Dances with Doodles

[ladylucknodoubt-blog]

Evaluating My Training Methods

I guess I just need to think out loud about aversive training methods for a minute. In the last few months, I have immersed myself in LIMA-based training modalities and actively moved away from more aversive techniques. I guess the selling point was simple: build a better relationship, teach positive behaviors instead of just suppressing negative ones. Add value, not punishment. Remove obstacles, don’t create artificial scarcity. Empower and provide opportunities to learn good choices. Engage with and facilitate agency, Consent. Consent. Consent. 

Before I decided that, for me, aversives were against my ethical foundation, I tried many of them -- face collars (controlling the head), choke chains (controlling the airway), scolding, withholding, yanking, and pinching. It is a hard thing to come to terms with. My dogs are my children and I adore them more than anything. They didn’t deserve to be subjected to punishments that science says serve more as devices of trauma rather than modifiers for behavior. 

I guess I am just coming to terms with the fact that I may have done harm to the beings I love because I knew less about training dogs and less about my own values and tolerance. It is a tough pill to swallow, and sometimes the guilt of it is overpowering. 

As I spend more time in the dog world, I am saddened to see the fracture in the dog training, sheltering and rescue community. As someone who has used a balanced model for most of my dog-owning life, I understand that punishments work -- if your goal is to suppress the immediate behavior. But I also understand that punishments provide no guarantees other than increased cortisol, fear and tension between dog and caretaker. 

 I want to live in a world where we take the time to understand what replicate and well-validated research informs our actions as we all try to do what is best for the dogs we care about so much. I think we all want to live in a world  where we can find the most enriching and effective methods to enable dogs to live healthy, happy lives where they are loved and celebrated, where they are treated as individuals with specific needs, tolerances, interests, and thresholds.

How do we stop the arguing and the talking past each other? I know there are a lot of people who do it successfully. How can I join you? There is common ground to be had, and meaningful discourse is necessary to make us all better at our crafts. We are all here for the same purpose: to teach and help dogs. How can we help each other all learn, grow and get better together?