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Rewards create a love for learning. Pressure makes obedience reliable & prevents dangerous mistakes.

Would you trust a recall built on treats alone?

Here’s how to use pressure to get reliable obedience—without conflict.

Weekly Bite

I bet you’ve used at least 2 out of 3 types of pressure in training—whether you meant to or not.

Can you guess which ones?

1️⃣ Social: Assertive Cues

• 👁️ Hard staring

• 🗣️ Raising your voice or using a firm tone

• 🧍Facing your dog straight on

2️⃣ Spatial: Controlling Space

• 👣 Stepping into their space

• 🙅 Blocking their movement

3️⃣ Physical: Molding, Leash, & Training Collars

Disclaimer: Be careful applying physical pressure, especially to pain sensitive dogs that react.

• 🖐️ Physically guiding with your hands

• 🔗 Leash tension

• ‼️ Prong collar pops

• ⚡️ E-collar stimulation

As you can see, pressure isn’t always a bad thing.

It’s one of the most valuable tools for teaching a critical life skill: how to handle stress and be motivated by it.

As the saying goes—pressure makes diamonds. 💎

But too much pressure in obedience training can backfire.

⚠️ It can demotivate them from trying → learned helplessness.

⚠️ It can create conflict when they’re unsure how to escape or avoid pressure.

⚠️ It can create superstitious associations.

That’s why it’s best to start with low level pressure.

It goes without saying, but always apply the minimum force rule.

How To Use Pressure

1️⃣ Start with Rewards [+R]

Method: Teach obedience behaviors by providing or withholding rewards.

• Set them up for success by exercising complete control over the environment

• Maximize their motivation for rewards before using pressure in obedience

 2️⃣ Introduce Escape Training [-R]

Method: Teach them how to turn off low level pressure by complying.

• Introduce leash tension before using it in obedience

• Equip prong collar behind ears → stand still → pull in straight horizontal lines → release when they move with leash → mark it

3️⃣ Use Pressure & Rewards [-R] [+R]

Method: Increase motivation to complete learned obedience cues, achieving fluency.

• Progress to e-collar stimulation

• Cue → apply low level e-collar stimulation → release when they respond → mark it → reward

4️⃣ Introduce Avoidance Training [+P]

Method: Teach them how to prevent pressure by complying, generalizing the behavior.

• Apply higher level e-collar stimulation if they fail to complete a known cue

🛑 Here’s a pop quiz that you can’t escape or avoid!

What do pressure & withholding rewards have in common?

They’re both aversives—used to correct behaviors.

When paired with a marker (e.g., “No”), they become conditioned punishers.

Here’s where it gets tricky…

The severity of the aversive is from your dog’s perspective, not yours.

Which aversives should you use?

The severity of the aversive must match their level of motivation for the distraction.

🖐️ Use low severity aversives to correct obedience behaviors

• To stop them from looking away, increasing duration of held eye contact

🚨 Use high severity aversives to correct unacceptable behaviors

• To block self-reinforcing behaviors that cannot be redirected (biting your niece)

TL;DR

Pressure refines behavior—misused pressure ruins it. Start with low-level pressure + rewards, unless correcting unacceptable behaviors. For reactivity, address the root cause first.

Next week: I’ll share assisted shaping techniques to teach obedience faster.

Weekly Treats

Sam’s Picks

• Video Lesson: Michael Ellis on Escape Avoidance Training (LINK)

• Video Lesson: Pitfalls of Excessive Punishment for Non-Compliance (LINK)

• Video Lesson: Emergency Tools with Michael Ellis (LINK)

• Article: Haz Othman on Stress and Pleasure in Dog Training (LINK)

• Article: Comparing stress and learning effects using e-collar, pinch collar, or withholding rewards in Belgian Malinois (LINK)

• Article: National Geographic on why dopamine drives you to do hard things—even without a reward (LINK)

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