The Illusion of Tools That “Work”

I get the appeal— you want your dog’s behavior to stop now, and you’re willing to do just about anything to get some relief from the barking, lunging, jumping, chewing, peeing, or whatever other behavior is vexing you.

You may want to reconsider grabbing that ultrasonic sound device, shock collar, spray bottle, or other aversive tool you’ve found to resolve your problem, though…

You’re only addressing your problem.

When you use tools that address the symptom (barking, jumping, etc) of a problem, you end up merely suppressing the symptom. Kind of like putting a bandaid over a wound you haven’t cleaned. While your dog may stop doing the behavior you don’t want, the reason for the behavior is still a problem for your dog. Other symptoms of the original problem will eventually pop up, and they’re usually worse than the ones you suppressed.

Aversive tactics and tools come with side effects.

Because you’re not addressing your dog’s problem (the reason they’re doing the thing you don’t like), using tools that work by startling your dog or making them uncomfortable often comes with some pretty nasty side effects.

Ultrasonic devices can create or increase sound sensitivities, making your dog bark at more noises instead of less. Things like shaker cans, spray bottles, and yelling at your dog can increase anxiety in the situations you’re using them in or cause more generalized anxiety all the time.

Tools like shock and prong collars can increase anxiety and fear and can even cause aggression. What’s worse is that often, the aggression presents in situations that seem entirely unrelated to the problem you’re using the collars for. For example, shocking your dog every time they bark at another dog on a walk may result in them biting the neighbor’s kid who came over to play with them.

You may feel like your tools are working even when they’re not.

People tell me that prong collars give them more control over their dog’s pulling, as their dog is pulling them over to me, completely out of control. Many people who use devices that startle their dogs or make them uncomfortable, like shaker cans or ultrasonic devices, claim they work to stop their dogs from barking, as the dog returns to barking at me a few seconds after using it.

Dogs learn to ignore these tools, but people still continue to use them because they feel like they’re at least doing something to address their problem. This is not training. At best, you’re just nagging your dog. At worst, this is abuse.

Your dog may learn to mistrust or even fear you.

I am always surprised when I meet people who are oblivious to their dog’s fear or discomfort around them. Far too often, I see dogs showing obvious signs of stress when their people call them or cowering when their people reach for them. Most often, this is because people yell at them or use threatening body language regularly to get their dogs to do what they want. It may seem benign as they’re not physically hurting the dog, but unfortunately for both the dog and human, these tactics can have a profound effect on the dog.

On the surface, it may seem like everything is going great because your dog is doing what you want, but a dog doing what you want because it’s scared not to looks very different from a dog who’s doing what you want because it knows you’re the provider of all good things.

What you can do instead of using aversive tactics and tools:

Instead of relying on aversive tactics and tools to address the symptoms of your dog’s problem, try to figure out what the problem is and work to resolve it.

Management that prevents your dog from repeating the undesirable behavior (like closing the curtain when your dog is barking at people passing by) is usually an easy first step.

Changing your dog’s emotional response to whatever is causing the behavior (like giving your dog cheese every time they see the dog they usually lunge at) will change the behavior, as your dog starts seeing the thing that bothered them before as a predictor of good things to come.

Teaching your dog what you want them to do is also a great way to resolve problem behaviors. Does your dog drive you crazy, pawing at or barking at you while you’re eating? Teach them to settle on a mat by your feet while you’re eating instead.

Remember to always use good things your dog likes (toys, play, affection, treats, etc) to reinforce behaviors you want more of!

Are you unsure how to resolve your dog’s problem behaviors without resorting to aversive tactics or tools? Schedule a consultation here, and let me help you!