Research Study – Chiang Mai, Thailand – July 12, 2025
New evidence confirms what many trainers already feel intuitively: training methods shape more than obedience—they shape emotion, stress levels, and outlook on life itself.
New evidence confirms what many trainers already feel intuitively: training methods shape more than obedience—they shape emotion, stress levels, and outlook on life itself.
Science validates the shift: The study by Castro et al. examined 92 companion dogs from various training schools, comparing the effects of reward-based, mixed, and high-aversion methods on stress and welfare outcomes.
Behavioural and physiological effects: Dogs trained with aversive methods showed more stress-related behaviours (lip licking, panting, body tension) and had significantly higher cortisol levels post-training—biological evidence of emotional strain.
Lasting impact on mindset: In cognitive bias testing, dogs trained with aversive methods responded more pessimistically—indicating reduced emotional resilience. The findings underline why our Neurobond method avoids coercion, choosing structure and trust instead.
DocSource Castro, A. C. V., Fuchs, D., Morello, G. M., Pastur, S., Sousa, L., & Olsson, I. A. S. (2020). Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare. Published: December 16, 2020
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0245142
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0245142
