Interesting article.
However, I find a serious deficiency in the report is its lack of consideration of focus training.
Back in the day focus exercises were thought to be important only for dogs that were moving into something else - such as working dogs - and not something to be bothered with for "mere pet training". We now know that it is just the opposite and that focus work is the best foundation for all training.
Dogs that do a lot of specific focus exercises with their handler usually respond well to positive training in all other areas and vice versa. The correlation is one-to-one thus providing a positive feedback for the dogs and for the handler.
Also, dogs that learn and practice focus training generally need much less corrective training as they go along. Their handlers would have much less need to apply corrective actions - although it will be a rare dog indeed that never needs a correction. And whatever corrections are applied would not be seen as "punishment" and therefore not reported as "punishment training".
However, I find a serious deficiency in the report is its lack of consideration of focus training.
Back in the day focus exercises were thought to be important only for dogs that were moving into something else - such as working dogs - and not something to be bothered with for "mere pet training". We now know that it is just the opposite and that focus work is the best foundation for all training.
Dogs that do a lot of specific focus exercises with their handler usually respond well to positive training in all other areas and vice versa. The correlation is one-to-one thus providing a positive feedback for the dogs and for the handler.
Also, dogs that learn and practice focus training generally need much less corrective training as they go along. Their handlers would have much less need to apply corrective actions - although it will be a rare dog indeed that never needs a correction. And whatever corrections are applied would not be seen as "punishment" and therefore not reported as "punishment training".
