Tag Archives: balanced training

But I Want to Use All the Tools in the Tool Box!

Posted on August 16, 2013 by

Have you heard the one about the toolbox? This is the sixth in a series that details and rebuts fallacious arguments against force free training. Today’s erroneous argument is directly related to “But Every Dog is Different!” in that it … Continue reading →

Posted in Punishment, Punishment culture, Reinforcement, Training philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | 37 Comments

But “Purely Positive” is a LIE!

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

This remark has been hurled at me. How about you? I certainly don’t call myself “purely positive” or particularly like the term. But here it comes at me, predictable as clockwork, anyway. The reason this keeps happening is in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Operant conditioning, Punishment, Punishment culture, Reinforcement, Training philosophy | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

But We Don’t Give Our Kids a Cookie Every Time they Tie Their Shoes!

Posted on June 20, 2013 by

Here’s another remark often addressed to reinforcement based trainers, sometimes in a mocking tone, sometimes seriously: But we don’t give our kids a cookie every time they tie their shoes or pay them a nickel every time they say thank … Continue reading →

Posted in Operant conditioning, Punishment, Reinforcement, Training philosophy | Tagged , , | 84 Comments

But It’s Unhealthy to Protect Your Dog from All Stress!

Posted on June 10, 2013 by

“But it’s unhealthy to protect your dog from everything! If you do that, it’s just like overprotecting your child. They won’t be able to cope with the real world!” This is another one of the criticisms one often reads about … Continue reading →

Posted in Dog body language, Dog training hints, Negative Reinforcement, Punishment, Stress Signals, Training philosophy | Tagged , | 13 Comments

But Every Dog is Different!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

But every dog is different! This is another common argument against trainers who train without force. It usually goes like this: But every dog is different! You can’t just use a cookie cutter! But every dog is different! Why limit … Continue reading →

Posted in Operant conditioning, Punishment, Reinforcement, Terminology, Training philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 51 Comments