06/02/2026
This is Purina aka, “Chow Chow”, a bottlenose dolphin I worked with during my time as a marine mammal trainer. If Purina did a behavior incorrectly or didn’t quite meet criteria, what do you think happened? Do you think we buzzed her with an e-collar? 🤔
If she got bored, frustrated, or simply found something else more interesting, she would just leave. Or, she would play one of her favorite games..“sharking” the interaction ledge by circling around the back of guests,
pushing them into deeper water. 😂Many trainers preferred working with other dolphins because Purina wasn’t always easy to keep engaged, but I loved working with her because she forced me to become a better trainer.
When things didn’t go the way I planned, supervisors didn’t tell me to be firmer or more dominant. Nobody blamed Purina. The conversation was always about what I could have done differently. Was my reinforcement valuable enough? Was my timing clear? Was I asking too much or progressing too quickly? The responsibility was on the trainer to improve their teaching, not on the animal to tolerate more pressure.
Dogs have spent thousands of years evolving alongside us. They read our body language, respond to our emotions, some can even tell when our body physiology changes, our blood sugar drops, our heart rate increases etc. So, if we can successfully train dolphins, whales, sea lions, parrots, and countless other species without using pain, why would we need it for dogs?
The best trainers don’t rely on force. They rely on skill. The quality of your training is revealed by how little force you need, not how much you’re willing to use.
