Let’s look at some intellectual and empathetic reasons for choosing kind, pain-free methods for training our wonderful dogs.

What are dogs to you? To me they are friends and partners I walk through life with. They are amazing, intelligent, sensitive beings who can think and feel and hurt and love. They are innocent of the faults of jealousy, greed, anger, hate, spite, and they never hold grudges or carry out intricate plots of revenge or attempt to ‘get even’. Dogs do so much for us by way of offering companionship, healing, providing services in the roles of guide, hearing, therapy and assistance dogs, and so on. To me, dogs are incredible and I could not imagine my life without them. I love dogs, but I love them for WHO and WHAT they are, what nature made them to be – what I can potentially mold them into, train them to do, or what tasks they could potentially perform for me are only icing on the cake.

Dogs come to us with their own culture intact. A culture that at times clashes with our own (as Jean Donaldson so aptly put it in her highly recommended book, “The Culture Clash”). Before we attempt to mold our canines into beings that fit within the walls of human culture we should attempt to understand their own. And that canine culture should always be respected; never should force or pain be used to brutally attempt alter canine instinct and culture as we  mold the dog into what we find acceptable or to fit our desires.

Is it acceptable or fair to use a knee to the chest or a painful leash correction on a dog who jumps to greet you? Dogs, afterall, greet this way – it’s part of their culture. I am certainly not suggesting that humans should just accept jumping behavior.  But shouldn’t we take the time to teach in a fair, pain-free way, new greeting behavior to dogs who don’t know our own  preferred method of greeting?

What about the dog who pulls on the leash? Are leash corrections – sharp jerks on a leash attached to a chain or collar on the dog’s neck – ethical or humane? We slap leashes on dogs, follow them when they pull hence teaching them that “pulling works”. And then we get sick of being dragged around, decide enough is enough, ‘unleshing’ a storm of ‘corrections’ (read: punishment), causing pain to get the dog to stop pulling. Dogs pull because we follow or never taught them an alternative way. Not to mention that dogs are born with an opposition reflex, a reflex that tells their bodies, “Pull against pressure!”

And when we bring a dog home with high hopes of turning her into an obedience champion or an agility dog or a this or a that, shouldn’t we keep in mind that lofty goals and high hopes do not justify brutality? If we cannot accomplish it with kindness and compassion, is it really worth it? What does the dog get out of an OTCH or a MACH title? Titles mean nothing to dogs; and should mean nothing to humans when they are obtained through means that employ pain and discomfort.

Take a moment to put yourself in your dog’s paws. When you opt to put a choke chain or prong collar around his neck in order to teach a new behavior, pause a moment and consider how you would feel, REALLY feel, if you and your dog swapped places.

We opt to bring dogs into our lives. Dogs do not make the choice to live with us.  Bringing a dog home is a decision that requires much thought and research. We owe it to dogs to learn about who and what they truly are, what they need, and how they perceive the world. Only once we truly grasp these things can we begin to mold our dogs humanely into what we want them to be. But as we mold our dogs, we must always keep in mind that
wants do not always reconcile with shoulds or needs. Our wants must be kept in check by the shoulds and needs.