Dog training methods have certainly changed. Gone are the days of rubbing their nose in it” or “smacking'” them on the nose to train them. Where did those ideas come from?

We humans learn by example. Do you use the same detergent your mother used? Do you find yourself repeating old sayings that your grandfather used to say?

When it Comes to A Dog Training Method

This is true when it comes to dog training. When you were growing up, did you watch your mother rub a pet dog’s nose in his pee or poop? Or did you watch your father hit your family dog on the nose with a newspaper when he did something wrong?

You may find yourself doing the same things even if you actually believe it is wrong. Sometimes these things are deeply ingrained in us.

How A Formal Dog Training Method Began

So, you may be wondering where did my parents and grandparents learn this training method? Before WWI, dogs were necessary and responsible members of the family with important jobs to do. They guarded property, provided personal protection, herded livestock, rid the property of vermin, and pulled carts and sleds. They even located lost people (raise your hand if you remember Lassie).

During WWI

During the war, dogs were used to assist in combat, and many were casualties of war. Because of this, the armed forces needed to rapidly train dogs to replace the fast depleting supply of service dogs. This need brought on the training method known as the “compulsion” technique.

What is Compulsion Training?

Compulsion dog training involves positive punishment. That means, for instance, leash corrections, ear pinches, or an electric collar. In other words, the dog is punished when he does not perform as is expected.

Many of these dogs, mainly working breeds adapted well to this kind of training and performed their duties as was expected of them. Sadly, others were not able to withstand this kind of training, it broke their spirits and they lost their desire to please. At that time it was believed that these dogs were just inferior, unsound, or unable to learn.

After WWI

When WWI ended many men who trained dogs using the fast “compulsion” training method were discharged and at about this same time people also began moving from working on their farms to working in factories.

This left the family dog at home alone without work to do and lots of time to get into trouble. As a result, many felt the need to “train” their dogs to behave.

The military dog trainers were readily available to help these desperate owners to train their lonely and bored dogs how to “behave”. At this time society as a whole accepted punishment as a valid way to learn. (were you spanked as a child? If you were a child then, you most likely did. No one thought it was cruel then.

So, it just followed that training dogs through punishment was not only the right way, it was really the only way. Most people believed in “the school of hard knocks” for people as well as dogs. 

Gaining Momentum

Sometime in the 1930″s the American Kennel Club (AKC) introduced obedience training in the U. S. Most competitions were done in clubs and by other AKC approved obedience groups. 

The compulsion training method had gained considerable support in the dog community and this type of training was being used to train dogs for competition.

During WWII dogs to assist servicemen were needed again, and again, after the war, there was another influx of ex-military trainers entering the civilian dog training world. 

More and more people were working outside the home now including women. These dog owners were experiencing behavior issues never seen before. As a result, the need for formal dog trainers was ever greater.

Thanks in part to books and television the compulsion training method became even more available to the average American. It was around the 1980s that we began to hear words such as “dominance”. This was as a result of scientific research being done at the time on wolves. 

The Idea of Dominance

This is how the idea that if you were not dominating your dog, then he must be dominating you. This led to lots of theories about pack behavior and the belief that it was impossible to train a dog without dominating him.

Around the 1990’s the idea of conditioning training method (learning through rewards and positive punishment) began to surface as clicker training.

What is Positive Punishment?

Positive punishment as is when you take away something the dog finds enjoyable when he does something wrong. An example would be taking your dog immediately to another room when he jumps on a visitor. Why does that work?

Because dogs want to be with you. They want the pats and pets from those that come to the door. If you remove the dog, then bring him back in after a few times, and repeat each time the dog jumps on the person, he will begin to understand that when he jumps on the person, he doesn’t get to be with you and he gets no pats or pets. There are many other ways to use positive punishment and that is just an example.

Because compulsion and punishment training had become so deeply entrenched in people’s minds this type of training was scorned by most as ineffective and too coddling. 

However, those who began using clicker training on dogs that knew nothing about compulsion training began excelling in obedience and sport rings, so the movement began to gain support and popularity. 

By 1997 this type of training had gained popularity and was being widely used by trainers and owners alike. However, as with any type of training, some methods of positive training were being skewed and many believed that it meant 100% positive and the dog was never to be corrected. 

TRAINING METHODS TODAY

This is really unfortunate because positive training the correct way can produce greater results in a wider variety of dogs. This is also unfortunate for owners because learning to correctly use the positive training method can be learned by anyone. 

Anyone can learn to train their dog this way and if it is done correctly anyone can be successful at training their dog. Dog training no longer has to be a mystery known only to professional dog trainers.