Many TV and social media training gurus advocate purposeful and focused intimidation, coercion, and other negative influences to attempt to fix dogs. Is that OK and does it work?
The first thing to consider is what types of problems would cause someone to ask a dog trainer to intervene. Generally, the problems we see fall into a general category of unwanted responses when the dog is stimulated into some kind of behavior or action. General categories would be such as being overly friendly; overly active; some kind of chasing; some kind of anxiety; some kind of destructiveness; some kind of annoying response such as attention seeking or barking; some kind of fearful reaction; and perceived or actual aggression.
Dog problems can’t be lumped into one category with one solution. Unfortunately, for many of these TV and social media gurus, they tell you it is your fault for not being your dog’s “leader”, and why you should bully, intimidate, and coerce your dog until they give up. But there is no accountability for any of this… since the money involved blocks them addressing whether their advice is ethical or effective. Proper training is rarely shown in their media presentations, the focus is on getting dogs to knuckle under. Have you ever seen one of these gurus present a finished, well-trained dog that can competently do a range of fundamental skills in a normal home and public setting? I haven’t.
I can confidently tell you that this intimidation approach is neither effective nor ethical.
Let’s take the dog that is extremely social. This dog just loves everyone and every animal. I can use a very light touch on such a dog, with patience and time, to teach this dog to exercise self-control with these impulses to greet and play. I don’t have to crack down on a dog like that. Imagine you have a small child that wants to make friends with someone, and every attempt to be friendly is smacked down by your spouse who ridicules and punishes them. What would that do to your child over time? Have you ever met a kid who was bullied by their disordered parents as they grew up?
Or take the dog that likes to chase things. Chasing animals is what predators do. You might not like that your dog likes to chase things or people. Yes, that can be worked on to teach a dog to leave some things alone, or to not chase things unless given permission, or to play more politely. But is it necessary to break a dog, until the dog just gives up being a dog? No, that’s not necessary or right. Every dog that I’ve seen, where the owners became the fun police, had lasting behavioral problems.
Another example. What about the dog that is truly aggressive, meaning the dog will engage in violence towards other animals or humans? Aggression is neither bad nor good. It depends upon the context. I want a dog to be aggressive in some circumstances, such as if a robber enters a home with intent to steal and engage in violence. I’m fine with the dog wrecking them. On the other hand, I don’t want a dog to tear apart an invited guest, regardless of how the dog feels about that guest. There are many stimuli that might trigger an aggressive response in a dog. Each has a different solution when it comes to managing these potentially aggressive responses. One size does not fit all. One dog is fearful, another is suspicious, another sees these other animals or people as rivals or intruders, and another dog might have medical issues. All this must be puzzled out so you can apply the proper solution based upon that dog’s response to some known set of stimuli. If you try intimidating some dogs, even if they are your own dog, they might put you in the hospital or worse. Being told you need to “be your dog’s leader”, also ends up in a bad place. You can’t just use some kind of physical and psychological force to try and make a dog hold in all levels of aggression. Yet, we see these TV and social media trainers advocating that solution for every aggressive response. If you try this with enough dogs, you will eventually learn the futility and danger of this approach, and if you have any kind of conscience, you will have regrets about what you did. Torture isn’t an accepted dog training method. Top level protection dogs, who work with real dogs that will wreck bad guys, aren’t made controllable by consulting these TV and social media gurus.
You can’t successfully to bottle up a dog with intimidation and fix what you don’t like. I could relate to this when watching Jeff Goldblum’s character (Dr. Ian Malcolm) in Jurassic Park… “John, the kind of control you’re attempting simply is… it’s not possible. If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it’s that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, it expands to new territories and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, uh… well, there it is.”
My recommendation? Stop trying to intimidate your dog into giving up. That might work to a degree on a timid dog, but for bolder, more driven dogs, it will backfire. You might seriously damage your dog, and your dog might just seriously damage you, another person, or another animal. If you don’t put in the necessary investment of effort, don’t expect any lasting improvements. Just “trying” a lesson here or there isn’t training, it is just an emotional release for the owner. Find another trainer and use a better solution, even if it takes time, homework, supervision, containment, training, and money. Take the dog as far as the dog will allow you to go based upon their talents and limitations. There are no magic fixes which involve coercion. Real life isn’t a TV show.