Finding the Right Discipline

I originally learned purely positive dog training. This means that there are never negative consequences for the dog other than withholding reward. Some trainers even shun the idea of a negative verbal response. This strategy works well as you teach new things, but when perfecting a command, a negative consequence is important to help the dog understand where his boundaries are. For many dogs a “NO” command is enough to set a boundary and make it clear. For Bison, when he is in drive, a “NO” is not enough. I struggled with how to communicate a negative consequence to help him understand when he offers behaviors that are unacceptable. Finally a few weeks ago, our club president taught me how to give a correct collar correction using a pinch training collar. I have been using a training collar for years, but didn’t know how to use it properly. It only took a couple of corrections before the boundary was very clear to him and he stopped the undesired behavior. It is amazing what a little correctly administered discipline can do.

I can’t help but compare this to a situation that my friend went through a few years ago with her son. We were talking and she expressed the discipline issues that she was having with him. I said something like, “I don’t have children, but I do know that there is a Biblical plan for discipline.” She tells me now that comment stirred her to find out what the Bible says to do. She got some Godly advice from a pastor who shared with her the correct way to discipline and saw a huge improvement in her son. What she tried for years wasn’t working, but Biblical discipline made the boundaries clear to him.

The following verses refer to discipline.
Proverbs 22:15- Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23:13- Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Proverbs 13:24- He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.