Is blocking a dog with body language violence in dog training?
Physically blocking (blocking the way, standing in the way, etc.) the dog and whether it can be seen as violence, as is obviously done by some, unfortunately mostly in a very generalized way without any ifs and buts.
Another moving and polarizing topic that is rarely discussed objectively. On the contrary, and especially on social media, many people’s emotions run high when this topic comes up, without examining the content in more detail and making any distinctions.
But it is social media, once again, which in my opinion is the main problem these days. Because we can only communicate to others, more or less, all the factors and parameters that are floating around in our heads about a topic, using the limited keyboard on our mobile phones in a limited and at some point confusing comment thread.
Possible Effects of Body Language Blocking in Dog Training
A body language block (regardless of whether human-human, dog-dog or human-dog constellation) can
- Show a de-escalating effect, i.e. prevent “worse” things from happening in good time
- Could be a provocation, here we would be at the beginning of violence
- Depending on the individual, psychological violence can have corresponding consequences
So once again there is no clear YES or NO answer when one looks at this topic in a professional, factual and comprehensive manner.
It should be mentioned that we will probably “block” someone again and again in our everyday lives, unconsciously and without intention, as part of or in the “flow” of an activity or action. This is about the targeted use of blocking instead of other ideas and methods to prevent undesirable behavior.
Method of blocking for beginners
I would not advise an inexperienced dog owner who has just brought home a young, well-socialized dog and is prepared to seek advice from the start to block the dog in any situation using body language.
How would I come to that, why? Here we can create a positive atmosphere simply with praise, understanding and a familiar environment with boundaries and rules. Here too, of course, there will always be small, unconscious “blocks” to quickly keep the animal away from objects, for example.
A few basic rules and tips and advice on not letting things get out of hand out of a misguided sense of love or even unconsciously conditioning unwanted behavior are usually enough. In other words, I don’t even need to work a lot with treats, I might not even need them in a situation like this, that should also be clear. And if the worst comes to the worst, always consult a dog trainer before starting any experiments.
Blocking unwanted behavior – violence?
Unfortunately, we do not always have to deal with such harmonious and perfect situations and often undesirable behaviors manifest themselves. Not even with malicious intent, it is often small mistakes (due to a misunderstanding of dogs) that can develop into problem behavior.
And then there are the real problem cases from the animal shelters, for example, where things often get serious when I don’t want to just get rid of these dogs and want to give them a chance. THAT’S EXACTLY where we can start to discuss things or just look the other way, as is often the case.
Physical blocking, as it occurs in body language-oriented dog training, cannot be seen as violence per se in such situations. But there is a lot of information in this sentence, and I will come to the possible violent effect in a moment.
I have already provided valid definitions for various terms in my articles:
Concept of dominance in the article “ Dominance in dog education and training ”
as well as
The concept of aggression in the article “ Aggression as part of any communication in dogs? ”
Let us now turn to the concept of violence :
Violence in Pschyrembel:
Applying physical or psychological pressure or coercion with criminal consequences. This includes violent crimes such as physical assault, rape, manslaughter as well as coercion, blackmail and bullying. In a broader sense, violence also means the (legitimate) exercise of power, e.g. state power.
In itself, it is very interesting to differentiate between legitimate use of force and the term “coercion” which also appears. We could discuss this at length, but I will spare you that in this article.
Let’s stick with the use of physical pressure, I wouldn’t go so far as to see blocking as such. I show a dog boundaries, a dog who in a certain situation simply “doesn’t give a damn” about your treat, your clicker or whatever else, to call it what it is. A dog who has already started to have tunnel vision, and is possibly already in a rage.
And let’s also stick to the ground of non-violent training, because we are “only” trying to block the dog, to stop him from doing something, and not to send a few hundred volts through his body via an electric collar or tighten his spiked collar. THAT is considered violence.
An example of the issue of violence when blocking
Let’s think of a heated atmosphere among people and a friend stops his already angry friend from committing a rash act by holding him back and standing in his way. He wants to prevent something worse from happening and has the certainty that the aggression will not suddenly be directed against him – he is, after all, a friend. We can hopefully see our dog as a friend too.
And if some trainers are of the opinion that blocking with body language is already violence, then we could possibly speak of legitimate violence in this “mild” form, because we have the responsibility for our dogs and cannot allow everything.
There is never a distinction made between blocking and the term violence, at least I have never seen it. It can hardly be seen as a form of physical violence in the sense of “inflicting pain” etc.
Once again, it is very important to look at the individual case. I think blocking is basically an adequate method for certain dogs and in certain situations and in the way I would carry it out. It is hardly possible to generalize here.
Pointless burdens caused by blocking
However, where I would see blocking as psychological violence with consequences such as frustration and the associated effects (depending on frustration tolerance) would be the following example, although I have no idea why one would do it at all:
I block the dog permanently and purposefully and for no particular reason when he wants to go to his food bowl.
Of course, a problem will arise here and in this context I see it as coercion and the use of violence. But as I said, why would someone do that? I can’t think of another example. (I’m not talking about temporary blocking as part of a training session either!)
In my opinion, blocking a dog with body language could at most be seen as a potential psychological violence in an individual case. But you have to look at it very closely and over a longer period of time and, ABOVE ALL, whether I am achieving anything with this blocking. In other words, whether I am using it as part of a holistic training strategy or whether I have unfortunately just gotten into the habit of doing it because it is the easiest way to deal with a certain problem behavior.
Body Language Blocking in Dog Training
Blocking a dog with body language is a controversial topic in dog training. While some people reject it as violence, this method is not so easy to categorize. Depending on the situation, it can have a de-escalating effect, but in other cases it can also be perceived as psychological stress or provocation.
The context is always crucial: an inexperienced dog owner should avoid this technique, while it can be a useful option in specific problem cases. It is important that blocking is used as part of a holistic and responsible training strategy – never as a pure control or means of pressure.
As with many aspects of dog training, there is no clear “yes” or “no” here, but rather a lot of room for differentiation and individual consideration.