No punishment without fulfillment: Being fair to my dog

Punishment is a heated topic in the dog training world. Many of us associate the word with pain, injustice, and unhealthy relationships.

It took me a long time to feel comfortable talking about punishment as a dog owner. (And I still get nervous about it sometimes!) One of the biggest reasons I’ve been compelled to share more of my own thoughts is that I think there’s a desperate need for nuance in the conversation.

Too often I feel like dog trainers and owners who are comfortable using punishment (commonly called “balanced”) are all grouped together. But nothing is that black and white! Just like physical tools, the overall use of punishment in dog training can be approached differently.

While I think it’s remiss to say that anyone who considers the use of punishment in their training is an animal abuser ( hi hello yes we’re one of this category) I also think there absolutely are trainers who implement punishment unfairly, in ways that harm both dogs and their owners.

Here are my thought…