Puppy Specialist and Dog Trainer

08/07/2025

ABC DOGS NZ
just found this page...lots of good stuff

06/25/2025

Leader of the Pack Canine Training
Awesome page! Worth every clip.

06/21/2025

July Ist is coming up...get your dog used to this now.

06/21/2025

06/13/2025

Check out. WILL ATHERTON PAGE

11/30/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15U5zb5CtH/
Explains Positive vs Balanced training.
So well explained

There are some great Force Free trainers out there, but they aren’t usually the ones posting things like this.

This is a snippet of a post suggesting any trainer who uses any kind of aversive method is suffering ‘The Dunning Kruger Effect’ (a cognitive bias where someone overestimates their knowledge/competence in a topic or skill).

The irony here is the extreme side of Force Free training loves using terms like ‘science/evidence based training’. But these are marketing terms with no merit.

When it comes to addressing ‘behavior issues’, especially with regards to serious aggression or predatory behavior, there is no (and I’ll repeat that in shouty capitals)..
THERE IS NO evidence in the literature for any positive reinforcement method that effectively reduces/stops specific, serious behavior issues more effectively than any other method.

In fact, there’s actually MORE evidence on the balanced side of training.

This isn’t to suggest that positive reinforcement methods alone ‘can’t’ be effective in some cases. But the main point here is the ‘evidence based trainer’ claim is BS.

If you want to argue for positive reinforcement being more evidence based in teaching ‘NEW behaviours’ like puppy training or general level one obedience training etc.. then yes, it could be argued it’s evidence based. But any GOOD trainer knows that, regardless of ideological base.

But, again, not when it comes to advanced training or behavior issues.
And this means - while it’s great training has become more positive reinforcement based, in recent years it’s started to go too far. Suggesting it’s ALL you ever need and science ‘proves’ it. No, it absolutely does not.

If you disagree with the above, then I’ll put the same question to you as I did the trainer in the attached post..

‘Can you recommend an ‘evidence-based’ positive reinforcement method that effectively stops predatory behaviour or serious aggression’…