04/03/2026
So true! There are consequences for poor behavior or bad decisions in the real world đ animals are not exempt from this.
Itâs wild that in an effort to avoid punishing our dogs (connecting unwanted consequences with unwanted behavior), the training world has developed a host of nonsensical, ineffective, and actually counterproductive training âremedies.â
First, letâs get something super clear. The whole alternative behavior thing (sit for jumping, place for door rushing, eye contact for reactivity) is simply an alternative to having to punish our dogsâ unwanted behavior. It was developed and promoted as kinder, gentler, and more healthy⊠by an industry fixated on 1/ removing anything unpleasant from the dogâs world (thank your purely-positive/force-free true believers), and 2/ appealing to the new squishy soft emotional state of the marketplace/society (sell âem the feel good fantasy rather than the more difficult, but effective realityâthank your opportunistic purely-positive/force-free trainers, AND your opportunistic, and/or non-thinking balanced trainers.)
This whole alternative behavior approach has become so deeply embedded in all lanes of the training world that almost no one even questions its veracity or effectiveness at this point. Itâs simply accepted as âbest practicesâ by the majority of the training world.
But what if the majority of the training worldâs thinking has been hijacked by constant messaging (propaganda) and social/reputational/economic pressures?
You get nonsense like alternative behaviors instead of simply, âDo not do this behavior, periodâ. Theyâll try to convince you that the dog NEEDS something else to do; that theyâre not capable of simply making a better choice and not escalating⊠without some âhealthyâ alternative behavior to âchannelâ their âenergyâ into.
What theyâre really saying is that dogs canât be held to the ridiculously low standard of not engaging in inappropriate behavior without having an emotional lollipop to soothe and distract. Which is of course absolute bu****it. What theyâre really, REALLY saying is that humans canât cope with punishing their dogs and so weâve devised a stupidly silly sidestep to help them THINK theyâre making things better, when all theyâre doing is avoiding effective (and scientifically supportedâonly punishment reduces behavior) remedies.
I donât ever teach âLookâ or âWatch meâ to reactive dogs. I simply teach them what is and what isnât acceptableâand we get on with our walk. Same goes for jumping, or door rushing, or barking, or fence fighting⊠all of which have popularly taught alternative behaviors one can indulge in rather than simply saying stop doing this nonsense.
Of course, you can choose whatever path you want. But letâs just be clear about what the motivations are (avoid punishment), and what the outcomes are (constant micromanagement). And letâs be clear that whatâs popular, and âhealthyâ, and âsophisticatedâ, and âbest practicesâ are often in reality just the quiet creep and slow acceptance of bu****it which has far different priorities and far different goals than whatâs actually presented⊠and, what is actually best for our dogs and ourselves.
