Balanced Training
There are countless ways to train dogs, and if I tell you my way is the best way, plenty of other owners and trainers will disagree. So, I am going to describe to you the method I use and explain why I think it is more effective than other popular methods of dog training.
Balanced training is a combination of methods that work best for you and your dog by utilizing both reinforcing and punitive techniques appropriately. New commands are taught through motivational, positive reinforcement and when a dog knows the correct response to a command but performs incorrectly, it will receive a form of punishment like a verbal scolding, squirt bottle, or a collar correction/pop. The punishment will be dictated by what your dog responds to best to and is never be excessive when a Least Intrusive Minimally Adversive (LIMA) method is applied. This means a punishment is meant to communicate wrongdoing, not to scare or force the dog into obedience, which enhances your relationship through understanding boundaries. By strategically combining these methods your dog receives very clear information about your expectations.
Below is the “Contingency Square”. It outlines operant conditioning: learning based on consequences. Each box describes a type of consequence that will follow an action or behavior performed by your dog. This is important to know when using balanced training techniques with your dog because you will be administering each of these consequences consistently throughout training so you can effectively communicate with a different species.
Positive Reinforcement (Give reward) ---- Negative Reinforcement (Remove Aversive)
Positive Punishment (Give Aversive) --- Negative Punishment (Remove Reward)
Positive = administer/deliver something
Negative = remove something
Reinforcement = Makes behavior MORE likely to happen again
Punishment = Makes behavior LESS likely to happen again
Other Methods:
Purely Positive Training combines only positive reinforcement (giving treats, toys, pets, and praise for correct behavior) and negative punishment (withholding/removing reward for incorrect behavior). This method has been popularized over the last decade because people feel like other methods are unfair and cruel to our dogs. I’m a passionate dog lover and advocate against animal cruelty, but I’ve used this method and strongly dislike it. It does not produce consistent responses and it takes far too long to partially train a dog. I often hear from owners: “My dog listens when he wants to”. That is because of this method. Sure, dogs can be trained in a purely positive manner but the instant they want something more than the treat or toy in your hand (or if they know you don’t have any treats) they will blow you off. Dogs are like children; they are constantly trying to see what they can get away with. Without learning consequences to inappropriate behaviors they will continue to push the boundaries and will ignore commands during the most crucial situations. Bribing a dog to listen to you is not true obedience. There has recently been a movement to ban training tools like choke chains and prong collars and even legislation banning training methods other than purely positive backed by animal rights activists. This movement is rather concerning, considering most purely positive trainers advise owners to take their dogs to the shelter or even euthanize them because they are unable to solve a dog's issues since they refuse to utilize appropriate consequences. Celebrity dog trainer Victoria Stillwell is an excellent example; on her show she tells a family to euthanize their dog because she can't fix it's issues with positive reinforcement based training. These trainers preach that their method is backed by science, but the contingency square above was created by the world renowned psychologist B.F. Skinner. The truth is, purely positive training does not solve serious problems and will lead owners to relinquish or euthanize their pets when these trainers can't resolve a dog's issues.
Coercion Training uses a combination of only positive punishment (applying a correction) and negative reinforcement (removing/withholding correction). This is the old-school way of dog training, especially in the military. Dogs were taught that when they don’t listen to me something bad will happen to them but if they do listen then their reward is not having something bad happen to them. I, and most owners, dislike this method because dogs REALLY dislike this method. It creates nervous, scared dogs and can hurt your relationship with your pet. There are still plenty of companies out there that use this method and I would highly advise not dropping your dog off for a “board and train” with them because I’ve seen some terrible trainers do terrible things to pets. Not all of these facilities use extremely punitive methods, but I wouldn’t take the chance with my dog. It does teach your dog to listen without treats or toys present and to obey even around high distractions, but it is no fun for the owner or the dog and there are much better ways to reach the same level of obedience.
The Best of Both Worlds:
Balanced training uses each method’s advantages and discards their disadvantages creating a well-trained pup. A certain method will be used in select stages of my training process which is:
Teach – The initial learning of a new command
Train – Performing the command in different scenarios and amongst distractions
Maintain – Ongoing process of reinforcing good behavior and punishing incorrect behavior
Teaching Phase: Again, purely positive training boasts that it’s methods are backed by science, which is true to the extent that dogs, like people, learn quickly and retain information better when they are succeeding and having fun. Therefore, in balanced training, we use purely positive methods in the initial training stages. It is certainly unfair to punish a dog before they know what to do in the first place anyway! We will use positive reinforcement and negative punishment in this phase.
Training Phase: Think of the training phase as your second year of math class. Now that you know basic arithmetic, the numbers get bigger and the problems get more difficult. This means more distractions, longer duration, and generalizing behavior to differing environments. Here we will be introducing negative reinforcement by applying a slightly uncomfortable stimulus (like leash pressure) if the dog is not listening then removing the stimulus when they perform correctly. Positive reinforcement will also be given at this stage to ensure the dog is still having fun being rewarded properly when responding correctly in a challenging environment.
Maintaining Phase: After the dog has completed the training phase and thoroughly understands your expectations, it is time to introduce positive punishment (AKA corrections). Corrections are applied only when your dog knows what to do and decides to disobey. They will never be excessive, meaning they will only “one-up” the offense so your dog will decide its actions were not worth the consequence. Some owners dislike giving corrections, but if you are clear and consistent with your dog, you will rarely ever give them because your dog will understand your expectations and the consequences that will follow. In this phase, the entire contingency square will be used fittingly through a specific, communicative routines.
Other dog trainers may tell you differently, but over my career I have found balanced training to be the most effective method out there. It helps strengthen your relationship through fun training but also teaches necessary boundaries. This method also gives administrative options that are not capable when restricted to another training ideology because it is based off what each dog will learn best from. This flexibility is FreeLance Dog Training’s best quality because while other companies are concerned about using a regimented program to produce the same “product”, I’m more concerned about your dog’s needs. Some companies will hand you a choke chain right when you walk through the door, others will hand you treats and a clicker, I use whatever will work best improve communication between owners and their dog.