20/01/2026
All too often I receive highly emotional calls from desperate owners who's dogs are displaying severe reactivity, resource guarding or have taken to biting people including members of their own family. At the same time, many trainers and behaviourists are telling owners not to correct their dog, even a NO is outlawed and if you should correct your dog, the shaming and guilt tripping knows no end.
But why are we told this, and what are the outcomes for both dog and owner?
The reasons usually given are that it will ruin your relationship, the dog will shut down, the emotions and stress (It's always stress, never naughtiness) will be suppressed and bottle up and one day your dog will explode. In all my yearās working dogs, I have never seen a dog explode, and if this was the case my three reprobates wouldnāt come within a mile of me.
Dogs obviously donāt understand what NO means but they do understand your displeasure from the tone itās delivered in. Iām talking about a calm clear and firm NO or a handclap or a pop on the lead that the dog has been conditioned to understand as āmate, what your about to do, or what you are doing is not acceptable. Training difficult behaviours without any consequence at all is doomed to fail.
Let me give you a scenario
Youāre late for an interview for your dream job, Ā£250k a year company car , all the bells and whistles, and you have a choice. You obviously donāt want to be late for the interview and risk not getting the job, but there is a speed camera on route and if you stick to the speed limit you are definitely going to be late. So you have a choice, stuff the camera take a ticket and arrive on time, or be a good citizen and stick to the speed limit, and maybe lose the job
Chances are you will take the ticket. The consequence (a mere speeding fine) isnāt meaningful compared to the reward (Ā£250k) of your new job. Most people would take the hit. If thereās no consequence at all, it wouldnāt even enter your mind to modify your behaviour and take your foot of the gas, and some dog trainers not only refuse to give the dog a ticket but jump out from behind the speed camera with flowers and chocolates.
Navigating and living in the world successfully for all of us hinges on consequence and reward in the right proportions. When thereās no speeding ticket for your dog, why should they take their foot of the gas?
Letās be clear, in my view hitting, pinning, or physical force are not acceptable and have no place in dog training, but dogs donāt just fall apart because theyāve received some fair clear feedback. A correction shouldnāt be harsh it just has to be well timed, and fair and most importantly understood by the dog.
Iām sorry to be the bearer of a little harsh truth, but the root cause of many of these difficult behaviours is permissive handling and weak leadership by the owner which undermines the dogās confidence and sense of security. In short, you get what you allow.
What are the results of the āgentle parenting approach for the dog population?
Reactivity in dogs is at literally epidemic levels. Our phone doesnāt stop and the diary rarely has space in it.
Dogs are rehomed or euthanized because of resource guarding or aggression toward owners in increasing numbers. An increasing number of dogs have a bite history by the time they get to us.
The large corporate Dog Shelters put down thousands of dogs due to behavioural issues every year. The RSPCAās past figures show that they have put down up to 46% of all dogs taken into shelters despite donations of over Ā£100 million per year.
Battersea dogās home has had a euthanasia rate of 34%
Most animals are euthanised within 24 hours of entering a PETA institution with more money going towards running the freezers for storing the deceased bodies than on animal care and welfare. They rehome just 1% of animals they ārescueā, putting to sleep 99%
Dogs Trust claim āwe never put down a healthy dogā is incredibly misleading as they class a dog with behavioural issues as unhealthy.
Local councils across the UK put down around 18 dogs per day.
Itās carnage and a large percentage of it is a direct result of the dog owning population being lied to about correcting your dog. I have been told to my face several times over the years by ideologically indoctrinated Trainers, Behaviourists, and owners that they would rather see a dog put down than use corrections, and this dogma kills dogs in huge numbers.
So if we, as a nation of dog lovers want to see change in dog welfare and have better outcomes for the dog population we had better start learning to be good leaders, setting boundaries, providing structure, teaching good manners and stop being guilt tripped for a fair and firm correction.
Why? because I would rather see a dog corrected than a a dead one.
Steve @ Mad4mutts
