Dog Trainers and Dog Owners: The Most Common Misunderstandings in Dog Training

In brief

Three things up front.

First: A good trainer mainly trains the human – change happens in everyday life, not in the lesson. Second: "Stubbornness" is rarely the explanation; more often it's a cue that was asked for too early, a situation that's too difficult – or pain. Third: That punishment-based training comes with risks to a dog's welfare is no longer a matter of opinion; it has been well studied.

The second point is where the most time gets lost: once you interpret a behavior as a question of character, you stop looking for the cause.

👉 If you're not sure whether your concern belongs in training or in behavior therapy: Dog trainer or behavior consultant – what does your dog really need?

Cooperation between trainer and owner is one of the most important factors in successful training. Even so, misunderstandings regularly arise in everyday practice about what a dog training school can do – and what role you yourself play in the learning process.

1. "The trainer should train my dog"

A widespread idea is that the trainer has to "fix" the dog.

In reality, a good dog training school works mainly with the human. We analyze behavior, explain how things connect and show you how to proceed. The actual change happens where the two of you live together – in your daily routine, in your home, on your walks.

The trainer provides knowledge, structure and guidance. Putting it into practice is up to you.

2. "Everything works with the trainer – just not with me"

Many owners find that their dog responds much better with the trainer than at home. There are two reasons for this, and both can be learned.

One lies with the human: clear, calm body language, precise timing of rewards, consistent criteria, skill at reading the dog's signals.

The other lies in the situation: On the training field there are fewer distractions, the environment is structured, and the level of difficulty is deliberately chosen to fit.

So the real task of training isn't for the dog to perform on the training field – it's for you to be able to create the same conditions in everyday life.

3. "Positive reinforcement just means treats"

Rewards can take many forms: play, attention, running together, access to something interesting, being allowed to move on to the next scent mark.

One technical point often gets lost here: What counts as a reinforcer is decided not by your intention, but by its effect. If a behavior doesn't occur more often after your "reward," it wasn't one. Some dogs find being petted during training rather disruptive.

A good trainer helps you find out what motivates your dog in this situation.

4. "One training session is enough"

Changing behavior takes repetition, time and transfer to new situations. A single session can lay the groundwork and clear up misconceptions – what makes it last is what happens between sessions.

5. "My dog is just stubborn"

When a dog doesn't respond to a cue, the explanation rarely lies in its character. More common reasons are:

• The cue wasn't trained thoroughly enough or was never practiced in this environment.
• The situation is too difficult or too distracting.
• The dog doesn't understand the task the way you mean it.
• Motivation or timing is off.
• The dog is in pain.

The last point belongs right at the top, not at the end. A dog that suddenly stops sitting, no longer jumps into the car or reacts grumpily may have orthopedic problems. In the research literature on biting incidents, medical causes were identified or suspected in a considerable proportion of the dogs examined – and in a larger study of 830 dogs, animals with a bite history suffered significantly more often from orthopedic complaints.

"Stubbornness" is an interpretation that takes the pressure off the owner and doesn't do the dog justice. There is no solid evidence for the assumption that a dog refuses out of spite.

👉 Recognizing pain in dogs

6. "All dogs are trained the same way"

Personality, previous experiences, sensitivity and learning pace differ – training has to be adapted to the individual.

A word on breed, because its influence is often overestimated: according to the largest genetic study to date, breed explains only a small part of the behavioral differences between individual dogs. Breed information gives you hypotheses about what you might watch for – not a prediction about this particular dog.

7. "Punishment is necessary"

Here the evidence is now clear enough that it's no longer a matter of taste.

A review by Ziv (2017) evaluated 17 studies and concluded that aversive methods carry risks for welfare and behavior and that reward-based methods are preferable.

Vieira de Castro and colleagues (2020) compared 92 companion dogs from three reward-based and four aversive-based training schools. Dogs from the aversive-based schools showed more stress-related behavior and judged ambiguous stimuli more pessimistically in a test – even outside the training situation.

Casey and colleagues (2021) found that dogs made more pessimistic judgments when their owners used two or more aversive methods.

And Herron, Shofer and Reisner (2009) asked owners of dogs with behavior problems how their animals had responded to confrontational techniques. Among the dogs on which they were used, growling at the dog triggered aggressive behavior in 41 percent, forcibly taking an object out of the mouth in 39 percent, and the alpha roll in 31 percent.

On the limitations: Ziv (2017) is a review, not a systematic review. The Herron data come from a specialty referral clinic and rely on recall – they describe dogs that already had behavior problems, not the general population. Even so, what these studies show together is consistent: punishment can suppress behavior in the short term, but it doesn't remove the cause and is associated with an increased risk of fear, avoidance and aggressive behavior.

👉 Force-free dog training · Modern learning theory in dog training

8. "Online videos are enough for training"

Videos can provide inspiration, but they can't replace an assessment of your situation. What works in a video presupposes a particular level of training, a particular environment and a particular dog – and you can't see any of these three conditions in the video.

It gets especially tricky with fear and aggression: there, interpreting the behavior correctly determines whether a measure helps or does harm.

9. "Puppies need to be raised strictly"

The worry that a puppy raised without strictness will later become "dominant" is based on an outdated model. Puppies learn best through positive experiences, predictable routines and a secure relationship.

Harsh handling can have a particularly lasting effect at this stage – just in the wrong direction.

10. "An adult dog can't learn anything new"

Dogs can learn throughout their lives. Older dogs, too, learn new cues, change behavior patterns and build new habits.

An honest caveat belongs here: in old age, the pace of learning can change, and cognitive dysfunction is considerably more common in old dogs than in younger ones. If a senior dog suddenly loses things it has learned, that's first of all a reason for a veterinary checkup, not for more training.

11. "My dog always has to look at me"

Eye contact is a tool, not an end in itself. Dogs take in your posture, movement, voice and position in space all at once.

Some dogs may find intense, direct eye contact uncomfortable or even threatening – especially insecure dogs. Constantly demanding eye contact can also keep your dog from taking in its surroundings, even though that's often the actual goal.

👉 Reading your dog's body language

12. "Dogs need an alpha leader"

The alpha theory is considered outdated, and at its very root: the wolf researcher whose early book had popularized the model later rejected it himself (Mech, 1999). Wild wolves live in family groups, not in rank battles among strangers – the original observations came from enclosures holding unrelated animals that had been put together.

For dogs, there's the added point that the model doesn't transfer anyway. In 2009, Bradshaw, Blackwell and Casey set out why applying dominance theory to dog training doesn't hold up scientifically.

What dogs need isn't a dominant leader, but someone whose behavior they can predict.

13. "Why bother with credentials? Anyone can call themselves a dog trainer"

Both halves can be true, and the difference matters to you as a client.

In many places, the job title "dog trainer" is indeed not protected – anyone can use it.

The activity itself is regulated in some places. Depending on where you live, training other people's dogs commercially, or instructing owners in training their own dogs, may require a permit from the relevant authority, which in turn requires proof of expertise. Elsewhere, there is no such requirement.

Either way, you're entitled to ask. A training school that holds a permit or other qualifications will tell you without hesitation.

This section describes the general situation and is not legal advice.

14. "Training is only for problem dogs"

Training isn't just about solving problems. It improves communication, cooperation and your relationship – and well-trained dogs also benefit from learning new things and being mentally challenged.

Conclusion: Training is teamwork

A trainer brings knowledge, experience and guidance. Change happens in everyday life.

If you take one thing away from this article, let it be this: before you interpret your dog's behavior as a question of character, check the learning conditions – and have pain ruled out. That often saves months.

References

• Bradshaw, J. W. S., Blackwell, E. J., & Casey, R. A. (2009). Dominance in domestic dogs – useful construct or bad habit? Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 4(3), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2008.08.004
• Casey, R. A., Naj-Oleari, M., Campbell, S., Mendl, M., & Blackwell, E. J. (2021). Dogs are more pessimistic if their owners use two or more aversive training methods. Scientific Reports, 11, 19023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97743-0
• Herron, M. E., Shofer, F. S., & Reisner, I. R. (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 117(1–2), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.12.011
• Mech, L. D. (1999). Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf packs. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77(8), 1196–1203. https://doi.org/10.1139/z99-099
• Morrill, K., Hekman, J., Li, X., et al. (2022). Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes. Science, 376(6592), eabk0639. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abk0639
• Vieira de Castro, A. C., Fuchs, D., Morello, G. M., Pastur, S., de Sousa, L., & Olsson, I. A. S. (2020). Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0225023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225023
• Ziv, G. (2017). The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs – A review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 19, 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2017.02.004

How solid is the evidence?

The statements on aversive training methods are based on several independent studies with different designs. Ziv (2017) is labeled as a review, not a systematic review. Vieira de Castro et al. (2020) studied 92 dogs from a total of seven training schools; dogs were assigned to groups by school, not randomly. Herron et al. (2009) is based on owners' recollections and on a sample of dogs that had already been referred for behavior problems; each percentage refers to the dogs on which the technique was used, not to all dogs in the study.

The information on pain as a behavioral factor comes from studies on biting incidents and can't be generalized to training problems as a whole; it justifies the recommendation to rule out pain, not the assumption that pain is the most common cause.

The statements on breed follow Morrill et al. (2022).

Key takeaways

A good trainer mainly trains the human. Change happens in everyday life, not in the training session.

It's normal for things to work with the trainer and not at home – and it's usually a matter of timing, environment and practice, not talent.

"Stubborn" is rarely the explanation. More often it's a cue introduced too early, an environment that's too difficult, or a dog that's over its threshold.

Positive reinforcement doesn't mean treats. A reward is anything that matters to your dog at that moment.

One training session isn't enough – it provides the plan; putting it into practice happens in between.

Dogs aren't all trained the same way. The approach and the size of the steps depend on the individual dog.

Adult dogs keep learning. Building new behavior sometimes takes longer because existing patterns have to be overridden.

Constant eye contact is not a mark of quality. Eye contact is a tool, not a permanent state.

Qualifications can be checked – the job title, on the other hand, is often not protected.

Frequently asked questions about dog trainers and dog owners