Coercive vs Compulsive Training
If you look up “Coercive” and “Compulsive” dog training, odds are you’re going to get a lot of opinion pieces labeling out why someone thinks they’re both evil and wrong. There is a lot of differing opinions on the best way to dog train, but too many are based on information that is inaccurate or at least misunderstood. So let’s talk about balanced dog training, let’s get into the realities of what “coercive” and “compulsive” even mean.
Many people will try to say that coercive and compulsive training can be evenly matched to positive and negative reinforcement. If only it were that simple.
Our world is one of extremes, but extremes don’t work for individuals. Your dog is unique and will need their training tailored to their personality and temperament. This means that what works for a Yorkie probably won’t be a one to one correlation with a Belgian Malinois, even if the training is based in the same canine psychology.
What is Coercive Training?
Coercive training means using bribery or “coersion” to get your dog to do something. This might sound negative, but treat training is coercive training. Praise is coercive. Toys are coercive.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with brainwashing your dog into thinking that every single time they do something you like, something amazing happens. Your dog is a dog, not a person. They don’t have to go out into the world and realize it doesn’t revolve around them, we can absolutely convince them that it does. And there is nothing wrong with helping increase their motivation.
This is the type of training that we will use any time we are teaching your dog something new. “If you sit, you get a treat,” “If you wait, you’ll get your food,” “If you bring it back, I’ll throw your ball,” etc. You need to give your dog something in exchange for their work, that’s something I think everyone can understand.
As time goes on, the type of coersion you use will change. You won’t always have a treat on you, but you can still reward your dog with high-pitched praise or a good scratch. Just about everything can be used as a reward. Going outside can be a reward for sitting calmly, a playful wrestling match can be a reward for holding a down. Get creative, do whatever you need to do to make playing and training with your dog a part of the routine.
This all sounds pretty great, right? Nobody wants to yell or correct their dog all the time, we want to bribe them into working, not scare them. But what if bribery isn’t enough?
Sitting for their food in the morning may work fine, but will they do it at a park around fifty playing children? What about if there are ten dogs barking at them from behind a fence? Or, the worst case scenario, a squirrel darts into the road, what on earth could you offer in that moment that would convince your dog that running after it isn’t the absolute best thing they could do?
What is Compulsive Training?
Compulsive training insisting your dog perform any given task. This could be pushing on their butt to get them to sit, pulling out their front legs to encourage a down, pulling on a long lead to reinforce recall.
“Hold on.” I can hear someone say in confusion. “I thought compulsive training was negative reinforcement?” Depends on what you consider negative. Compulsive just means that they have to do the task. This can be achieved with an ecollar, prong collar, gentle leader, or other tools, but it doesn’t have to be.
There is a lot of hang up over the word “positive” when it comes to training. People consider treat training to be positive reinforcement, but if your dog is easily distracted, odds are your trainer will tell you to have them skip a meal or two to help increase the value of their reward. It doesn’t hurt the dog at all, but I don’t think anyone would claim that it doesn’t sound like the dog was mildly inconvenienced. How different is that from pushing on their butt or reinforcing a command with a stern, “Uh uh!”?
That said, please do not misunderstand. Compulsive training methods are only to be used after the dog completely understands what you are asking from them. You should never correct a dog for something they don’t understand (with the exception of if someone is in physical danger, but even then that’ll mean you have to fix the problems that come along with it). If you’re body slamming your dog to the ground every time he doesn’t sit, then no, that’s not training. Incorrectly using an ecollar is absolutely abuse. Compulsive training is a tool, just like any other, in order to be effective, it must be used correctly.
Every dog will also have a different tolerance for compulsive training. A working line German Shepherd will need a much stronger correction then a soft-hearted goldendoodle. Being aware of their different needs is part of a trainer (and handler’s) job.
There will be times where it is necessary to use both compulsive and coercive training methods, but at the end of the day, it’s all to serve the same purpose: making sure your dog is living the very best life they can live. We want your dog to experience freedom and joy, and if any training is getting in the way of that, then something has gone horribly wrong.
Proper training opens up opportunities for your dog and for you.. Every dog is different, and no two dogs will be trained in the exact same way. So be flexible, and please, enjoy the ride.