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Dog Training Science

Existing Standards

Organizations advocating against the use of aversive-based training methods worldwide include:

European Society of Veterinary Clinical Ethology (ESVCE):
BVA (British Veterinary Association) and BSAVA (British Small Animal Veterinary Association):
ACVB (American College of Veterinary Behaviorists): 
Scottish Government Guidance on Dog Training Aids:
JOINT STATEMENT from: 
RSPCA
APBC (Association of Pet Behavior Counsellors)
Blue Cross for Pets
Dogs Trust
Wood Green (The Animals Charity)
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
ABTC (Animal Behavior and Training Council)
The Mayhem Animal Home
APDT UK
The Kennel Club (UK):
APDT UK: (association of professional dog trainers United Kingdom)
APDT Australia: (association of professional dog trainers Australia)
Pacific Assistance Dogs Society:
List of position statements from individual well-known animal behaviorists, ethologists, veterinarians, trainers…

Big List of Sources

This is a list of sources that have been cited throughout our YouTube and social media videos! Do you have additional sources that you think we should see? 

Do aversive-based training methods actually compromise dog welfare? A literature review (2017)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159117302095

The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs - a review (2016)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300357

Electronic training devices: discussion on the pros and cons of their use in dogs as a basis for the position statement of the European Society of Veterinary Clinical Ethology (ESVCE) (2018)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787818300108

Questionnaire Survey on the Use of Different E-Collar Types in France in Everyday Life with a View to Providing Recommendations for Possible Future Regulations (2017)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817301351

Carrots vs sticks: The relationship between training methods and dog-owner attachment (2019)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159119300127

Does Training Method Matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare (2020)

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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33326450/

Efficacy of dog training with and without remote electronic collars vs a focus on positive reinforcement (2020)

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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7387681/

Comparison of learning effects and stress between 3 different training methods (electronic training collar, pinch collar and quitting signal) in Belgian Malinois Police Dogs (2012)

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298421203_Comparison_of_learning_effects_and_stress_between_3_different_training_methods_Electronic_training_collar_pinch_collar_and_quitting_signal_in_Belgian_Malinois_Police_Dogs

Dogs are more pessimistic if their owners use two or more aversive training methods (2021)

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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97743-0

It is Mine! Using clicker training as a treatment of object guarding in 4 companion dogs (2017)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300278

A survey of dog behavior modification practices in the UK: Who is offering it, what methods are they using, and how effective do their clients perceive training to be? (2022)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155878782200137X

A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting (2021)

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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7826566/

An Investigation into the effectiveness of various professionals and behavior modification programs, with or without medication, for the treatment of canine aggression (2021)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787821000174

Barriers to the adoption of humane dog training methods (2018)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817301831

Owner and animal factors predict the incidence of, and owner reaction toward, problematic behaviors in companion dogs (2015)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787815000337

Examination of the accuracy and applicability of information in popular books on dog training (2017)

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https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/entities/publication/abbf291c-f563-4898-9b95-021a68cabb07

On the Fringe: The Positions of Dogs in Finnish Dog Training Culture (2015)

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https://brill.com/view/journals/soan/23/1/article-p24_3.xml

Training Technologies: Science, Humans and Dogs in the Age of Positive Reinforcement Dog Training (2017)

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319062696_Training_Technologies_Science_Gender_and_Dogs_in_the_Age_of_Positive_Dog_Training

Applying animal learning theory: Training captive animals to comply with veterinary and husbandry procedures (2004)

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233510832_Applying_animal_learning_theory_Training_captive_animals_to_comply_with_veterinary_and_husbandry_procedures

American Psychological Association Resolution on Physical Discipline of Children by Parents

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https://www.apa.org/about/policy/physical-discipline.pdf

Is corporal punishment an effective means of discipline? (2002)

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https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2002/06/spanking

Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: a meta-analytic and theoretical review (2002)

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https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-1284539.pdf

Corporal Punishment, Physical Abuse, and the Burden of Proof: Reply to Baumrind, Larzelere, and Cowan (2002), Holden (2002), and Parke (2002)

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https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-1284602.pdf

Fallout from the Use of Aversives by Eileen Anderson (A collection of resources): 

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https://eileenanddogs.com/fallout-aversives-punishment-negative-reinforcement/

Why Don’t More People Use Positive Reinforcement to Train Dogs? By Dr. Zazie Todd

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https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2018/04/why-dont-more-people-use-positive.html

Dog Training Science Resources (a collection) - Regularly Updated by Dr. Zazie Todd

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https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/p/resources.html

Beware the Misdirection Offense: The truth about shock, aversives, and punishment (2018 editorial)

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https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/blg-901946.pdf

The Welfare Consequences and Efficacy of Training Pet Dogs with Remote Electronic Training Collars in Comparison to Reward Training. 

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https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0102722

Review of Dog Training Methods: Welfare, Learning Ability, and Current Standards:

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https://spca.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/dog-training-methods-review.pdf

Effects of 2 training methods on stress-related behaviors of the dog (Canis familiaris) and on the dog–owner relationship:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787814000070

Training methods of military dog handlers and their effects on the team's performances:

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254004340_Training_methods_of_military_dog_handlers_and_their_effects_on_the_team%27s_performances

Training dogs with help of the shock collar: short and long term behavioural effects:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016815910300248X

Behaviour of smaller and larger dogs: Effects of training methods, inconsistency of owner behaviour and level of engagement in activities with the dog:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159110000262?via%3Dihub

The use of electronic collars for training domestic dogs: estimated prevalence, reasons and risk factors for use, and owner perceived success as compared to other training methods:

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https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-6148-8-93

Human directed aggression in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris): Occurrence in different contexts and risk factors:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016815911300292X

Inter-dog aggression in a UK owner survey: prevalence, co-occurrence in different contexts and risk factors:

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https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1136/vr.100997

Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159108003717

Dog training methods: Their use, effectiveness and interaction with behaviour and welfare:

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261106650_Dog_training_methods_Their_use_effectiveness_and_interaction_with_behaviour_and_welfare

National survey of owner-directed aggression in English Springer Spaniels:

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https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.2005.227.1594

Training methods and owner–dog interactions: Links with dog behaviour and learning ability:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159111000876

Questionnaire survey on the use of different e-collar types in France in everyday life with a view to providing recommendations for possible future regulations:

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817301351

Exploration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function as a tool to evaluate animal welfare:

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6568895_Exploration_of_the_hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal_function_as_a_tool_to_evaluate_animal_welfare

Communication in Dogs

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https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/8/131

The social interaction between mother and offspring during weaning in German Shepherd dogs: Individual differences between mothers and their effects on offspring

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016815918490056X

Levels of maternal care in dogs affect adult offspring temperament

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https://www.nature.com/articles/srep19253

A review of maternal behavior in dogs and potential areas for further research

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7027574/

Parent-Offspring Conflict in Feral Dogs: A Bioassay

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https://arxiv.org/pdf/1205.0931.pdf

The influence of maternal care on stress-related behaviors in domestic dogs: What can we learn from the rodent literature?

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787816300430?via%3Dihub

Sampling maternal care behavior in domestic dogs: What’s the best approach? 

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635717301389

The importance of early life experiences for the development of behavioral disorders in domestic dogs

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https://brill.com/view/journals/beh/155/2-3/article-p83_1.xml?language=en

Canine Communication - Interpreting Dog Language (this article contains a simple summary of dog communication that I thought would be helpful for some of you!)

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https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/canine-communication---interpreting-dog-language

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