or people out of the yard, meaning the dog is potentially still at risk of attacks from wildlife or dogs. Another risk is that the dog may associate the shock with the dog or person who just happened to be going past, and so may become fearful of or aggressive towards other dogs or people.
A review of the scientific research on electronic collars finds there is no justification to use them and suggests they should be banned; reward-based methods are encouraged instead.17 Electronic collars (including fences) are banned in several countries, including Wales, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland (England banned other types of electronic collars but not electronic fences for dogs and cats).
THE BENEFITS OF REWARD-BASED TRAINING
ONE TIME, I spent an hour putting a harness on a dog and then taking it off again. She was a beautiful little Siberian Husky who pulled like crazy on walks and was not much used to being handled. Attempting to put the harness on resulted in excited jumping and mouthing, so I started by simply showing her the harness and giving her a piece of chicken for not jumping. Next I lured her head through the harness for chicken, then expected her to put her head through of her own volition, and so on. Our training progressed quickly, as she loved chicken, she was very clever, and she really wanted to go for her walk. Once I got the harness on, I took her out for a quick toilet break, and she was so happy to go outdoors. Then we went back inside for more practice at putting the harness on and taking it off again without her nibbling on my hands. Although I am used to wrangling jumpy dogs into harnesses, I wanted to know she would politely keep still while someone put her harness on. Siberian Huskies are known for needing lots of exercise, so this use of positive reinforcement enabled a future of long walks.
“WE ARE ULTIMATELY responsible for everything they experience, from their eating and elimination schedule, to their exercise and access to both wonderful and frightening things. Once we recognize that we humans are responsible for all of it, and that dogs are powerless animals whose welfare depends on us, kindness and consideration naturally follow. Dogs make choices when they have the opportunity—the choice to be warm, well fed, near the people and animals to whom they’re attached (an important one!), and to be safe. We humans are the ones to present those opportunities.
Force-free behavior modification then makes sense: if you want to influence what a dog does, offer appropriate choices, give the dog time to choose, and reinforce the behavior you want. If the dog makes the wrong choice, try again—don’t punish. Punishment leads to stress and unravels trust so that choice-making is inhibited. We are also capable of making choices; choosing to train dogs with kindness and generosity is an important one.”
—ILANA REISNER, DVM, PhD, DACVB, Reisner Veterinary Behavior and Consulting Services
Training is good for your dog’s welfare because it helps them know how to behave in order to get reinforcements such as petting, play, or food. In situations where a dog is unsure, they will default to behaviors that have been rewarded in the past, such as sitting. And, according to research in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior that looked at the outcomes for dogs referred to a veterinary behaviorist, good advice reduces euthanasias and keeps dogs in homes.18 As well, reward-based training is a fun activity that can provide enrichment for your dog. At its best, training using food or play as rewards can teach dogs to detect narcotics or other substances, perform canine freestyle routines with their handlers, or even learn words, like Rico the Border Collie who learned over 200 words, and Chaser the Border Collie who knows over 1,000 words.19
“THE WORLD WOULD be a better place for dogs if every dog owner understood that their dog’s behavior, good and bad, is motivated purely by consequences, not their dog’s desire to be ‘leader of the pack.’ The myth that we must dominate dogs, or else they will assume the alpha position, is outdated and incorrect. Thanks to a recent explosion in the depth and breadth of canine research over the last 15 years, our understanding of dogs has improved dramatically. We now know that dogs are not trying to be the boss; they just do what works for them. Behaviors that have a desired consequence are repeated whereas behaviors that don’t tend to stop. It’s the same for us humans and, in fact, every other living being on the planet! This is why positive reinforcement training is so effective. When dogs (and other animals) are reinforced with things they like for desired behavior, they quickly learn to repeat those behaviors. Recent science has also taught us that physically punishing dogs (smacking; popping the check chain) for undesired behavior can adversely affect their welfare and the human–animal bond and punishment doesn’t teach the dog what to do instead. Unfortunately, this relatively new understanding of dog behavior, learning and training has not become common knowledge amongst the general population and the old paradigm persists. It’s up to those of us who have this new understanding of dogs to share our knowledge far and wide to make the world a better place for dogs.”
—KATE MORNEMENT, PhD, animal behaviorist at Pets Behaving Badly
Puppy classes
A good puppy class can help with socialization. A study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that attendance at puppy class was associated with a lower risk of dogs being aggressive towards unfamiliar people in the home or outside.20 (This study also found that attendance at adult dog training classes was associated with a higher risk of canine aggression, perhaps because people are more likely to attend if they are having problems with their dog, or because of the methods used in the class, which were not assessed.) And we know that a one-off puppy party is not as effective as a six-week, reward-based puppy class.21 Over a six-week class, puppies get the chance for ongoing socialization with other people and other puppies, and these encounters will help them to generalize those experiences. Puppies can start puppy class at 7 to 8 weeks of age and should have their first vaccines one week beforehand.22
A study by Dr. Janet Cutler, an animal behavior consultant at Landmark Behaviour and post-doc at the University of Guelph, asked new puppy owners what they were doing to socialize their puppy, whether or not they went to puppy class, and—if they were one of the 49 percent that did—what happened there.23 Cutler told me, “We found that people that did go to puppy classes were less likely to use punishment-based discipline, in particular yelling at their dogs or holding their dog down on its back. And we also found that the puppies of these people were less likely to respond in a fearful manner to some noises and also to crate training.” The results are correlational, and it’s possible that a different kind of person chooses to attend puppy class than those who don’t.
The scientific literature does not have guidelines on how much socialization is enough, but for the purposes of Cutler’s study, “not enough” was defined as up to ten new people and up to five new dogs in a two-week period. “The people that went to these puppy classes ended up exposing their puppies to more people and to more dogs,” said Cutler. Still, about a third of puppies in this study were not getting enough socialization. She noted, however, that the quality of the experience is important. Forcing a puppy to meet people and dogs is not socialization; it is a potentially frightening experience that may do more harm than good.
Cutler noted that many classes don’t habituate puppies to loud noises (such as fireworks), which may help them to not be afraid of loud noises as adult dogs. She also highlighted that many classes did not include handling exercises, which can help get the puppy used to the kind of handling they will experience at the vet’s throughout their life. But she concluded, “I recommend that everyone takes their puppies to puppy classes, as long as it’s one that’s providing positive experiences. I’m a behavior consultant myself, and I have a puppy right now, and she’s enrolled in a local school because I don’t teach classes. So I’m going to puppy class with her even though I know about socialization, know what I should be doing. I still think that they’re valuable things.”
A good puppy class will ensure that all the puppies are having a good time by keeping
