This page is part of the Auxiliary section of the Beginner's Course of the
D.S. Dog Training Workshop - an element of the Dog Science Network
The Flinch Test
Sometimes it just takes a minute to surmise a dog's personal history and gauge what techniques his owners have used to teach him and manage his behavior in the past.
If while out walking with any given dog, you unexpectedly stamp your foot and the dog responds by cringing, that tells you something. If you move your hand suddenly and the dog flinches, or you abruptly reach out to grip the animal in a painless fashion and he yelps, then, you know that someone who does not understand how to properly administer punishment has been improperly dispensing aversives to the animal.
Indeed, a dog who has been subject only to the proper use of aversives will not cringe or flinch or yelp in response to sudden, unexpected movements.
Quite to the contrary, a dog who has been trained properly using punishment as one component in a three-part approach will be calm and relaxed in the face of abrupt, unexpected movements, because the dog will know that he alone determines whether or not punishment will be dispensed. Thus, he knows that since he has not misbehaved, that all the sudden movements in the world are still nothing that he needs to worry about. Indeed, benign punishment administered as part of a larger program does not to any degree beget canine anxiety.
I find it remarkable how often I encounter people who speak self-righteously of the brutality of punishment, as though they would never stoop so low. But then, when I see that every quick movement sends their dog flinching and darting this way and that, I realize that they are, in truth, striking their dog on a regular basis.
The moral to the story is that, for most people, it is going to be extremely difficult for them to manage their dog's behavior without employing some type of aversive. That being the case, isn't it better just to admit that you are dispensing aversives, and then, learn to do it in a painless way that you know will not injure your dog, or cause him physical pain or psychological trauma? That really is much better than having a dog who is made so anxious by your procedures that he flinches or flees at your every unexpected movement.