Bad Dog, Bad Welfare?

These days, almost everyone uses positive reinforcement to train their dog at least some of the time. The dog is rewarded with a treat or a little piece of chicken or cheese when they do something you want to see more of, like sitting instead of jumping up, or coming when you call them. It’s an effective way to train your dog and those rewards provide great motivation.

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Unfortunately, some people also use aversive techniques like leash jerks, prong collars, shock collars, etc. Studies show that aversive methods have risks such as increased fear, anxiety, aggression, and a more pessimistic dog (see e.g. Ziv, 2017; Vieira de Castro et al., 2020). These methods can also affect the human-animal bond, as the dog can associate the punishment with the owner rather than with their own behavior. The punishments are called "aversive" because they rely on pain or fear in order to work (technically speaking, we’re talking about positive punishment and negative reinforcement).

Another way to look at dog training methods is within the wider context of animal welfare.

Dog training methods and the Five Freedoms

The Five Freedoms were developed by the Farm Animal Welfare Council in the U.K. in the 1960s. These days, they are widely used around the world as a framework for good welfare for all kinds of animals—including your pet dog.

The Five Freedoms are:

• Freedom from hunger and thirst.
• Freedom from pain, injury and disease.
• Freedom from discomfort.
• Freedom from fear and distress.
• Freedom to express normal behavior.

Aversive training methods violate most of these freedoms. A prong or shock collar can cause pain, violating the freedom from pain. Since they are associated with higher levels of fear and anxiety, their use is not in line with the freedom from fear and distress, either.

Since aversive methods focus on punishing dogs for doing things, some of which are normal dog behaviors, this can violate the freedom to express normal behavior. A better solution is to focus on giving dogs outlets for those behaviors, for example by providing chew toys or a space to dig in the yard.

Punishing a dog for growling is also an issue because this is a normal way for dogs to communicate that they are unhappy in a situation. This puts them at further risk for additional fear and distress, as they feel too scared to show their normal warning signs. (It also puts anyone who interacts with the dog at an increased risk of a bite).

Freedom from discomfort means that the dog must have a comfortable environment, including shelter from the elements and a space to rest. The dog’s experience of this environment may also be affected by training methods; for example, they may not feel safe and comfortable in their yard if they have a shock collar on. This applies to electronic fences, as well. Along with a list of many other reasons not to use them, Fear Free explain,

“While dogs can learn to tolerate electric fences by learning to navigate within the given boundaries to avoid the associated shock, the threat of pain always remains.”

Dog training methods and the Five Domains

More recently, a newer model of animal welfare has been proposed, the Five Domains, which takes account of positive experiences too. My book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, is based around using this model to help our pet dogs have happier lives and a better relationship with us.

The Five Domains model says that in addition to not experiencing harm, animals should also have good experiences. Four of the five domains relate to the dog’s physical experiences: they should have good nutrition, a good environment, good health, and behavioral interactions. The fifth domain is about their overall mental state.

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If we look at dog training methods through this lens, we can see that reward-based training offers dogs many positive experiences. For example, nice food given as rewards gives dogs positive experiences in the realm of nutrition; if play is used as a reward instead, that would be a pleasant behavioral interactions. And the training is fun for the dog.

The 2020 paper describing the new model (Mellor et al., 2020) gives specific examples of interactions with humans that are likely to cause a negative mental state. You won’t be surprised to learn that this includes the use of aversive training methods, as well as interactions with people who have previously used aversive methods.

On the other hand, the kinds of interactions with people that are good for a dog’s mental state include regular training with positive reinforcement, playing games, getting exercise, and being petted by people the dog likes.

This model gives us even more reasons to stick to reward-based methods only. Organizations including the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the BC SPCA, and Dogs Trust, all recommend the use of reward-based methods. As well as using the term reward-based, dog trainers may call these methods "positive", "positive reinforcement", or "force-free".

Avoid corrections and train with treats instead

These models of animal welfare show that dogs who are punished because they did something bad in the eyes of their owner may suffer from the effects of that punishment. It’s far better to think about what you’d like your dog to do instead, then train them to do it using positive reinforcement. Remember that training doesn’t just happen in official sessions; every interaction with your pet is a training opportunity so you can integrate dog training into daily life.

It’s a given that dog guardians love their dog and don’t want to cause them harm. Sadly, the use of aversive methods can inadvertently do so. If you’re having problems with your dog’s behavior, hire a good dog trainer and make sure they only use kind, humane methods that are in line with good animal welfare. In the case of a sudden behavior change, see your vet first.