Let's Talk Dog

21/12/2025

Calling dog owners in Mayo, Roscommon and Galway!
10% off all packages for a limited time.
Puppy Packages make a great present!

21/12/2025

17/12/2025

MAX AND GEORGE FINALLY GETTING EXPOSED!!!

26/10/2025

Veterinary recommended dog behaviourists now in your area - helping you understand your dog and change unwanted behaviour in a kind, science-led, force-free way.
We also offer great value puppy packages to prevent future issues and get the most out of your relationship with your dog.
Call for a chat or visit us at www.letstalkdogireland.com

14/07/2025

100%

Yet again a balanced trainer has tried to set me a ridiculous challenge (a set up)
Just like this one i had from a local trainer beginning of the year.

"I currently have a particular twitchy dog with me at the moment. I am more than happy for any force free/ positive only trainer to pop along and take him out of my van and walk him through town with lots of other dogs around show me exactly how you'd work him completely force free. No telling him no ect no spacial pressure... it has to be 100% free of any force whatsoever"

Let’s be clear:
That’s not a challenge — it’s a setup.
No ethical trainer, regardless of method, should be throwing a stressed or reactive dog into a situation they’re clearly not ready to handle.

As a force-free trainer, I work with dogs, not against them. I don’t flood them, push them past their thresholds, or risk their welfare to prove a point.
I use science-based methods that build trust, resilience, and long-term behavioural change — and that starts with meeting the dog where they are.

Force-free doesn’t mean passive or permissive. It means strategic, ethical, and kind. It means using smart training instead of shortcuts.

In force-free training, we use thoughtful management, desensitisation, counter-conditioning, and reinforcement-based strategies to build behavioural change gradually. That’s not weakness — that’s ethical, evidence-based practice.

Setting a dog up to fail isnt proof of anything except poor judgement.

11/06/2025

A landmark study that directly addresses this question is:

Cooper, J. J., Cracknell, N., Hardiman, J., Wright, H., & Mills, D. S. (2014). The welfare consequences and efficacy of training pet dogs with remote electronic training collars in comparison to reward based training. PLOS ONE, 9(9), e102722. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102722
Summary of Key Findings:

Study design: This was a controlled, scientific field study conducted by researchers at the University of Lincoln. It compared three groups:

Dogs trained using e-collars (shock collars) by experienced industry trainers

Dogs trained by the same trainers but without shock

Dogs trained by independent force-free trainers using positive reinforcement only

Trainers were certified and professional, with Group A and B trainers belonging to the Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and having extensive experience using the devices.

Key results:

There was no significant difference in training efficacy between the groups using shock and those not using it.

Dogs trained with positive reinforcement exhibited fewer signs of stress and anxiety.

The study concluded that the use of shock collars was unnecessary and posed welfare risks without added training benefits.

Salivary cortisol levels, behavioral stress indicators (e.g., yawning, lip licking), and vocalizations were higher in the shock collar group.

Conclusion:

The researchers explicitly stated that the use of e-collars "has negative welfare consequences for some dogs" and "no clear advantage over reward-based training"—thus the use of shock collars is not justified.

So, even if the person operating the collar is a manufacturer-trained professional, this study showed the results were no better than training without shock, and the use of electronic collars resulted in unnecessary stress.

Cindy Ludwig, MA, BS, RN, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Owner, Canine Connection LLC
Voted Best Springfield, Missouri Dog Trainer

31/03/2025

BALANCED DOG TRAINING ~ GOOD THING OR NOT?

Balanced training sounds like a good thing, right? I mean, when you hear the word, "balanced," things like a balanced diet, work-life balanced, balanced tires come to mind, right?

Well, balanced training is not a good thing. Balanced training is a disguise for training that uses force and aversive tools and methods as well as some form of positive reinforcement.

"Balanced" dog training is a type of training that has been well established to cause stress, anxiety, and even aggression. Let me be clear, there is no such thing as "purely positive" (training), a term coined by opponents of force-free positive reinforcement training to describe the way those of us who are opposed to compulsion and aversives train.

Trainers who ascribe to fear-free, force-free training methods DO use "punishment," but it is a form of punishment that most people do not understand as punishment. In behavioral terms, a consequence that stops behavior from reoccurring is called punishment in behavior science.

For example, if a dog jumps on me or a puppy bites me and I withdraw my attention, my withdrawal of attention is called negative punishment. In behavioral terms, negative punishment refers to removing something the dog wants, e.g., attention, to stop a behavior.

We rarely, if ever, use what is called positive punishment, the application of something aversive to stop a behavior. That's because it's rarely, if ever, needed or appropriate. This kind of punishment is often ineffective with negative consequences, and most, if not all of the time, there are better ways to train and modify behavior.

Force-free, or positive reinforcement trainers understand the Humane Hierarchy, LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive), LIFE (least inhibitive, functionally effective) and as of March 19, the new FREE (functional, reinforcing, enriching, and effective) models of training and behavior modification.

They understand the scientific principles of applied behavior analysis, and what to use when. They don't have a one size fits all mentality. They have a large tool bag, are generally eager learners, willing to try something new, and care as much about the process of training as they do the end result.

Beware and be wise!

Cindy Ludwig, M.A., B.S., R.N., KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Owner, Canine Connection LLC
Voted Best Springfield, Missouri Dog Trainer