r/BalancedDogTraining

Anytime any of our members post a topic, we are swarmed with invaders from the force free ideology. Why? Why do they keep coming in here to bother us? We have a pop up that reminds people of the rules when they start typing, and they just ignore it and then act surprised when they are banned and their posts removed. Then without fail date send a pissy mod mail complaining about their ban and acting like they don't understand why. Like seriously, these people are something else.

How do you all feel about using +P to directly suppress reactivity? Does it damage relationship?

I’ve been watching a lot of Miles Hamilton YouTube videos and he uses +P (prong pops or e collar stim) to directly suppress reactivity. Some examples he shows look very harsh, with repeated prong pops and yelling at the dog. He says the dog should look shut down after, so that you effectively suppress the reactive behavior in the future. It’s hard to believe this wouldn’t damage relationship, but he claims it does not, if performed correctly.

I also listen to tons of Michael Ellis and he advises against using +P to directly suppress reactivity. He recommends using +P in behavior mod only to correct the dog for not performing a known obedience behavior.

Hi! Throwaway because I don't want this linked to my main account and I'm relatively new to reddit so this might be a little messy!

For context I am F27 and have a reactive mixed breed dog. I think he might be shepherd mix. Not giant but not small either, like the size of a male showline Australian shepherd.

I live in Europe so I can't go and buy an E-collar or prong collar.

I live alone and he is so sweet toward people he trusts! But having guests over is a nightmare. He is so stressed with guests (tail down, panting, low posture, avoiding guests. If the guest goes to pet or interact with him he nips at them.)

I got him a muzzle but I don't feel good about having guests over just cause it stresses him so much. The muzzle makes the guests safe but it doesn't make him feel safe.

When outside he is reactive to dogs, a dog attacked him (not badly, just a scuffle at a beach) and after that he has gone nuts at the sight of pits or lab looking dogs. (Bonus points if the dog is dark colored..).

Problem is, since he is pretty large I sometimes have to wrap the leash around a pole to easily keep him from dragging me down. I can handle him but I'm afraid that one day after a hard day after work on a walk the leash will slip and he damages someone or something. I do muzzle him on longer walks but he still could muzzle punch someone.

I've been doing force free methods to change his feelings about dogs, and I think it's working? But the progress is soooo slow.

The second he sees a dog he gets a treat. No reaction? Treat. He looks at the dog and is silent? Treat.

Sometimes he acts like a perfectly trained dog, honestly he is smart and I think he might be just begging for treats using behaviour I've rewarded to get the treats.

But then sometimes if the dog looks at him then he reacts despite him doing well before.

It's a dice roll, do I get the trained dog or a reactive one?

Don't get me wrong, I am so proud but I fear the progress will be gone in an instant if something happens negative with a dog happens.

I'm afraid aversive methods will damage my relationship with him, and I am also worried if he will redirect onto me if I try to prevent him from reacting.

But would aversive methods help him? Should I try "correcting" him?

Am I just spoiling him and he needs to be told "no" or should I keep trying the force free method?

Do dogs benefit from having an actual training schedule? I've been thinking about this lately. Instead of randomly training when you have time, what if you treated training like any other part of your dog's routine? For example: Morning — obedience Afternoon — walking/impulse control

Evening — commands + mental stimulation

Do you think having that kind of structure makes a noticeable difference, or is consistency throughout the day enough?

I work at The Farmer's Dog and we published something on this recently that reframed how I think about it. Most people default to walks as the main form of enrichment but physical exercise and mental stimulation aren't the same thing. A dog that's physically tired can still be mentally understimulated, which shows up as restlessness, destructive behavior, or constantly nudging you.

Breed matters a lot too. A Border Collie and a Basset Hound have very different needs.

Things like lick mats, puzzle feeders, and regular training sessions do something a walk doesn't: they engage the brain in a way that produces a different kind of tired. Fresh food works well on lick mats specifically since the smell and texture keeps them engaged longer.

What does your dog's enrichment routine actually look like beyond walks?

I may be fishing for encouragement but also I’d like to fine tune how I work with new rescue, because everyday I learn that I know less than k thought I did. I will try (and probably fail) to keep this short.

Some background on us… I am a 28f living with my parents, I grew up with a dog that wasn’t the most friendly. She calmed down in her golden years but she was dangerous when she was young. We kept her regardless and she broke our hearts in 2024 when we had to say goodbye. That’s my dog experience. I got my own dog this year, she’s almost 2 now and an ACD “mix”. Embark says she’s 100%. She came from acreage, was surrendered for a lack time and was pregnant, though the shelter spayed her ASAP and I adopted her maybe 4 days after her intake.

I did all the planning, I looked at my finances, my time, I tried to imagine my life if I can move out. I was ready for my own dog! Days after I brought meadow home all that confidence collapsed. The puppy blues hit me like a freight train and the moment she showed me she was reactive it got even worse. Still, I’ve put a lot of work into this dog.

She LOVES me, she hid from me in the shelter but 20 minutes after I got home she started following me everywhere. She was sick the first couple of days, and then I was sick so it was kind of a rough start for her. Now, her problems… EVERYTHING! She was scared of literally everything, from sprinklers to dumpsters, lunged at passing cars, would hang herself pulling at dogs, and start barking like a maniac at people, bikes, strollers, all of it. And she’s mean about it, too, hackles up, snarly bark. I know she’s just scared and it’s a breed thing - I didn’t know cattle dogs weren’t naturally friendly, but I’m learning. She also would fence fight any time the neighbors were out in their own yards.

We’ve had big ups and downs. The worst is she nipped a friend of mine while reacting to another dog. I understand it was redirection but I was mortified. She cannot settle down when I have guests in the house. It took her all weekend to roll over for belly rubs when my sister was visiting. Literally I’m the driveway when we were saying goodbye… BUT Meadow didn’t know anything except how to pee outside. I have a balanced trainer friend who’s given me some pointers, and this is what we’ve accomplished in 6 months.

Meadow can sit, down, stay (sort of), come (through she walks right passed me), spin left and right, touch (like a fist bump ☺️), I taught her to fetch AND put her balls in a basket or in my hand) and she can heel (for maybe 45 seconds). We’ve basically stopped all reactivity to wheels, she only panics if a kid scooters too close to her, and she’s not scared of stationary objects anymore. She mostly ignores our neighbors these days, can walk past strangers and dogs for the most part, she’s still not 100% on that. She discovered she can swim and has recently started joining me on my paddleboard. I won’t say she likes it, but she tolerates me.

Things really started changing after I started using a prong collar and my friend showed me how to set her up for more rewards and recondition some of her fear.