27/06/2026
๐๐ผ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ง ๐ฌ๐ผ๐จ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ข๐ธ๐๐ฑ ๐ข๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐จ๐ด๐ฆ ๐๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฑ ๐ง๐ต๐๐บ ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐!!! (sarcasm for those not familiar with the typeface)
One of my favourite accusations from the shockdudebro crowd is that there is a secret cabal of positive reinforcement trainers whose master plan involves drugging dogs into oblivion, feeding them unlimited cheese and allowing civilisation to collapse under the weight of unchecked Labrador happiness.
The funny thing is that they're accidentally right about one part of it.
Force free trainers are absolutely are trying to make life better through chemistry.
Every single trainer who has ever interacted with a dog is trying to change chemistry. Every emotion, every memory, every learned association and every behavioural response exists because of chemistry. Fear, stress and anxiety are all chemistry. Learning is chemistry too. The feeling of safety that allows a dog to relax on their bed instead of patrolling the house looking for threats is chemistry.
In fact, the coercive and abusive approach relies heavily on the chemistry associated with stress and avoidance. A dog experiences something unpleasant, learns how to avoid it and changes their behaviour accordingly. That process involves the activation of stress systems, increased arousal and the release of hormones associated with responding to threats. Nobody disputes that those chemical changes occur. Even the people using those methods generally acknowledge that they work by making consequences unpleasant enough that the dog seeks to avoid them. They simply don't tend to describe it in those terms because discussions about cortisol and stress physiology require an education in canine behaviour, while calling yourself a pack leader requires little more than a loud voice and an inflated opinion of your own importance.
Force free training approaches the problem from the opposite direction. Rather than asking how we can make behaviour less likely through discomfort, it asks how we can make desirable behaviour more likely through positive emotional experiences. Every time a dog experiences play, exploration, social interaction, touch, praise, affection, problem solving or food, their brain is processing information about what is valuable, what is safe and what is worth repeating.
Food, incidentally, is where the conversation usually descends into complete nonsense. According to internet mythology, positive reinforcement trainers apparently communicate exclusively through handfuls of chicken, cheese, hot dogs or cookies. In reality, food is simply one reinforcer among many. It is useful because food is biologically important and because eating activates reward systems in the brain.
The same is true of many other things dogs enjoy. Play, social interaction, gentle touch, shared activities, voice and even gazing eye contact all influence neurochemistry, while mutual eye contact between dogs and humans has been shown to increase oxytocin levels in both species.
This is where the science becomes particularly interesting because behaviour is not simply a collection of actions. Behaviour emerges from emotional states and emotional states emerge from biology.
A dog that feels safe behaves differently from a dog that feels threatened. A dog that feels optimistic behaves differently from a dog that expects danger around every corner. When positive experiences repeatedly activate systems associated with reward, pleasure, attachment and safety, those experiences can literally change how the dog perceives and responds to the world.
Most of the time, that natural chemistry is all we need. Training, management, environmental changes and behaviour modification can achieve extraordinary results. Occasionally, however, a dog's chemistry is not functioning particularly well in the first place.
This is the part that sends certain corners of the dog world into hysterical meltdowns.
Sometimes dogs need medicine.
Not because trainers have decided to play veterinarian. Trainers cannot prescribe medication and are not legally allowed to do so.
The decision to use behavioural medication belongs to veterinarians and veterinary behaviourists, people who possess actual medical qualifications. Now I know this hurts the feelings of those cos playing as dog trainers with strong opinions, no real education, and a Facebook account.
The reason behavioural medication exists is the same reason every other medication exists. Sometimes an organ is not functioning optimally.
Nobody argues that a dog with a bacterial infection should simply train harder instead of receiving antibiotics. Nobody insists that chronic pain should be solved with obedience exercises instead of pain relief. Yet the moment the organ involved happens to be the brain, a remarkable number of people suddenly start acting as though medicine itself has become controversial.
Dogs suffering from pathological anxiety, panic disorders or severe fear-related conditions are not experiencing a training problem. They are experiencing a medical problem that has behavioural consequences. Their stress systems may be firing too intensely, too frequently or for too long. Their brains may be so focused on detecting danger that learning becomes extraordinarily difficult.
The purpose of behavioural medication is not to tranquilise these dogs. In fact, a heavily sedated dog would be a terrible candidate for behaviour modification because learning requires attention, engagement and the ability to process information. The goal is usually the exact opposite. Medication is used to reduce overwhelming anxiety and emotional distress so that the dog can engage with the world, learn new associations and benefit from behaviour modification.
In other words, the medication is not replacing training. It is supporting the very chemistry that makes learning possible.
So, yes, force free trainers believe in making life better through chemistry.
They believe that touch, play, exploration, affection, safety, social connection and positive experiences change brain chemistry. They believe that reducing chronic stress changes brain chemistry. They believe that helping dogs feel safe enough to learn changes brain chemistry.
And in the relatively small number of cases where qualified veterinary professionals determine that medication is appropriate, educated and competent trainers understand that treating a neurological condition is no more controversial than treating any other medical condition.
The truly strange position is believing that the brain, an organ made up of cells, chemicals and electrical signals, is somehow the only organ in the body that should be excluded from evidence-based medicine.
