I recently read a post from a prominent dog trainer who suggested that if everyone truly understood how positive reinforcement works, there would be no need for tools such as remote collars or prong collars.
In the comments, she added that she regularly achieves the same results using only positive reinforcement as balanced trainers achieve using a wider range of tools.
I have a lot of respect for this trainer. Whether she can achieve those results with the dogs she trains is not for me to say. She’s talented, and I wouldn’t bet against her. It’s not my place to question her accomplishments.
What Reliability Really Means
What’s missing from the broader conversation is that we cannot only ask whether reliability can be achieved through positive reinforcement, we also have to ask how *reliably that reliability can be achieved by the average dog owner. Especially those who are struggling with difficult dogs while managing busy households, kids, and work.
As professional trainers, we have to think in two directions at once. We must consider not only what the dog can learn and perform reliably, but also what the human can learn and perform reliably. A method that produces brilliance in the hands of a professional or the most capable of dog owners may still be too complex or time-consuming for a large percentage of the dog-owning public.
This is the essence of dual reliability: reliability of performance in the dog, and reliability of application in the human. Both matter.
Openness as a Professional Value
It’s also possible that this trainer truly believes those results are easy and within reach of virtually anyone. If that’s the case, then until I see it, it’s not my place to judge. But regardless, if there is any innovation, clarification, or enhanced understanding of positive reinforcement that improves outcomes by any measure, all of us, regardless of ideology, should be enthusiastic and excited to learn.
Even if you love remote collars, you’ll eventually meet a client who cannot or will not use one. Any deeper understanding of positive reinforcement can only add value to your overall training practice. And if it allows you to reduce your use of tools (in either frequency or intensity), even slightly, that’s still progress worth celebrating.
The Broader Standard
I deeply value those trainers who push the boundaries of what can be achieved with reward-based methods. Many of them are innovators whose work drives progress across the industry. Balanced trainers often absorb and integrate those innovations. Ideally we all learn from each other.
But any discussion of reliability needs to include both layers:
- Can reliability be achieved?
- Can it be achieved reliably by others?
Because if reliability exists only in the hands of a few highly skilled practitioners, it has limited functional value for the average pet owner. As an industry, we must consider both forms of reliability, the kind that’s possible in theory, and the kind that’s reproducible in the real world.
That’s the dual reliability we should all be striving to understand, and the humility that keeps our profession growing.
-Tyler Muto
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