The UN-Balanced Trainers!

The word “balanced” has a good connotation. It gives us a sense of stability, order and harmony.

We balance our checkbooks, exercise to keep our balance, told to eat balanced meals, balance work and family time; even our bodies strive for homeostasis (balance), because the other side of not being balanced puts us at risk for being overdrawn at the bank, falling down, not feeling well, failing at relationships, and getting disease if the body cannot maintain balance.

UN-surprisingly, a group of aversive dog trainers have cleverly marketed themselves as “Balanced”, after all it sends a good message and given a choice between “balanced” and “unbalanced” who in their right mind would chose a word that basically means unhinged? 

The other group of trainers are the ones using positive reinforcement, however because balanced trainers also use positive reinforcement, along with positive punishment, and other negative “tools” in their kit,  it sounds like you’re getting more bang for your buck, so to speak!

Many of us grew up with parents who punished us when we were being “bad” and praised us when we were being “good”.  My parents did that as did their parents before them because it was the accepted norm in society for raising kids. 

Today’s parents fortunately have more access to making informed decisions and as such are able to do better by their own children, especially if they spent a lot of time in therapy! 

While you’d  think that same logic would apply to dog-parenting, unfortunately, for as much they really love dogs, they are clueless about raising them to be well balanced companions. Oops, there’s that word again!

The problem with the Balanced brand is that it  sends a disingenuous message!

Much like the toxic relationships where a parent physically or emotionally abuses the child on one day and on the next, showers them with “love”. The poor child tiptoes through a Jekyll and Hyde dysfunction, not knowing which personality is going to appear on any given day. Our dogs suffer in the same way with that kind of treatment. I’m pretty sure the technical term is “Crazy making”.

Our dogs have the learning capacity of a human toddler and just like children, are severely affected in an environment where trust is broken. Electing to use positive punishment is harmful, but to use it with positive reinforcement as a teaching tool shows a flagrant ignorance and cruelty. 

We positive reinforcement trainers recognize that dogs are sentient beings. We set up an errorless learning environment by preventing unwanted behaviors in the first place and then giving dogs choices so that we can reinforce the appropriate behaviors. Additionally, we understand that a dog who is experiencing a high emotional state, needs distance from whatever they find concerning. This is the antithesis of using positive punishment at the hands of the pop, sock, and or shock, balanced trainer who will then toss a cookie as what, a peace offering? Unfortunately, the damage has been done, regardless of the “love”.

And yes, I will now digress…

The late 1960s were turbulent times in America. The Vietnam War raged on, civil liberties were being challenged, and a counter-culture emerged that rejected war and advocated for peace and love.  

At the time cola drinks dominated the market whereas drinks like 7-Up, other than being used as a remedy for an upset stomach or as a mixer in cocktails, were not nearly as popular as Coke and Pepsi. In an effort to gain more market shares, executives at 7-Up hired an advertising company to rebrand 7-Up as the clean and refreshing alternative to cola for alternative-thinking individuals. Coke and Pepsi represented the old establishment whereas and 7-Up defined a new generation. The “Un-Cola” was born!

Once again, we’re embroiled in government corruption, human rights violations, and more lies being told than what the fact-checkers can keep up with. 

There’s a new generation of dog lovers falling prey to a marketing ploy because  apparently it’s not good enough to be known as positive reinforcement trainers. Even with education, scruples and science on our side, we now need a new brand, that really stands out!

In this topsy-turvy, Mad Hatter Tea Party zeitgeist, where Pinocchio’s social media is called “Truth”, where a sinking economy is called prosperity and Balanced training is called harmless, I’m proposing that we rebrand the positive reinforcement profession  as “Un-balanced”.

New slogan: “UN-Balanced and UN-Apologetically ethical!

HAPPY TRAINING & ENLIGHTENMENT!

© Fran Berry CPDT-KA, UW-AAB all rights reserved 2026