Spectrum of Dog Training Philosophies

The multitude of dog training styles can be divided into 2 general training camps or philosophies that are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. On one end is the “positive reinforcement” or “reward-based” training camp. On the other end are the trainers who use “confrontational methods” like “negative reinforcement” or “positive punishment” training. Unfortunately, using these charged terms immediately sets up a bias that “positive” is good, “negative” is bad and “punishment” is cruel. No one wants to be considered bad or punishing their dogs, so many novice trainers will gravitate to the “positive” end of the spectrum without much understanding that “positive” does not necessarily mean better. Also, the confusion with “positive discipline” for raising children feeds into the idea that dogs also need similar positive discipline. Continue reading →