Hard Truth: Dog Psychology Alone Doesn’t Train Dogs

It’s been trending for people to use the title “dog psychology trainer” as if understanding psychology is all it takes to train dogs. If you haven’t been exposed to this title or ideology yet, call yourself lucky. In reality, dog psychology is a marketing tool, one that sounds appealing to the general pet dog owner and promotes instant gratification but often says very little about someones actual ability to train dogs. A title, label or an impressive sounding philosophy doesn’t make someone an expert. Dog “psychology” and dog “training” are not separate, one is the understanding of behaviour and learning, the other is the application of that knowledge, together they create competence.

At the end of the day you can’t train dogs with psychology alone. Understanding behaviour is important but training requires actual knowledge, actual skill and actual results. You need to understand learning theory, motivation, drive, engagement, timing, reinforcement, punishment, emotional & environmental management, genetics and how to teach a dog new behaviours in a way they can actually understand and value them. There is a huge difference in a dog doing something because they “have to” versus a dog doing something because they “want to”.

The deeper you understand how dogs actually learn and the relevant variables surrounding behaviour, the more you realize how complex good dog training actually is. If you spend enough time talking to these “trainers” and start asking questions, you may notice a pattern. No matter what question or problem you have, the answer always circles back to the same ideology about how you must become the pack leader, control the energy and control the dog through spacial, social and leash pressure. What I find ironic is that the people who like to market themselves as “dog psychology” trainers or use that label are often the ones oversimplifying dog behaviour.

People need to understand and be honest with themselves that forcing compliance through unnecessary punishment, corrections and pressure isn’t evidence of training knowledge. Any dog can be forced into avoiding consequences but that doesn’t mean the dog has learned what you wanted it to and it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve built reliability, confidence or any productive understanding between you and the dog. A dog shutting down is not obedience nor is a dog avoiding punishment. Any dog complying because it’s afraid of making a mistake is not the same as a dog being trained.

Real dog training requires knowledge, comprehending what you are observing, problem solving and the ability to teach fairly and clearly in the most motivating way possible for the dog. It requires understanding why behaviours are happening and having the skill to create reliable long lasting change without overwhelming and suppressing the dog. The dog training industry doesn’t need more “dog psychologists”. It needs more dog trainers who actually know what they’re talking about, that can explain how learning occurs, can demonstrate real results and can just train dogs.