The Dog Shouter

Discipline vs All Positive

Hello John:

Could you please specify what you consider to be “disciplinary” measures, versus all-positive measures.
How would you discipline a dog?

Thank you,

L.J.

Dear L.J.

One size does not fit all. It depends on the context, the dog’s temperament, history, breed, bloodlines etc. Discipline shouldn’t be confused with mindless confrontation. Positive reinforcement is much the same. It is provided from the dog’s perspective rather then the handler’s. Not much point giving a dog a piece of lettuce and a rabbit a piece of liver. Discipline or reward, either way it has to have value to the dog.

As far as “all-positive measures”; I don’t consider those at all. At least not seriously. In the natural world there is no such thing.  Even those misled into believing in it don’t practice it. Discipline is hidden behind words like “Gentle” leader, which forces compliance due to the pressure on cervical vertebrae in a far more dangerous manner then other training collars. “Don’t feed your dog before class” is another and is a negative used to force concentration. I’m not saying working for one’s dinner is wrong. I’m saying it is not all-positive and the pot shouldn’t be calling the kettle black. Regardless of the semantics related to degree of discipline, for the most part the results produced in all-positive classes are rarely useful beyond a trick level of compliance meaning without the ability to exert self-control and use their attention span outside the proximity of the nearest treat the dogs and their mislead and frustrated owners are at the mercy of real world distractions when on walks and can only be off leash in the most ideal of conditions. All-positive training is non-existent in the working dog world. The joy is in the job and working with the handler.

Mother dogs don’t promise puppies a treat for staying still and silent when a predator is near. She doesn’t put them in time outs as they’ll be at the mercy of predators and very likely dead when she returns. She rewards good behavior, disciplines bad behavior. When balanced with positive reinforcement it packages a clearer message then all-positive or all-negative. This has been proven in a laboratory of far greater scope then B.F. Skinner’s one of the fathers of operant conditioning and its illegitimate child all-positive dog training. There is no evidence that Skinner thought or expected that his work would be so misconstrued as to be thought superior to natural learning let alone a real alternative to balanced dog training anymore then scientists working on human cloning expect it to replace natural reproduction. It was an experiment that demonstrated in a controlled environment, with enough time, the right motivators, sufficient patience and an eye for nuance, an animal’s behavior could be eventually shaped into a semblance of a useful end. It was not an unveiling of superior morality as is suggested by its misguided disciples who infer that if it is not all-positive, other training is cruel. If anything, considering the lives lived by dogs that cannot walk or run free around distractions, the opposite might be said to be true. Shelters are full of dogs surrendered due to behavior easily resolved with a balanced measure of positive and discipline. Far more then are there due to abuse.

We have seen this template of a balance between positive and negative reinforcement in nature from the beginning of time in all social species; including humans. What we have never seen is all-positive and it seems unlikely that dogs are the only species on the planet requiring an aberrant approach to teaching. Nature has a template for everything and every human attempt to circumvent that template including the way social species are wired to learn has always resulted in negative consequences and there is ample evidence to suggest that all-positive dog training has resulted in the same.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet and spend time with many of the world’s top dog trainers of all disciplines, positive and balanced and the balanced trained dogs are always just as happy as their counter parts. However, overall they were always better behaved in more varied environments.

-John “Attila” Wade Visit www.johnwade.ca as well.