Why Balanced Dog Training Could be the Missing Piece in Your Training Puzzle
If you’ve ever Googled “dog training near me” or “how to stop my dog from pulling on the leash,” you’ve probably run into a lot of conflicting advice. Some trainers will tell you to only use food. Some recommend a slip lead or a gentle leader. Others insist you avoid your dogs’ triggers at all costs. Many will claim that any form of coercion or correction is “cruel.” Which leaves regular dog owners like you stuck in the middle, not knowing what to do or who to trust, confused, frustrated, stressed out, and stuck.
The truth, as it always is, is a bit more nuanced: rewards are an essential piece of the training puzzle. Clear and consistent rewards can be invaluable in teaching a dog new skills and in reinforcing good choices, but are absolutely useless in discouraging unwanted behaviors. Food alone won’t stop dangerous behaviors. That’s where balanced training comes in.
What is Balanced Dog Training?
Balanced training means using the full spectrum of learning:
Positive reinforcement: adding a motivating reward to increase/encourage desired behaviors.
Negative reinforcement: withdrawing pressure to guide a dog to the desired behavior.
Positive punishment: adding a fair consequence to decrease/inhibit unwanted behaviors.
Negative punishment: withholding a reward until a dog offers the desired behavior.
In a nutshell? Balanced training is… well… balanced. Your dog will learn both what to do and what not to do. They will learn what is good versus what is bad.
And they often learn very quickly due to the inherently clear and obvious nature of this approach. We’re not leaving it up to the dog to figure out which choices are good and which are bad. We tell them explicitly on both ends of the spectrum.
The Role of Positive Punishment (and Why It’s Misunderstood)
Let’s clear up the biggest misconception: positive punishment is not cruel or abusive, no matter how loudly and confidently some will claim it.
Positive punishment, often referred to in dog training as a correction, simply means adding a consequence when your dog makes the wrong choice. For me, that consequence will generally be a leash or e-collar correction.
Corrections aren’t acts of cruelty, but of clarity. For example, when a dog attempts to jump the fence in the backyard, if we consistently disagree with that choice, we are in effect telling the dog: “That path is closed off to you, you’re not allowed to do that.”
Corrections are applied in an emotionally neutral way. There is no yelling or frustration. No anger. Just critically important information. In this case: get off the fence, Fido!
And once a dog learns to avoid said consequence, there is no stress, no fear, no being shut down. Those claims all fail to hold up to reality. If a consequence is motivating to the dog and applied consistently by the human, the dog will learn to avoid the consequence by avoiding the behavior we are correcting for.
The dog will learn that he is in control of if the consequence happens or not. Meaning he can just stop trying to jump the fence, and that consequence won’t happen unless he engages in the unwanted behavior.
Final Thoughts
Balanced training isn’t about being harsh or authoritarian. It’s not about shutting your dog down through intense, over-the-top, random acts of coercion, dominance, etc. It’s about being clear, consistent, and fair.
Dogs thrive when they know the rules, just like humans do. Boundaries are healthy for any relationship, so why should human-dog relationships be any different? In other words, using discipline in your training is an aspect of a healthy, loving relationship.
If you’re tired of chaos and ready for real change, I can help. Together, we’ll create a calm, respectful, and lasting relationship with your dog. Reach out anytime : )
- Bradley
