How to properly discipline dogs

Dogs: these faithful companions that have followed us throughout history for centuries couldn't have reached what they have achieved so far if it was not for the discipline and guidance humans have provided  them. From the ancient dogs herding sheep, hunting for theirmasters,  and guarding stock animals, to the dogs of today trained in search and rescue, for the blind or simply keeping humans company, they all have performed and continue to perform well because of being disciplined to do so. 

Discipline and guidance therefore are the building blocks that has formed and continues to the form the dog/owner relationship. Take away one or both and you will have dogs with no manners whatsoever, unbalanced and perpetually attempting to establish their role as leaders. Discipline however, should never be confused with punishment. Punishment  in dogs is often the negative application of abuse of power over an inferior being, often resorting to fear and intimidation, whereas discipline is guidance, a demonstration of the correct choices so to put up the dog for success.

Unluckily, there are still owners that believe that the proper and most effective way to discipline a dog is through the use of force. It is unfortunate that in these modern days there are still people that resort to such form of abuse. While the use of force may be effective from a superficial point of view, deepy it negatively affects the dog and owner bond, with a dog that obeys out of fear versus a dog that obeys because  it simply wants to please its owner.

It is often forgotten that dogs still live in an instinctual world. They have brought with them prey drive, flight and fight reactions and several instincts from the wild. Often these instincts need to be reduced to allow canines to adjust into our modern world. Therefore, discipline is the best way to accomplish this.

For instance, owners may notice how their dog reacts to a squirrel running before him. He will suddenly raise its head, ears erect, body tense and possibly one foot raised in the air as a good Pointer dog. Yet, owners today cannot allow their dog to drag them across a busy city street possibly causing serious injuries and the risk of being run over from cars. The dog of course, should not be punished because that would create a fearful being that will only get confused and lack trust from an over dominant owner. 

Therefore the owner must resort to various training techniques.  Because dogs have shown throughout history  that they have an instinct to associate actions with pleasant or unpleasant consequences, dogs have shown to respond very well to positive training techniquessuch as operant conditioning , classical conditioning and positive reinforcement.. 

These training techniques are great tools to discipline dogs and are still used by professional obedience trainers. If some dog owners still feel like they must resort to the use of force or  other intimidating techniques, perhaps they need to polish a bit more their leadership skills and training techniques  because dogs in nature have an inherited tendency to want to please their owners.