Why are there so many dog training methods and different techniques to train dogs?

​If you have ever looked into finding a complete dog training plan for your dog, you probably found a confusing amount of information out there.  Some of one method's rules probably contradicted another's method rules.

Does this mean some people are using methods and training and that don't work?  Why can some methods be so different, but still seem to get great results for the dog training team?

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I have put a list of dog training definitions used, and the way I have interpreted them to help you if you find yourself stuck on a term that is not familiar to you.   Please go to this post.

Just because a method is different than another, does not mean it does not work on it's own merits.  It is really about how the plan came together, the logic of the plan, if the plan has been proofed, and what the results are for individual teams.  A well crafted method or dog training plan takes into account the strengths in particular of both dog and owner.  This is a listing of what might be considered for both parties, and therefore change the dog training plan or method:

1.  Temperament-Dog or Person is suitable or not suitable for a certain task, reward, or correction (just means to correct or guide to correct response, not punishment) based on observations in response to a certain stimuli.
2.  Physical health-Dog or persons general physical abilities taken into account for a dog training plan.
3.  Disabilities-Special physical challenges that need consideration in the dog training plan.
4.  Age- For both people and dogs, age can put them mentally and physically in a different place as to what is appropriate to expect from them.
5.  Drives-Dogs and humans have desires for something that may drive our behavior.   The basic drives are obvious (food, shelter, warmth).   Prey drive still exists in domestic dogs, naturally, even if they do not need to hunt for their food.   Humans need for social relationships and activities are a drive that we have, which might not be very obvious.
​6.  Enjoyment of-What activities are enjoyed?   This can be related to drive, but can also be something less tangible and obvious than that.
7.  Activity level-How active does the dog and/or human really want to be?   There should be a training plan for a couch potato, that is different than an athlete of either species.
8.  Lifestyle-For dogs this is related to much of the above in their activity level and enjoyment of life.  They often do not get to pick where they live.  For humans, how they want to keep their home and yard, can make a difference in what their dog will be and will not be allowed to do.
9.  Environment accessible to-Living in a city in with a dog is far different than living in a rural setting with a dog.   The dog is going to be with you on a leash far more often in the city, and have distractions that are man made and human driven around them much more.   A dog in the country is going to have natural distractions around them much more, and could appropriate to be off leash for more of the day.


Also taken into account, are the goals of training in the first place. 

1.  Is this a family dog?   You are probably NOT going to want your family dog to learn how to bite and hold, as you would in a protection sport.  There are some things that have become useful from the protection sport enthusiasts, such as play and toys that are used.   Those can work in a family dog training plan with the right dog.  However, you are probably going to start your dog training in not using their teeth on humans as early as is possible.
2.  Is this a dog that is doing agility for fun? If you are not competing in agility trials, you may not want a competition trainer guiding you.  You might have a little course set up in your yard, and run through it with your dog on occasion.  That is fine, and you may not want the highly competitive agility trainer.   There are things in competition sports, that you might not prefer to do with your dog or take time on.  I am more familiar with the things in obedience competition, that I might not want to train my dog to do.  For instance, there are body positions that you can work on your dog with that make them "look" happier.  Extending their legs or a stylized walk might be preferred by the judges, and if I was in fact competing to get to high levels, I would want to pay attention to that.   However, if I am competing just to go out with our dog and proof our team work for the day, then I am going to train my dog differently.  I prefer a heel (though I do sometimes do a focused heel) where my dog is able to look around before checking in with me, so they are comfortable and see where they are going.  Judges prefer a focused heel, for instance.
3.  Is this a protection sport dog? The things you will allow your dog to get away with for a period of time will likely be a lot different than with a non protection sport dog.  Many in this sport do NOT want to dampen their dog's ability and confidence in biting (at least until they are ready to put on the command "out" on the dog at a later date)
4.  Is this a working farm dog? A dog that is working has a lot of freedom and has some ability to make their own decisions.  You also want to make sure the dog is not going to kill anything on the farm.   The way this dog lives and the structure of their lives are going to be much different.
5.  Is this dog going to be a therapy dog?  If so your goals are going to be that they actually like getting attention from people (not something that can be trained, per say) and have impulse control around humans, which means not jumping on, mouthing, or stealing items.  You will want them to be very comfortable around things that roll, beep, and help people to move around in general.
6.  Does this dog live on a lot of land or do they live in the city?  See my comments on the first list above on "Environment".  The lifestyle for both the human and the dog are going to be a lot different depending on where they live.

Dog training methods are a complete plan designed by a dog trainer or enthusiast.  Here are some short examples of those different personalities and the methods they are known to use:

1)  Positive reinforcement methods-Technically, most successful trainers use these, although some may identify themselves with this label, and some may identify themselves as "Balanced Trainers" (trainers who do a mix of things).    Some people call this Purely Positive Dog Training, but this is controversial and thought by many not to exist in a pure form (we usually need at the least containment systems for our dogs-leashes, crates, fences).  This basically means that rewarding the behavior you want, increases the chances of that behavior being repeated.   Well known trainers that might identify as this are Karen Pryor, Ian Dunbar, and Kyra Sundance (has a great trick training book out).   
2)  Clicker Training (Shaping, Luring, and Targeting)-The clicker, itself, is simply a cheap tool that makes a noise quickly.  It is useful in timing things very well in the right hands.   Clicker trainers often work with shaping, luring, or targeting in their training.   They mark when the dog has done what they wanted with a clicker sound (bridge or marker) and then a treat (which may be phased out later).   These are considered positive reinforcement methods.    Gary Wilkes is well know for target training, though I would not consider him a strictly positive reinforcement trainer.  Luring is a well known method, where you use the food item to lure the dog into position.   Just about any puppy trainer or dog trainer has a knowledge of this.   Steve Benjamin wrote a good article that I found on luring.   This article contains a video of shaping a rat to go through a tunnel to give you an idea.   All of these methods done in full are much more intricate than they may look to get your domestic dog ready for working or behaving in all sorts of distractions.   They should all have a whole process and method attached to them, not just the beginning part.
3)  Koehler Method of Obedience Training-This actually comes from the name of the dog trainer who published a series of books on his dog training plan that were very popular from 1962-1982.   This method of dog training uses molding, training collars, corrections, and a pretty rigid format as to timeline (kept dog owners honest at the time).  Rewards are thought of as the relationship to their owner and their freedom to be outside and in control off leash, instead of treats and/or toys.   This is the clearest documentation that I have found as to a training method (there may be others, but these are quite extensive).   His obedience books focused on the exercises that you would need to get through in American Kennel Club obedience trials from novice to utility.
4) Motivational methods (relationship training, engagement)-I follow Mike Ellis mostly for these methods.  There are many dog trainers out there, especially in protection sports, that use these methods.  Some of them can be used (with caution) for family dog training with the right dog and family, though they take more up front time and patience if you are going strictly by these methods.  The strengths of this method are they are fun for both the right dog and owner, you both will be very active, tends to tire the dog out physically and mentally, and it is a challenge for both the dog and owner.  This also makes you very important to your dog by providing these things, though you still have training goals and a lot of work to do.   
5)  Scientific-This can mean a lot of things to a lot of different dog trainers.   Some of these dog trainers might also fall into my "natural" category.   Some of these dog trainers might also fit into a "behavior modification" type of classification.   For a long time, this training was mostly referred to as learning theory, "Classical conditioning" or "Operant Conditioning"  (see my glossary of dog training definitions that I provided in a previous post".  More current has been the study of how dog's see things, hear things, smell things, and so on.  Some trainers take this scientific information in to enhance their training plan.   Some dog trainers rely heavily on scientific studies done on dogs and their reactions (a topic for a later post, think laboratory environment).   Other "Scientific" dog trainers focus on going after aversion in dog training and labeling all of it as punishment or abuse.   For this purpose, I am talking about dog trainers that might fall in the more "Natural" or "Behavioral" parts of dog training for their inspiration (and of course including learning theory, which does cover much of dog training in general, though learning theory was never about training dogs by Pavlov or Skinner).
6)  Natural-Using what the dog might actually be doing without us as inspiration.   Using their enjoyment of smell, hunt, genetically enjoyed activities, social pack, and so on in order to be able to join their back as their leader in all things domestic as well.   I don't know that this trainer would label themselves that, but I think of Nelson Hodges, when I think of trainers who use nature to their advantage.  
7)  Behavioral Modification and Perception Modification-I am NOT talking about veterinary behaviorists here.   Specifically, there are dog trainers that work specifically on the more behavioral side of dog training.   There is a large range in this field.  Some of these trainers focus on creating a calm and controllable dog.   Some may work with a dog to have them do a behavior depending on the environment they are in and how they have been conditioned (in other words, not having to rely on verbal cues or commands, but the dog knows by where they are how to behave).   Some of these trainers specifically use techniques to reduce anxiety, fear or impulse control.   Most dog trainers do need to have a knowledge of all of these things, as many dogs may come with past baggage or even genetics that make it impossible to work effectively with them in just "obedience training" terms.   That being said, "obedience training" does also have an effect on behavior.      Kayce Cover, Mark Mcabe, and Kathy Sdao all come to mind when I think of these categories.   They all might fit into other categories as well.   
9)  Marker Training-Markers are verbal cues (could also be the change in a noise) that give more information than a clicker tool would.   I really enjoy this training with my dogs, as it is fun to watch them learn and think.    If I am doing a directed retrieve to a specific object, I can give my dog more information as to whether they are on the right track to that object or not.   I can also use this for obedience exercises.   Some dog trainers would consider this the same as clicker training.  I section it off for myself as providing more than one kind of information to the dog.   I think this article about markers does a good job of explaining what I mean (although they include clickers in it).   
10)   Puppy Training-Bringing up a young dog right often prevents a lot of headaches in the future.  Puppies younger than six months old are not mentally mature enough to handle things older puppies and dogs (in general) are going to be able to handle.   A pioneer well known in this field is Ian Dunbar.  Also many of the luring, shaping, or targeting types of training are appropriate for a puppy in small doses.    Puppies need to be well rested and worked for a lot less time than an older dog or puppy.  Mentally, they are not prepared for the more advanced work, and even physically you have to be careful of a dog not fully mature yet.   
11)  Electronic Training-This is a tool, but I want to get into this in this article as well.  Using electronics with dogs needs all the basic fundamentals in training.   The tool alone will not magically train your dog, your dog needs much information and training before you overlay this tool   Mike Ellis does have dvds on how he trains, as do many other dog trainers that use this tool.  This tool can be trained in many different ways once you get going.  Know the fundamentals of other training first, and then, if you circumstances make it desirable, learn about training your dog on an electronic collar and what the equipment is all about.  The electronic dog training collar is used much like a manual training collar, except you can disengage the leash with confidence once you have trained enough. Also some dog training techniques using the electronic collar can resemble clicker training.


NOTE:  I often mix and match different training techniques to the dog.  The following scenarios might all be used with the same dog, but for different purposes. 

1)  To walk to the beach, I might be using the more a manual training collar and movements. 
2)  On a more relaxed walk around our neighborhood (and if it is a dog that is fear reactive) I might be using treats very frequently to reward calm behavior.
3)  At a social cookout where I bring my dog, I may be taking advantage of the work that we have put in on a behavioral modification exercise called sit on the dog.
4)  At the vet's office, we may practice some perception modification techniques by visiting the staff and having the dog do tricks while they get food rewards or attention.

For some special cases, I might make something up entirely on the fly using my mix of experiences and how they affect dogs.   Most dog owners are going to need to learn one thing first or learn from a dog trainer that has an effective and efficient bones of a training plan (that can be tweaked along the way or done in a completely different way).   It is going to be too much to learn everything on their own.   A good dog professional dog trainer can show you some things, but they are also going to be confined by things like time and the things listed above.  All of these methods take time and work.  Not one of them is a magic want to train your dog or solve behavioral problems.   However, they are all out there to help you.   I hope this has helped some of you on your dog training journey.