Pets and Their People Blog

by Daniel H. Antolec

My advice to pet stewards is to raise the topic of training methods with a prospective pet professional you consider working with and ask pointed questions about what specific methods and equipment they would use, and what the anticipated outcomes may be.

The response you hear to your questions will inform you about the knowledge of the pet service provider you are interviewing and help you make informed decisions for the well-being of your pet(s).

How I Teach

Let’s use the example of a friendly young dog who jumps on people during greetings to gain social interaction. Now let’s imagine that a trainer wants to teach your dog polite greeting behavior and not to put paws on people. I will play the role of the trainer, because that is what I do for a living!

The friendly dog eagerly approaches me and chooses a variety of behaviors other than putting paws on me. I praise and reward the dog for standing, sitting, lying down, spinning in a circle, bringing me a toy, touching his/her wet doggy nose to my palm, or nearly any other behavior that does not involve pawing. The rewards may include food, treats, praise, affection or anything else this dog enjoys. That response “positively reinforces” the non-pawing behavior and so it increases the probability the dog will greet me that way in future. (Pro tip: It works best if the dog is unable to come after me and jump, such as when behind a secured baby gate or on a leash.)

How I NEVER Train

I never use force, fear, pain or intimidation to inhibit an unwanted behavior. Doing so is unnecessary, can harm pet welfare, and can produce unintended consequences.

A report was published by PLOS One of dogs who were trained with shock collars in order to teach them to come when called while off-leash in a field, compared with a group of dogs trained with non-aversive methods. Researchers measured an increase in salivary cortisol (stress response) in the dogs which were subjected to shock and,

“no consistent benefit to be gained from e-collar training but greater welfare concerns compared with positive reward based training.” (Cooper et al, 2014)

A Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science paper described dogs who had mauled people who were in close proximity. None of the dogs had a history of human-directed aggression, but each family had installed an electronic shock “fence” in the yard where the dogs were. Each of the dogs entered the shock field and then attacked a person, or persons. What kind of association do you suppose the dogs made with the painful shocks they received? Pairing nearby people with a painful electronic shock may have spurred the dogs to “protect” themselves if they thought the person had caused the pain.

I learned of another unintended consequence of an electronic shock “fence” in a group puppy class I ran. In week one of the class, a man reported the potty training of his Labrador pup was going well. In week two, he installed an electronic shock “fence” in the backyard and was asking for help with potty training his puppy. I learned the shock fence installer repeatedly shocked the puppy in order to presumably teach the pup to stay in the yard. 

Instead, what the puppy evidently learned was that the backyard was a painful and scary place and then refused to go out the back door to toilet in the yard. The problem was not about potty training, it was about fallout from aversive training and the fear-learning experience for a poor puppy who had no choice in the matter.

It’s Up to You

With these examples in mind, let’s return to the friendly young dog who greets someone by jumping and pawing them. What might we see if a trainer used shock or other aversive punishment? It could teach the dog to stop pawing people, and to fear them, or to aggress toward them, and/or other harmful unintended consequences.

So, I ask you, what method would you prefer your teacher to use with you? Who chooses fear, pain and intimidation when there is a safer and kinder way to learn? 

As always, be your pet’s best advocate! 

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About the Author

Daniel H. Antolec, PCT-A, CCBC-KA, CPDT-KA began teaching dogs in 2011 and founded Happy Buddha Dog Training . He teaches dogs in a way that makes it fun for pet stewards and pets alike.

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References

Cooper JJ, Cracknell N, Hardiman J, Wright H, Mills D (2014) The Welfare Consequences and Efficacy of Training Pet Dogs with Remote Electronic Training Collars in Comparison to Reward Based Training. PLoS ONE 9(9): e102722. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102722

Polsky, R. (2000). Can aggression in dogs be elicited through the use of electronic pet containment systems? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 3, 345- 358.