A ‘Training Tool’ Taught My Dog to Fear My Deodorant (Why Training Methods Matter)

Written By Heather Mortley ABTC-ABT, ABTC-ATI, PACT-KSA

You’re looking for advice on a Facebook group and someone tells you to try a slip lead, a spray bottle, or 'just a little jerk on the lead, nothing that hurts.' Someone else tells you that's dog abuse. You're stuck in the middle of it with no clear answer and a headache brewing, just wanting to stop your dog dragging you into every hedge on the walk after seeing one of those tail swishing, tree scurrying teases, often also called 'squirrels'.

I get it, honestly. There was a time, before I knew better, when I turned to the internet and followed advice that I truly regret now. Poor Kyber suffered the brunt of a lot of poor 'training tips' I found when he was a puppy, often rooted around making sure he knew I was 'the boss'.

Before I became a Trainer 

I distinctly remember a time when we were in the trenches of both adolescence and covid, with a two year old, bored dog who would bark at us nonstop, leading to letters from the council regarding noise complaints and a huge falling out with one set of our neighbours. We were overwhelmed, scared of escalation from the council and what that might mean for Kyber, and we just needed help.

So along came a trainer we were recommended, who spoke about how we're letting him rule the roost, and then when Kyber started to get overwhelmed (we'd been in lockdown after all) out came the Pet Corrector. It worked by releasing a loud, sharp 'SHHH!' sound when sprayed, which in turn sent Kyber rocketing away and up the stairs to cower, refusing to come back down.

I should have known then, and trust me, I didn't feel great about it, but they knew what they were doing, right? I trusted them, because they were the professional. Boy I wish I could go back with the knowledge I have now.

I used the spray for a few more days, because technically it 'worked'. Kyber would quickly stop barking, and barked less in general, but then it stopped working. He began barking at the spray itself, he would run and cower whenever I picked up my aerosol deodorant to use (it was the same shape, after all), and he would do whatever he could to avoid the Pet Corrector. I felt horrible and finally I ended up putting it exactly where it belonged; in the bin.

Because remember; nobody starts training their dog wanting to hurt them (at least I hope not). Most people reach for the harsher stuff because they're tired, or scared, or because someone with outdated knowledge and a reluctance to learn further told them it was the only way.

So what is the truth when it comes to dog training methods, and what does it all mean?

Two camps, one dog in the middle

There’s a lot that goes into dog training, but for now we’re going to focus on the main elements that this debate surrounds;

Reward-based training uses:

  • Positive reinforcement - adding something pleasant, like food or play, to encourage a behaviour

  • Negative punishment - removing something pleasant, like attention, to discourage one

Aversive-based training relies on:

  • Positive punishment - adding something unpleasant, like a lead correction, a spray, or a shock

  • Negative reinforcement - removing something unpleasant once the dog complies

All of these technically ‘work’. Kyber did stop barking for a while. A dog can learn to stop pulling because good things happen when the lead's loose, or because bad things stop happening when it is. The behaviour might look identical from the outside. What's happening underneath very much isn't.

What the research actually shows

While at the time I was just relying on gut feeling and guilt when I binned that spray, research comparing aversive and reward-based training keeps landing in the same place.

Dogs trained with aversive methods tend to show more stress behaviours during and after training, higher spikes in stress hormones, and, in one notable study, a more pessimistic outlook on the world generally, well beyond the training session itself. And there's no solid evidence aversive methods work any faster or more reliably. If anything, some data points the other way (I’ll provide some links at the end of this post if you’d like to learn more about this).

The fallout nobody warns you about

Harsher methods carry risks that rarely get mentioned by whoever's dishing out the advice (if they even realise them at all).

  • Increased aggression and redirection. A frightened or hurting dog doesn't always shut down quietly. Some escalate instead, redirecting that fear or pain onto whoever or whatever happens to be nearby.

  • Accidental associations. Kyber didn't just learn to fear the spray, he learned to fear my deodorant can too, simply because it looked similar. The same thing can happen with a lead, a room, a person, or another dog who was just unlucky enough to be nearby. Whatever they see or hear at the time of the unpleasant thing happening can become accidentally paired together in their brain.

  • Masking the real problem, especially pain. If a dog's behaving a certain way because they're sore, scared, or overwhelmed, an aversive method can suppress the visible signal without touching the underlying cause. The growling stops, the flinching stops, the barking stops, but the pain or fear is still there, now with nowhere left to go. That's often when things get worse, not better, further down the line.

None of this happens every time, but it's a real enough risk to know about before reaching for the harsher option.

But my dog 'needs' a firm hand, surely?

This is the same 'rule the roost' language that had me thinking I was the problem. The idea that dogs are constantly jostling for rank at home comes from outdated wolf studies, since disowned by the researchers who conducted them. Dogs aren't plotting a coup. They're doing what's rewarding and avoiding what's unpleasant, same as the rest of us.

Some dogs genuinely do need firmer boundaries and more consistency. That's not the same thing as needing fear or pain involved, and it never was. It depends entirely on the individual dog and what's actually driving the behaviour, which is exactly why blanket advice rarely holds up, and why training tools don’t fix everything.

It's not always about which method you pick

This whole debate about training methods still assumes every training struggle boils down to how you respond to the behaviour, when a lot of the time it doesn't. Kyber's barking was never about us being too ‘soft’ with him, but rather he was a bored, overwhelmed dog with nowhere for his energy to go (along with some underlying discomfort and anxiety), and no spray was ever going to fix that.

A dog who won't settle or ‘just won't listen’ isn't necessarily failing to understand the rules. There's usually something underneath:

  • Pain and discomfort, an under-recognised culprit behind all sorts of 'training' problems

  • An overloaded nervous system, from poor sleep, overexcitement, or stress stacking up across the day

  • Development and breed instinct, adolescence, or drives that don't simply switch off

  • Unmet needs, such as enrichment and exercise, or lack of safe outlets for things they were bred to do 

  • Gaps in foundations, where the dog was never actually taught what's now expected

Sometimes the answer isn't a different training method at all. It's a vet check, a change of pace, or meeting a need that's been quietly going unmet.

What this actually means for you and your dog

If you're using aversive methods because someone convinced you it's the only route left, I hope this has helped to reassure you that it isn’t. Reward-based training isn't about letting your dog run the show, or tossing out cheese and treats left, right and centre. It's about building desirable behaviour without building fear alongside it, and about actually addressing what was driving that undesirable behaviour in the first place.

It might feel slower. Sometimes it is. But you're not just shaping a behaviour, you're shaping how your dog feels about you, about training, and about the world around them. You’re teaching them not only what to do, but the skills they need in order to thrive in life. That's worth more than a quick fix, and will have benefits that last years.  

And if your dog's struggling with something serious like aggression, being left on their own or over-reacting to other dogs, that's a conversation for a qualified behaviourist, not a quick fix from the internet.

A bit about why I'm banging on about this

Quick thing first: this isn't about knocking the competition. Some of my closest friends in this industry are trainers and behaviourists I collaborate with and genuinely admire, even locally!

What I am seeing more of, though, is trainers advertising who look entirely legitimate on the surface; polished websites, confident branding, glowing reviews, lots of recommendations, and yet a bit of digging into their actual content reveals prong collars, slip leads, or e-collars in regular use (sometimes even all at once). I see dogs being put in situations they can’t cope with as proof of how ‘bad’ they were before, then some short clips of unhappy or ‘subdued’ dogs (especially when you’re qualified to understand dog body language) as the ‘after’, but often none of what actually happens in between. 

But here’s the thing; I work with dogs and their owners across East Kent, and unfortunately, along with other ethical trainers and behaviourists in the area who I’m lucky to call my friends, I’ve seen too many dogs who have come from these trainers and ‘behaviourists’, who were promised quick fixes and results with tools and aversive methods, who are still struggling. We’ve seen the fallout, helped pick up the pieces, gotten those dogs and their owners back on the right track (and guess what, some of those dogs were actually in pain all along) and gotten the results the owners (and their dogs) deserved. 

And remember; the industry is unregulated, meaning nobody legally /has/ to be qualified or accredited in order to call themselves a trainer or behaviourist. They also don’t have to only use reward based methods. It’s not your fault if you’ve been caught out because you’ve trusted someone who claimed to be a professional; after all, I was, and Kyber still carries some of the fallout from it. 

This is why I became an ABTC accredited trainer and behaviour specialist, with level 4 & 5 qualifications in canine behaviour and training (working toward Level 6). I’ve spent multiple years researching, watching, learning, working with dogs, gaining experience, and being assessed on all of that, to prove that I do know what I’m talking about, and that I hold myself to a very strict code of conduct, which in turn provides you with the same reassurances… and helps to show you that these aren’t just opinions I've formed from vibes and guesswork.

So if you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed and don’t know how to move forward, or simply want to train without causing pain and distress to your dog, stick around, because you’re safe with me. 

The best way to stay in touch is through joining the WildBunch. It's my mailing list for exactly this sort of thing, along with practical tips, honest updates from life with Kyber and Bandit, and the odd behind-the-scenes look at what running Wildshaped actually looks like. No spam, no pressure, just an email once or twice a month with juicy dog nerd bits and helpful advice. Click Here to join the bunch and start the journey your dog will thank you for - hope to speak to you again soon!

Some further reading, if you fancy it:

Heather Mortley ABTC-ABT, ABTC-ATI, PACT-KSA https://www.wildshaped.co.uk
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