Because We Always Have is Not a Valid Reason

I was reading a post the other day on empathy and consideration in dog training, following the growing movement towards recognising and acknowledging the emotional capacity and experience of dogs. I’ll admit it is something I have become passionate about myself, especially since encountering a dog who has such a need for the people around him to understand how he is feeling in any given situation. This particular dog’s needs have set me to learning how best to support and work with dogs, and discovering the ways that give dogs the best and kindest experience of life with us.

Behaviour Suppression vs Behaviour Modification

We see posts from time to time (ok, far too often in reality) from the ‘balanced’ trainers, the ‘pack leader’ and ‘alpha’ theory followers. These trainers frequently say things about humans needing to be the boss in the household or their dogs are going to dominate them. They make glib comments about using ‘all the tools’ available to them and that their methods work, and work fast.

But do they? Do they really?