09/01/2026
Thank you to Glasgow Dog Trainer and Behaviour Consultant for this well written article.🐾
Why "balanced" trainers are more likely to escalate to violence...
A local trainer was convicted in court this week of abusing his dog by hanging him on a noose lead and kicking him. Having had a look at the person's social media accounts, his go to is slip leads, taking space, shock collars, intimidation and other tactics to suppress behaviour.
How does this escalate to the point where a person hangs a dog cutting off air and kicks a dog?
In it's most simple terms, because of the rules of learning.
When the mouse on your computer doesn't work, what do you do? You move it more. You then move it with more energy, fast, more harshly, more intensity. Have you ever slammed it? Common behaviours. What's happening there is called extinction. You are expecting a result, not getting it, so you do MORE to get the result you usually get. What's the emotion which comes with it? Frustration. The behavioural science is well documented on this, you only need to pick up a first year textbook on behaviourism to learn this. It's not up for debate. If you are of the opinion that this isn't the case, you are just wrong.
You use a slip lead to get results. Initially you might get the results you want (ignoring the dog's experience in all this, for the sake of illustration). Now something happens within the dog's experience and your usual pressure on the slip lead doesn't work. What's next? More pulling, more tightness, less air. You get the result again, so you learn, just do this amount of pressure first time, next time. And the cycle continues until.you are literally lifting your dog's feet off the ground, and hanging them by the neck on a cord which keeps getting tighter.
Next, what happens if the dog starts fighting back because they can't breathe? Further escalation. More violence. The dog now gets picked up and swung round, slammed like a ball on a rope, kicked or punched. Until the result is achieved.
Another example of this is turning the dial on the shock collar until results are achieved. More shock, more pain, more pressure.
I've witnessed examples of this throughout my life. I've been around violence or the threat of violence from childhood. I've studied and practiced martial arts for 35 years. I was a police officer for 23 years. I've been around this, I've seen this happen countless times
- the school bully who doesn't get what they want so become more violent
- parents who hit their children to "discipline" them, escalating
- Police officers who are readily willing to use physical force when there's the least amount of justification then assaulting people instead of de-escalating.
It doesn't happen every time, but it happens often enough.
De-escalation takes emotional control and effort. I worked in special education in my 20s. One of the adults spat in my face one day. That took emotional control to react appropriately and without violence.
I've been through this in my journey with my own dogs. I used prong collars, slip leads, grot collars, and choke chains. I escalated. It's the laws of learning. BUT I learned a different way.
When you see every problem as a nail, you'll only use a hammer. When you see every problem as capable of only being resolved with force, you'll always use force. But there are other solutions. I know because i learned them.
Last two points. Don't name this trainer or his business in the comments and please don't ask. We're all capable of using search engines. Why? Online bullying and harassment causes people to lose their lives. I don't think thos person should be working with dogs but they don't deserve to lose their life over this. You might disagree, that's for your own conscience not here. Further, this person interacts with others. They suffer, too, and they didn't do anything wrong. Base emotions abd behaviour are easy, self control is harder. It's easy to harass and humiliate, let's not.
There's a balance to be achieved by educating (hopefully with posts like this) and inciting others to do base behaviour. I'm trying to achieve this.
Lastly, if you're a "balanced" trainer reading this and want to object, please reflect on the words I've written before commenting. Due to all of the above reasons, you are more likely to do this, I know I was. I'm now less likely to resort to force and violence with my dogs because I've learned differently. I urge you to do so. Saying "that would never happen with me" holds no water. I bet the trainer in question held that position too, until he did, and was caught doing so.
If anyone wants a different way of doing thinks, click the link on the comments.
Please choose your trainer wisely.
