Why I'm Not A Force Free Trainer

Force free training is very popular these days. It feeds our desire to never do anything "negative" to our dogs and makes us feel good that we never do anything uncomfortable with them. I've always made it very clear that I'm not a force free trainer and there are several reasons why.

Before I get into those, I do want to make it clear that at least 90% of the training I do is force free. I use toys, food, praise, play, and any other reward I can think of that motivates the dog when they are learning new behaviors. I just also use guidance in a wide variety of forms as well when I need to.

Now on to the whys.

First, dogs need to understand when they are making real mistakes and that they should avoid them. The force free community recommends all sorts of distraction techniques to keep your dog from doing something you don't want them to do. That works as long as your dog is hungry and the treats you are offering are more exciting than the squirrel, neighbor, or child it wants to attack. If you've ever seen a dog blow up, you know a kong toy filled with peanut butter isn't going to calm the dog.

Dogs need to know what "No" means and that there are consequences for bad behavior. That doesn't mean physical pain, harm, or anything of the sort. There are lots of ways to teach a dog not to do things and I use the gentlest approaches I can with every dog I work with. That said, they will understand that bad behavior comes with consequences.

Second, the world is stressful. Adding a tiny bit of stress to a controlled training environment makes the rest of the world easier to deal with. Adding some leash pressure or any other kind of pressure allows us to condition the dog to things they don't like in a way that they learn that a moment of negativity isn't the end of the world.

At some point, every dog owner will need to control their dog in some way. Maybe you weren't quick enough with the distraction or an off leash dog ran up on you out of nowhere and you need to control your dog. You can do that in a way that the dog understands because it has happened hundreds of times in training already or you can completely shock the dog giving it a new experience it has never felt before and has no idea how to respond to. The answer seems obvious to me. I'd rather my dog understand the pressure I'm giving it, understand that it isn't a big deal, and understand what I want out of the pressure I'm giving.

Lastly, at least for this post, guidance just works better when you're teaching a new skill sometimes. Whether it's a skill issue on my part or just confusion on the dogs end, sometimes they just don't get what I'm trying to teach them with a food lure or toy. The dog is very engaged, wants to do what I'm asking it to, but just can't figure it out. Appropriate leash pressure in those situations is wonderful for me and the dog. They understand it, I get what I want, and they get the reward for doing it. Everyone wins!

I liken this idea to a guy buying a birthday present for his wife. Every guy knows this situation. He asks, "What would you like for your birthday?" She say, "Oh, nothing. Whatever you think of will be great." He buys her a new lawn mower and she gets upset. He says, "You didn't tell me what you wanted!" She say, "You should have known!"

...

I promise you, the guy wanted some leash pressure. A little pop on the collar saying, "Uh, uh. Come this way instead." would have done wonders for everyone's happiness. She would have got something she actually wanted and he could have felt like the best husband getting it for her.

The same thing happens with our dogs. We are the leaders in the relationship and they want to know how to please us. A little guidance makes that so much easier and sometimes leash pressure or a correction is the absolute best guidance we can give them.

Doing everything with rewards sounds really great on paper. It really does. But it isn't best for your dog. They are much better behaved, understand the pressure we give them, and genuinely want it much of the time. Don't be afraid of using an appropriate level of force with your dog. It will only help you.