A client came to Luke Buchanan after trying three different approaches from three different trainers in six months, each contradicting the last. Her dog was more confused, not less, and the constant switching had done more damage than sticking with any single approach consistently would have. Understanding what the major training philosophies actually claim, and where they genuinely differ, would have saved her the trial and error.
Luke Buchanan, Owner of The Toe Beans Co and Sydney's Puppy Trainer, gets asked constantly which method is best. The honest answer depends less on ideology and more on what the dog in front of you actually needs, but it helps to know what's actually being compared.
Positive reinforcement
Reward the behaviour you want, ignore or redirect the one you don't, so the wanted behaviour becomes the one the dog offers more often. Strong for teaching specific new commands, sit, stay, recall, tricks, where there's a clear action to mark and reward. Less complete on its own for addressing why a dog is anxious, reactive, or ignoring a leadership structure entirely, since a reward doesn't resolve an underlying emotional state or an unclear dynamic between dog and owner.
Balanced training
Combines rewards with corrections, sometimes including tools like prong or e-collars, on the premise that dogs need both consequences and rewards to learn reliably. This is where the ethical and welfare debate in the industry is sharpest. Corrections delivered without skill or timing risk creating fear or shutting a dog down rather than teaching the intended lesson, which is why The Toe Beans Co doesn't use aversive tools or corrections in this sense.
Relational Leadership
Starts from a different question entirely: not just what command is being taught, but what the dog believes about who's making decisions in the relationship. A dog without a clear, calm leadership structure often develops the exact anxiety, reactivity, or attention-seeking behaviour that owners then try to train away command by command, without addressing what's driving it. This is the foundation The Toe Beans Co builds every programme around, calm consistency and boundary-setting rather than force, layered with positive reinforcement for the specific commands where it adds real value.
Force-free and empathetic training
Reads a dog's behaviour as communication about its emotional state first, arousal, fear, confusion, rather than something to override with a stronger cue. This overlaps heavily with Relational Leadership in practice: both reject aversive tools, both prioritise reading the dog's state before asking for compliance, and both treat calm boundary-setting as compatible with, not opposed to, genuine kindness.
Where TBC actually lands
In practice: Relational Leadership first, for both behaviour problems and the underlying framework around commands. Positive reinforcement layered on top for teaching specific commands, where its precise reward-timing genuinely adds something the leadership framework alone doesn't cover. No aversive tools, no corrections that rely on discomfort or fear, ever.
How to choose for your own dog
If the issue is a specific new skill, a command, a trick, positive reinforcement mechanics do the heavy lifting. If the issue is a pattern, anxiety, reactivity, jumping, pulling, a dog that ignores commands the moment there's no treat, that's almost always a leadership gap underneath, and addressing the command alone without the foundation tends to produce fragile, inconsistent results. Whichever approach a trainer proposes, ask directly what tools they use and why, and whether they're willing to explain the reasoning rather than just the technique.
The one mistake that undoes any method
Switching approaches constantly, as the client in the opening story did, confuses a dog more than any single method's shortcomings would on its own. Pick a consistent approach, give it genuine time, several weeks at minimum, before deciding it isn't working.
Want help working out the right approach for your dog?
The Toe Beans Co runs a free SKOOL community where Sydney dog owners get training guides, Q&As, and direct support from Luke. It's free to join.
Upcoming Puppy Schools Across Sydney
Luke runs regular puppy schools right across Sydney, from the Lower North Shore through the Eastern Suburbs and out to Campbelltown. Check upcoming dates and book your spot.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is positive reinforcement enough on its own?
For teaching a specific command, often yes. For an underlying pattern like anxiety or reactivity, it usually isn't sufficient alone, since it doesn't address the leadership gap that's often driving the behaviour.
Q: Does The Toe Beans Co ever use corrections or aversive tools?
No. The approach is calm, consistent boundary-setting and positive reinforcement only, never force, discomfort, or aversive equipment.
Q: How long should I give a training approach before deciding it isn't working?
Several weeks at minimum, applied consistently by everyone in the household. Switching methods too early is a more common cause of stalled progress than the method itself failing.
