys winning.
It should also be clear that the connotation of corrections is entirely up to the trainer. If trainer is feeling mad and communicating that through an overly assertive “ah-ah!” verbal marker during trick training when their dog is doing their best to figure it out, they have given an unhelpful, unsuccessful correction to an undeserving dog. But if that same trainer changes their attitude, and communicates that negative marker kindly, just to give information at the moment of a mistake, they have helped their dog do what they’re asking of them. Teamwork! Because of a correction!
A physical correction scenario, since I know folks will ask - an assertive, reactive dog is throwing itself against the end of their leash at other dogs.
I practice a “return to handler & backpedal, then turn into a heel” behavior sequence at home, the dog enjoys this game and reliably wants to engage. So we bring that game 100ft away from other dogs, on a 15’ leash. The dog is highly successful, loving the game, until we are startled by a barking dog across the field. The dog leaves my side and turns his body to stare and fixate on the other dog. I call his name, no response, not even an ear twitch. He is silent, but about to bark. If I apply steady leash pressure, he will push into his collar and bark for sure. So I back away quickly and the dog feels sudden pressure from his collar and it breaks his focus. He gives into that pressure, feels it come off, faces his handler, and is rewarded for eye contact. He then runs after his handler and they continue the game further away from the other dog. He has had a successful exposure because I helped him have one, through a minor correction.
It is my preference to provide strong leadership to dogs that need it, rather than rely on time and their own emotional processing to do what might be easier with a little behaviorally aware help from their bandler. I have nothing against leading a dog away gently, but that simply doesn’t work for some dogs, or some people. Some people would rather be more assertive leaders for their dogs, and that’s ok - provided they have given their dog good reasons to want to follow. It’s up to the handler to evaluate their temperament, their dog’s temperament, and choose the training style most effective for both of them as a team.
Back to the game scenarios - personally, I enjoy scenario one a lot more, and my dogs do too. One dog in particular likes to train with a lot of feedback - positive and negative. She likes to know how to pinpoint the behavior she’s learning quickly and with my support rather than figuring it out on her own. I like to give her feedback. We like to reach the answer together as a team. She is an enthusiastic, stable, trustworthy dog, and as a high energy dog-handler duo, that’s how we like to train. With corrections.
Thanks for reading. No one trainer knows it all, or has the magic juice, and I expect disagreement - I just hope we can all respect each other as professionals so we can work together towards a better understanding of dogs for all of us.
