16/06/2025
One of the arguments put forward by proponents for using aversives (will use the term punishment for the rest of the post as although not accurate in behavioural terms it's how the majority of people refer to aversives) is that they occur naturally in day to day life, our dogs are already learning through it and we can't produce an environment entirely free from punishment.
A couple of days ago I was walking along a footpath with Teasel on the lead, the vegetation had been strimmed and was across the path, hiding a strand of old barbed wire still attached to the fence. The wire caught around my ankle and I did a spectacular dive forwards towards Teasel...as far as she was concerned I had suddenly just screamed and launched myself at her for no reason. She generally trusts me, I try to be her refuge when she is struggling with things, but this made a dent in her trust briefly.
Yes 'punishment' happens in real life but...there is a big difference between living in a war zone where 'bad' things continually happen and living in a world where mostly good things happen and you have someone to trust but unintentionally, occasionally something 'bad' happens.
Intentionally using punishment is a slippery slope, each time a little trust is taken away from your relationship with your dog. However hard you try, day to day life will throw up times when your dog's trust in you is dented, don't add even more reasons for them to distrust you. Punishment can appear to 'work' (there are probably at least another 20 posts worth about why using 'punishment' is problematic even if it's perceived to 'work')...but the bigger picture, your dog's emotional state and their relationship to you is much, much more important.
