When I began training, the only viewpoint I was exposed to was what is now commonly referred to as traditional training. This included leash “corrections”, “alpha rolls” or “dominance downs”, and a LOT of saying “NO”.

Nowadays these things seem crazy, and sometimes even dangerous. But I try to keep in mind, when feeling extra guilty for methods I’ve used, that “you don’t know what you don’t know”. I could never have imagined the scope of knowledge and experience I’ve gained in ~10 years.

And I’m only just beginning. So allow me to define a few terms. I’m going to get pretty nerdy on you, then I’m going to reel that in and make it all as practical as I can.

First, positive reinforcement (hereafter referred to as +R) is equivalent to adding something our dogs want, which results in the behavior being more likely to occur. The important part is, “positive” means adding something, and “reinforcement” means it’s making something more likely to occur (which implies it’s a good thing!).

Permissiveness is when we let things go a little too much. When our dogs consistently get close while we’re eating, and we just end up letting it go because it doesn’t seem THAT bad (until our dogs are drooling on guests!). Or when our dogs jump on us when we come home, and sometimes we fuss but mostly we ignore it or half-heartedly pet them because it’s not THAT bad (seeing a pattern yet?).

And a punisher is anything that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will occur. Usually we think of positive punishment (+P) which means adding something that decreases the behaviors number of occurrences. This could be a range of things from threatening with a rolled up newspaper and using a squirt bottle, to shock collars and hitting. (I strongly advise my clients against using positive punishers, as they do not tell a dog what you actually want them to do, and do nothing to promote trust in your relationship.)

Now negative punishers (-P) are different, even though it sounds even scarier than +P. This means you take away (negative) something good, which results in less of a behavior. If your dog pulls on leash, and you stand still till they stop, that is -P. Not too bad, right?

But as a trainer, I do want to try and find more ways to encourage good behavior, and less reasons to stop or reduce behavior. It’s important to me for the integrity of what I’m attempting, and my relationship with each learner (dogs, in this case.)

Still following? Have I bored you to death?? Hang in there, it’s going to get good.

Now, when I made the switch from that “dominance” based training, to a more force-free approach, I fell down a rabbit hole I often see others stuck in. For me, I constantly second-guessed every action, including my ability to tell my dogs “no”. Since it’s supposed to stop behavior, it’s technically a conditioned punisher. And since the ideal I want to live up to is a more positive approach, am I failing when I tell my dogs “no”??

So, recently I made a post on my Facebook (please check it out!) about me and Cooper playing Frisbee, and it shows him biting me accidentally. Now, teeth on skin ALWAYS ends a game. Coop is a very mouthy, bitey little Blue Heeler, and this a powerful way to teach him bite inhibition. But I also “marked” that moment by saying no, then the game ended.

This is what I call preserving the power of a punisher. During day to day life, I never really need to tell my dogs no. I am very skilled at finding or asking for behavior I can reinforce instead. If a dog counter surfs, I reinforce four paws on the floor. If a dog barks, I reinforce silence, even if that’s just the breaths between barking fits!

The thing is, if a dog is already jumping on guests, and I say “NO”, then at best no is meaningless, and at worst it becomes the cue for jumping on people! If I say no in any context, without being 100% sure I can control the reinforcers available to that dog, then I run the risk of my “no” becoming, at best, useless.

And in real life, if the dog I’m working with, or someone else’s, or the kid 100 ft away at the park, or anyone else, is at risk, I need my “no” to be super effective. In some scenarios, I need an effective punisher. I avoid it (very successfully) as much as possible, but I can’t plan or train for everything.

And an added benefit of this, is I never need to escalate to +P. I just don’t. My “no” has a very significant meaning, and is effective. I don’t need an “or else” on the end of it. In the long run, this helps me be a much more effective positive reinforcement trainer, because punishers are never crutches for me.

Let’s all try to find more reasons to reinforce good behavior, say no less, and love our dogs, and each other, more!