As someone who has trained dogs for over 20 years, I started my career firmly rooted in force-free, positive reinforcement methods. For a long time, that was all I knew and all I believed in. But as the years went by, the gaps in my training toolbox became impossible to ignore. There were dogs I simply could not help, not because they were “bad,” but because I didn’t have the skillset or the methodology to meet their needs and I will not charge someone money for something unless I’m confident I can help in a way that’s going to make a difference for dog AND owner. I’m just not sending clients home with impossible protocols that will make them feel guilty for not keeping up with. I started experimenting other methods and have kind of created my own style that works much better for the average pet client, but still wasn’t enough for dog’s with serious behavior issues. I felt stuck.
In my area, the only exposure I have to balanced trainers or e-collar trainers are people using tools poorly, harshly, and without nuance. Dogs show up to my facility for dock diving or boarding after visiting other trainers with bloody infected necks and peeing themselves if they see an elevated bed(like actually would not enter a yard or room with an elevated bed after “training”). “But HEY! they can hold a place on my mailbox for 10 min! They couldn’t do they before” WTF… why would they EVER need to do that?
It honestly has made me very anti-tool for most of my career. And because of that, I walked away from behavioral cases entirely. I knew deep down that positive reinforcement alone was not enough for these dogs, but I also didn’t have the skillset or confidence to fill in those missing pieces ethically or effectively.
One of Dylan’s training videos popped up on my Facebook feed a few months ago and it led me to click on TWC. Finding the Not Truly Aggressive podcast and the Training Without Conflict methodology has been the first time in YEARS that I’ve truly felt aligned. Listening to these conversations, I keep thinking, “Yes. This is where my brain was already going—this is what I’ve been searching for.”
It has completely reshaped the way I think about behavior, pressure, tools, and what ethical, effective training can look like. I’m going to save to do the TWC program eventually and my passion for training has been renewed now that I have clarity on how I can actually improve these dog’s lives.
Highly recommend for any trainer who wants to grow past labels and actually help dogs!
