
06/23/2025
Positive reinforcement is the gas, and punishment is the brake.
The number one reason owners are struggling, and the number one reason why great dogs are surrendered and euthanized daily, is due to the delusional, feel-good, reality-hating narrative that everything you need to train and live well with a dog is contained within the realm of positive reinforcement.
You would expect that driving a car with no brakes would be a foolish and dangerous undertaking, and yet day after day owners are attempting to train and live with dogs in precisely the same fashion.
It’s not you or your dog that is broken, it’s the incredibly toxic, dangerous, and delusional narrative you’ve been fed that is broken.
When you’re ready to escape the delusion, and embrace reality — a reality that requires both positive and negative consequences, the “gas and the brake” — the answers you and your dog need will materialize.