There is a war going on in the dog world. Do you know about it? It’s brutal and it is being fought on multiple fronts. The combatants are even squabbling within their own ranks. Those of us in the middle of it are fraught with anxiety, unsure of who or what to trust or which team is reliable. It’s much like American politics with the war between the Left and the Right and do you know who the casualties are? The American people and the dogs.
So who’s fighting? The primary schools of thought are force free and balance. I’m going to attempt to write an unbiased description of each. If I should fail, please know it is a subconscious keystroke or two, a Freudian slip, if you will.
Force free proponents theorize that a positive reinforcement, rewards-centered approach to dog training and ownership is the modern, science-based best choice. Creating an atmosphere of establishing a relationship between human and dog that makes the human the most appealing choice in all situations is the primary focus. Instead of establishing a hierarchy of superior and subordinate an equal, choice-driven relationship is the goal. It shuns training tools such as shock and prong collars and seeks to guide rather than command. Good behavior is praised and rewarded while bad behavior is ignored and redirected.
Balance advocates embrace dominance theory and a more traditional approach with respect to alpha and pack mentality. They posit that praise of good behavior and correction of bad behavior lead to a peaceful equilibrium within the household. The humans are in the position of power, directing and controlling the lives and choices of the dogs; the dogs fall in line out of respect for this mimic of the natural order and thrive under a benevolent dictatorship. It rejects the notion that the dog has free will and instead assigns the role of monarch to the human.
Within each group there are factions at war with one another. In the force free community there are some that are more force free except when you really need it then a little force, judiciously applied, is acceptable. There’s another faction that takes force free to the extreme, they ban crates, demand consent from the dog before training and seek to end all form of ownership.
Over in the balance camp there are factions that judge and condescend even their own for being too soft, for allowing their dogs to sleep in their beds and for being “fur mommies.”
The only thing these two groups agree on is that the other is absolutely wrong. They refuse to see the other’s point-of-view, they twist the facts to support their own theories and go to such extremes as to hide their incorporation of the opposing methods into their own practice.
It’s really screwed up.
I am a fur mom who uses shock collars. My dogs sleep in my bed but submit to my rule. They have unlimited access to their toys but not their food. I train with punishment and praise, I am the absolute alpha and the frequent pushover. I’m both adored and abhorred by members of each side of this war. Today I’m declaring myself a third-party candidate in this dog pile.
I am prepared to lead the commonsense movement.
We are balanced but treat our dogs like our children. They are family with no say in the rules that govern their lives. We are as liberal with our praise as we are conservative with our boundaries. When the chips are down, will you take up arms in this war? In which camp?
You answered your own question — you are balanced — that means somewhere in the middle — that is where I am. So a lot of dogs can be trained using treats, rewards, etc. and that is great. But then you have dogs that don’t have that — dogs that are too anxious or scared to think and constantly make decisions they have control over because it is done on impulse. Those dogs need a different approach – I have both types of dogs in my house right now. And I think the other side comes at this approach looking at it all in the wrong way — I think they think that an ecollar is used for everything all the time — and that is just not the case. You always ask first correct when they do the wrong thing — you do this with human children as well – ask first correct later don’t you (now I know we don’t use e collars on kids but there usually is some kind of punishment be that disappointment etc.) Dogs are not human and their cause and effect and not always the same in their brains as it is in a human brain. Consistency and training lets me use my voice commands with my dogs and the e collar less and less — it is on for emergency only anymore for when instinct kicks in and they are in danger. My dogs sleep with me and go with me more and more places, but I am the mom, I set the rules, just like I did with my kids — without the rules of the family and house they would not be the well adjusted adults they are today. Dogs need those rules as well.
ugh — that should be no control over!!!
I am a fur Mom and find myself in the middle…I do what feels is best for my pup! I’ve done both types of training over the years and find a more balanced approach has given me a relationship with my dog that I never dreamed possible. Don’t be fooled by his good behavior, he’s still the Mama’s boy I wanted!