"But it worked!"

That short sentence is a protest that those in the positive dog training world hear frequently from the people that have used an aversive in their training, as both their reason and justification for what they have been using to train their dog. Detractors of force free training will often say it with a sneer, claiming that positive methods do not.

The thing is, aversive methods DO work. They work fast. And that's what a lot of people are using them want - fast results. However much they work though, aversive methods inevitably come with fallout.

Take one method that came up in conversation the other day, that old favourite of stones in a bottle (also sometimes 'training discs') that are designed to be thrown on the floor next to the dog when they are doing something 'wrong', to interrupt the behaviour. The noise close to them startles the dog and so they stop doing what they were doing. Mission accomplished, yes?

Well, not quite.

There are a number of problems with looking at the situation so simplistically. Yes, on that one occasion, the dog stopped doing whatever it was you did not want them to do. But what are they supposed to be doing instead? Nothing in what has just happened shows them what it is you would rather they did. Training a dog effectively is not about stopping them from doing things you do not want them to do, but rather showing them the behaviour you want to see from them instead. Make that behaviour rewarding for them, and they will do that thing again. That is how the dog's brain works. 'That thing got me something I really like. Let's do it again and see if I get the goodies again!'

Say you keep on using the stone bottle, as it worked that first time. Is it always going to work? Or will there come a time when the dog will realise that, instead of actually harming them physically, these things only make a noise? What happens when the noises no longer work? Where does this system escalate to?

There are other issues with aversive training measures. To be able to use them so that they really work and are as effective as they can be requires an excellent understanding of dogs. Incredible reaction times to be able to mark the exact moment and capture the precise behaviour that you do not want repeated. The following excellent quote by Dr Ian Dunbar regarding shock collars sums this incompatibility up perfectly when it comes to all aversives:

Imagine, also, how confusing punishment based training must be for the poor dog. Picture someone issuing you with commands in a language that you do not understand. You are never told when you get something right, instead being shouted at, smacked, given an electric shock or in some other way punished when doing something that seems perfectly understandable and logical to you. Nobody tells you what they want, just jump in and punish from time to time. On one occasion, you might get punished immediately after doing something in particular. If you do it again, there may be a gap of a few seconds where you move on to another thing and then get punished. Is it the same wrong thing as last time, or the new thing? Gradually, the idea of trying new things is going to become less and less appealing as you may be (in your mind randomly) punished.

Imagine now a different situation with a different trainer, who takes the time to understand what you are saying to them. When you do something they don't want you to do, instead of hurting you they say 'Hey, I've got this really great reward here that you like. If you do this other thing instead of what you're doing now, you can have it!" Trying new things becomes an exciting adventure that you embark on with your trainer, and you both have a lot of fun with.

I know which of those scenarios I would rather be in, both from the dog's and the trainer's perspective!

The use of aversives, be that a shock collar, some kind of noise maker, a prong collar, or any other kind of unpleasant stimulus designed to cause fear and pain, will work in the short term - of course they will, as the poor dog does whatever they can to avoid being hurt. In training, and particularly when it comes to the situation of behaviour modification, there are no truly effective quick fixes. At some point the dog is going to stop expecting the stone bottle to hurt, or is going to do whatever they can to avoid being put in the situation they know is going to hurt.

That avoidance can go one of two ways. Dogs may be reluctant to have equipment put on them, and display fear aggression in an attempt to stop someone getting close enough to put anything on them. That route is never going to end well for the dog. The other direction can seem like a better result, but when you understand what is going on inside the dog, learned helplessness, the truth is rather depressing.

Learned helplessness is the result of a dog being forced to remain in a situation that they find scary and not are able to get away from. The concept was discovered in a morally unacceptable experiment that involved giving dogs electric shocks but making some of them unable to escape. These dogs, when later given an escape route, did not attempt to use it as they had learned they could not escape and so ‘waited it out’ instead, emotionally shutting down completely. This can be mistaken by people that are not well educated in canine body language as the dog exhibiting ‘good, calm’ behaviour when in fact they have given up and submitted themselves to their fate and are just waiting for the horrible thing to be over.

Signs of learned helplessness include:

• Not trying to escape a situation.
• Body language showing fear, such as head and tail lowered and hunching down.
• Rigid posture while waiting for the stimulus to stop or leave.
• Repeated licking of lips.
• Making themselves as small as they possibly can, lying flat down against the ground.

Why risk causing this in your dog when, with a bit of effort and patience, you can have a happy dog that has alternatives to the behaviours you don't want them to show?

If you are struggling to work out how to make the switch to positive training methods, get professional help. Find a committed force free trainer and ask them to teach you how to teach your dog positively. It will always be worth the effort.