[Bailey_]

Originally Posted by maui_blue_eyes

Physically punishing a dog who has displayed undesired (yet often natural) behavior can have detrimental consequences to the dog’s physical and psychological well- being. .

First of all, there is a HUGE difference between physically punishing (aka ABUSING) your dog - and innterupting the behavior through sound or movement - at all times, never touching or coming in contact with the dog. Behavioral training is NOT always about physically interacting with the dog itself, which is why when I read something like this - . A trainer who is trying to advocate treat-training, by assumptions based on not being able to achieve the same result by taking food out of the picture.

Originally Posted by maui_blue_eyes

If the punishment itself is not correctly executed to extinguish the behavior after the first two to three trials, then there is serious danger for punishment to cause the escalation of extraordinary pain. World renowned clicker trainer Karen Pryor explains that: “the hideous thing about the escalation of punishment is that there is absolutely no end to it” (Pryor, 105). Punishment placed in the judgmental hands of the individual has the potential to reach severe and brutal force. .

As a behavioral trainer myself, I would NEVER use severe or brutal force on my dog. The other behavioral trainers I know would also NEVER use any type of painful interaction to achieve their goal. This is such phooey, it makes me laugh.
Might I add that one of my clients recently put her dog in agility (where they are clicker-training the dogs through the course.) In this owners words:

"My dog becomes neurotic and aggressive towards the clicker and me. I was bitten twice. Even when I didn't click my clicker - she would hear the clicker across the room and lose focus on what I was doing."

Clicker training does not always work for every dog. The only thing I've ever said as a trainer is that if one method works for you - then great. If it doesn't? Seek something else. These articles are stripping apart a training method with lies, assumptions, and totally tear apart all the hard work we behavioral trainers have put into making our methods SAFE for every dog.

Originally Posted by maui_blue_eyes

In conjunction with using forceful punishment, pain-inflicting training tools such as choke chains, pinch collars, and shock collars can have further damaging effects on a dog’s disposition. .

I have NEVER used these tools, nor do I reccomend them to anyone. Maybe this woman should talk to a behavioral trainer who believes that they are unneccessary tools, before implying that they are used by all behavioral trainers, hmm?