Every Dog Is Different
Spend a little time surfing the internet looking at what dog trainers say they do, and you’ll run across this phrase.
Every dog is different.
It’s true. I can’t argue with it. So let’s read on. This statement is often followed by something along the lines of, “… so I will use every tool at my disposal to train your dog and not restrict myself to one type of methodology, like rewards-based training.” Sounds reasonable, right? You want your dog trainer to have All The Tools.
By way of example, here’s a statement from the website of a “balanced” trainer (edited slightly to obscure her identity):
“Every dog is different. Therefore, we will use the tools that you and your dog need to get the results that you are looking for. We are open to using buckle collars, slip chains, prong collars, e-collars, harnesses, standard leashes, retractible leashes, food, crates, toys, and clickers.”
Let’s do a thought experiment and replace “dog” with “child”. I know dogs aren’t children, of course, but an overwhelming number of us consider dogs to be family members, they experience many of the same emotions we do, and I’ll bet $100 that if you’re reading this article you’re concerned about your dog’s happiness and well-being. Enough parallels to justify a thought experiment.
Let’s swap out who’s getting educated.
“Every child is different. Therefore, we will use the tools that you and your child need to get the results that you are looking for. We are open to using…” I can’t even finish the paragraph. It’s just too awful to imagine.
Every child is different. Which is why we need options like public schools, private tutoring, language-immersion schools, Montessori, special education programs, dramatic arts tracks… I could go on. But here’s the important bit: all of these options follow minimum welfare standards. And they’re staffed with formally trained and licensed teachers. We don’t let just anyone educate our children.
PHOTO BY JACK BRIND ON UNSPLASH
You don’t see statements like, “we mostly use lecture mixed with small group exercises, a pass-fail grading system and smiley face stickers, but when those don’t work with misbehaving children [children who can’t stop talking, children who are tardy, children who hit others on the playground, or children who throw things in class], we will hold them down and paddle them.”
Years ago, deliberately inflicting pain by hitting, slapping, spanking or paddling a child in the name of education was widely accepted. That is, until the research caught up with us. The research showing that corporal punishment can inflict long-lasting physical and mental harm on students. The studies showing that children who experience corporal punishment are more likely to grow up to use violence against other people in order to get their way.
When we educate children, we don’t use All The Tools. The ones that risk serious harm or side effects are off the table. The ones that might return our children to us, broken.
You won’t be surprised to know that we can now seamlessly switch back to talking about dogs. Studies show that dogs who experience physical corrections are more likely to show fear and aggression, and training methods that employ pain or the threat of pain put dogs at a higher risk for aggression towards family members and unfamiliar people. (For further reading, see here and here and here.)
A recent review of the literature on training methods found
…that aversive training methods have undesirable unintended outcomes and that using them puts dogs’ welfare at risk. In addition, there is no evidence to suggest that aversive training methods are more effective than reward-based training methods. At least 3 studies in this review suggest that the opposite might be true.
Our dogs rely on us for exactly everything. For companionship, protection from the elements, food, medical care. And for our empathy and compassion. They deserve better than a kitchen sink approach, one that will stop at nothing to achieve results.
We didn’t used to understand the long-term damage inflicted by heavy-handed dog training. Then we learned we could accomplish the same results without pain or force. Now we can do better, so we do.
Thanks to the fabulous Zazie Todd and her blog Companion Animal Psychology for bringing the lessons from science into our everyday lives with dogs.