Understanding today’s biggest training mistake requires looking at how human culture and dog ownership have shifted over the last quarter-century.

In my first few years as a professional trainer, I would have confidently told you that inefficient potty training was the biggest mistake. Everyone has different goals for their adult dog, but everyone wants a housebroken pet. Because most owners wait too long to start, or spend months trying ineffective methods, potty training topped my list simply because it was the most common frustration.

A few years later, my opinion shifted. I noticed that while most owners eventually mastered housebreaking, they immediately flunked the first element of “real training”: the walk. Back in the early 2000s, people regularly walked their dogs using 30-foot retractable leashes and heavy choke chains. Suffice it to say, this hardware does not cultivate a proper heel. A structured walk does so much more than burn physical energy; it reinforces your rank as a leader, develops your dog’s attention span, provides mental stimulation, and bonds you as pack members.

Somewhere around my seventh year of full-time training, a massive shift happened across America, including right here in Pima County. Dogs moved indoors permanently. Growing up in the 1980s, it was normal for Baby Boomer parents to keep dogs exclusively in the backyard or a dedicated dog run. But as we elevated our pets into true family members, our training curriculum remained a bit draconian. Standard “sit, stay, down, heel” commands were suddenly insufficient for addressing indoor quirks like separation anxiety, cat chasing, and counter surfing.

Then, the “Dog Whisperer” phenomenon took over pop culture. Suddenly, Americans were convinced that a new dimension called “behavior modification” could instantly fix isolated household issues without any foundational work. During those years, the biggest mistake was neglecting a dog’s formal education—basic obedience. To me, omitting basic obedience to focus solely on behavior modification was as foolish as pulling your child out of school to teach them social manners.

By 2015, the industry began to oscillate between obedience and behavioral work, creating a highly productive balance. But then came the next plot twist: social media and the rise of a hyper-compliant culture. Commercial pet industries and big-box stores completely stripped their curriculum of any form of negative reinforcement or boundary-setting. Trainers began teaching owners that any consequence for bad behavior was unethical.

While the shift away from the “heavy-handed” and inhumane training methods of the past was a vital, ethical victory, it created a massive social overcorrection.

Despite thousands of years of domestication, dogs still retain many of the social and behavioral instincts inherited from their wolf ancestors. Humans began to anthropomorphize them. A wolf pack does not subscribe to a “positive reinforcement only” policy. As a parent, I believe in safe, healthy, and fair consequences for my children. The same applies to our animals. Our dogs are not human; they do not understand the concept of a consequence-free utopia. They simply wish to be treated fairly.