It seems increasingly necessary, in every area of life, to belong to a tribe or group of some kind. Dog training is no exception.
The fact that there are different ones sort of implies that one or some must be more correct than others, and that some must be wrong, right? Maybe.
“Purely Positive” is one such group name. It’s meant to imply these trainers only employ positive reinforcement techniques, and to set them apart from trainers who use aversive tools like e-collars, prong collars, and leash “corrections”.
“Balanced” training is a new name for an old philosophy. The idea is to use both positive reinforcement techniques as well as aversives, which allegedly will teach dogs what you want (it gets reinforced) and what you don’t (it earns a correction/aversive experience).
“Force Free” is the final one I will discuss. The idea is exactly what it sounds like; the dog being trained is not forced to do anything. I like this one, and most closely resemble force free trainers in my techniques.
But what “Force Free” doesn’t tell you is what I’m about. And for a long time now, that has been a huge focus on positive reinforcement. If there is not an immediately obvious solution to a bad behavior using positive techniques, I get creative. I want your dog to make their own choice to do whatever it is that we need them to do.
I’m not afraid to lean on the wisdom and experience of other trainers either. Ken Ramirez, Karen Pryor, Kathy Sdao, Denise Fenzi, Emma Parsons, and the list goes on and on. They are all brilliant, wonderful, incredibly creative and intuitive trainers who have taught me so much, and contributed so much to dog training culture.
With that being said, I also believe in Purely Positive techniques (as an ideal) in dealing with people and trainers who believe differently than I do. If I get on Facebook and rant about e-collar use, or Balanced trainers, I’m only preaching to the already converted. I’ve never changed my mind about something because someone said something mean about it on social media.
I can’t tell anyone what kind of trainer, owner, friend, or family member to be. And I don’t want to. I only want to offer you my experience in dealing with dogs, what has worked and what hasn’t. I hope you’ll learn something, and I hope you’ll teach something, whether it’s getting your dog to Sit, or changing my mind on something.
Thanks for reading!
-Colby
Colby's Canines Dog Training 