by Sasha Riess | 10.06.26. | Behaviour
Trauma in dogs is often overlooked in modern training because we rely too heavily on treats. When a dog receives a reward for something it did “right,” we rarely notice the other side of that process: the moment when the reward is absent.
Although the reward system is considered “positive,” for a dog’s physiology it can be deeply counterproductive.
Trauma Hidden in Expectation
Many people ask: what kind of trauma can occur when I reward my dog for being good? The problem is not in the moment of the reward itself. The problem arises in the moment when the dog is not “good” and the reward is missing.
For the dog, there is no theory or training method in that moment. There is only the experience of absence. Learning through pure conditioning directly affects the dog’s physiology, but not in the way we think. Positive stimulation through food is only one side of the coin. The other side is the negative effect that appears in the dog’s body when it does something and the expected reward does not come.
Relationship Above Method: Preventing Trauma in Dogs
The question is not only how we teach a dog, but what kind of relationship we build while conditioning it. Are we building a partnership based on understanding, or a dependency that disturbs inner balance?
Build a relationship that doesn’t depend on a piece of food in your pocket.
True communication with a dog does not come through a piece of food in your hand. It comes through alignment that leaves no space for physiological stress that later develops into chronic conditions. Remember, every time you rely on conditioning, you risk creating trauma in dogs that is difficult to resolve later.
At Sasha Riess, we believe true communication bypasses the stress of bribery. Moving beyond food conditioning prevents underlying trauma in dogs, paving the way for authentic pureloveandharmony. Build a real partnership: Linktree Sasha Riess
by Sasha Riess | 02.02.26. | Emotions
Many believe that electric collars for dogs are just a harmless reminder, but violence that is not recognized as violence becomes invisible, and what is invisible enters the body the deepest.
Put that collar on him. Just to remind him where his place is. It does not hurt. Well maybe a little but nothing serious. They hit me too and I turned out normal.
These sentences are spoken calmly today. Almost gently. Without raised voices. Without drama. Often with a smile and the belief that this is responsibility, discipline, and care. They are spoken by parents, trainers, and dog owners who believe that pain is small, controlled, and justified, and that the result is order, obedience, and stability. That is precisely why they are dangerous.
Small Pain and Electric Collars: Deep Consequences for the Nervous System
When we talk about an electric collar, about a little sting, we are not talking about technology. We are talking about a very old pattern of human behavior. We are talking about the iron hand. The idea that pain is a legitimate tool of upbringing. That fear is a shorter path to order. That suppressing emotions is a sign of strength. This pattern did not start with dogs. Dogs are only the latest to carry it.
Pain, regardless of intensity, does not operate on the level of reason. The nervous system does not measure millivolts, does not make moral judgments, and does not understand good intention. It reacts in a binary way. Safe or unsafe. When an electric impulse passes through a dog’s body, the brain does not register a message like „this behavior is not desirable.“ It registers a break in safety. In that moment the amygdala, the survival center, is activated, and the entire organism enters an alarm state.
Outwardly calm, inwardly an alarm. The body always remembers what the mind tries to justify.
When Discipline Hurts: The Parallel Between Children and Dogs
The same happens with children raised with an iron hand. A child who is hit, shamed, or silenced does not become disciplined. It becomes cautious. It learns to hide impulses, suppress emotions, and not show what might trigger punishment. On the outside it looks well behaved. On the inside the nervous system remains in a state of chronic alert.
Violence does not stop when behavior stops. It only relocates. If it cannot express through behavior, it expresses through the body. The phrase „they hit me and nothing is wrong with me“ is often said as proof of resilience. But neurobiology tells a different story. A child who was not allowed to defend, scream, or escape remains with trapped energy stored in the nervous system.
Cushing Disease and Chronic Stress in Dogs
In dogs today we see the same pattern. Never before have there been so many trained and calm dogs who at the same time suffer from chronic diseases. Cushing disease, adrenal gland disorders, and immune problems are increasingly common in dogs living in seemingly safe environments.
The stress hormone cortisol is not an isolated problem. It is a response to a long term state of inner tension. A dog that is not allowed to react lives in constant adaptation. Its body does not receive the signal that danger has passed. The adrenal glands work without pause. Electric collars become a symbol of that process. The problem is not one impulse, but the message. Safety is conditional on obedience.
Dogs as a Mirror of Our Suppressed Emotions
That is why this topic creates so much resistance. If we admit that a little sting has consequences, we must face our own experiences and the price we paid to be good. Dogs today are a mirror of that process. Their bodies speak instead of them.
The real question is not whether an electric collar hurts. The real question is what we teach a being that loves us when we show that pain is used as a reminder of place. Perhaps dogs today are not calling us to be softer, but to be more conscious. Because the body, whether canine or human, always remembers what the mind tries to justify.
