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I came from the positive-only world. I believed it. I repeated its arguments. I even thought I understood the science behind it.
As a vegetarian, and someone sensitive to animal suffering, I accepted the “positive only” ideology easily — despite years of studying the experimental analysis of behavior, reading the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, and being able to quote Skinner and Sidman from memory.
Then I read Real World Dog (and Human!) Training – Why Correction Succeeds and “Positive” Training Fails. Tully Williams takes on the myths and contradictions of modern dog training: that punishment is always harmful, ineffective, cruel, dangerous, or merely suppressive. I used to believe many of these claims myself.
But once Tully lays the quotes, arguments, and contradictions side by side, you cannot unsee them.
What shocked me most was going back to books I once treated almost like scripture — including Don’t Shoot the Dog and Sidman’s Coercion and Its Fallout — and seeing things I had missed for years. In disbelief, I found myself nervously hunting for the passages the author describes in Don’t Shoot the Dog. And yes, they are there — sometimes separated by only a single paragraph. How could I not have seen it before? An even bigger shock has been re-examining Sidman’s Coercion and Its Fallout. For many years that book was almost a bible to me, so revisiting it with a more critical eye has been a genuinely unsettling experience.
Professor John E. R. Staddon called this book an “antidote.” I agree.
It is an antidote to the suffering of owners and dogs trapped by methods that often do not work in the real world. The average owner is not a scientist. Their home is not a laboratory. Their dog has to live in society, not in a controlled experiment.
After reading the book, I bought some of Tully’s herding-dog training videos. Watching the first one, I laughed when I saw the supposed “cruel punishment”: the dog simply had to sit after performing a task poorly.
An hour later, I followed Tully’s method and had one of the most effective training sessions of my dog’s career.
The side effect? A wagging tail.
I recommend this book to literally everyone.

For years, I was deeply committed to the positive-only philosophy. My background with horses had exposed me to terrible abuse, neglect, and outdated training methods, so when I discovered behavioural science and positive reinforcement, it felt like the only ethical path.

I immersed myself in the world of positive-only training, attended courses and workshops, and eventually began working professionally with both horses and dogs. But as I started seeing more complex behaviour cases, I found myself struggling. Despite using every management strategy, desensitisation protocol, and positive reinforcement technique I knew, many dogs simply weren’t improving in the real world. I began questioning my own abilities and felt increasingly guilty accepting payment from clients when I couldn’t achieve the results they needed.

Then I read Real World Dog (and Human!) Training.

Your book completely turned my understanding of training upside down. It helped me realise that my commitment to positive-only methods wasn’t based solely on science—it had also been shaped by my personal experiences, my empathy, and my desire never to repeat the abuse I had witnessed in the horse world.

The book challenged my assumptions while remaining thoughtful, practical, and deeply ethical. It gave me a new framework for understanding behaviour and renewed my confidence that we can help difficult cases without abandoning compassion or good science.

In Poland, there are virtually no opportunities to learn balanced, evidence-based training. Reading your book has made such an impact that I would gladly travel from Poland to Australia for the opportunity to learn from you in person.

Thank you for writing a book that challenges ideology, restores critical thinking, and gives trainers hope that there is a better way.

An absolute must read! Incredibly in depth with several references, quotes, and data to support the damages that have come as a result of the push for modern day dog training to be R+/FF only. An eye opening read, 10/10 recommend.

This book is amazeballs. Within a week I’m already seeing a massive transformation in my dogs—obedience is better, state of mind is better, behaviour better, reactivity better, relationship better, more stuff I can’t think of right now are better – better, better, better!
Even my dogs would give it five stars! Every page delivers lightbulb moments and relatable analogies that fire off like mental fireworks.
It exposes the failures of “positive” methods with honesty and clarity—and offers something that actually works.
If you’re even THINKING about buying this book: just do it. BUY THIS BOOK! It’s more than a book—it’s a breakthrough. Worth every penny, and then some.

I’m telling you, I’m only on chapter 4 and he has literally torn them to shreds with their mad ideology, you really must buy this book!! Regardless of where you are on the fence about trainers, have a read, it will open your eyes wide!!!

It’s fantastic!!
Go and order it, you won’t regret it!!

This book is written beautifully!
I would recommend this book to be read by those of us who have worked within the industry for some time, and those of you who are just beginning your dog training journey! Unfortunately, the industry is now flooded with echo chamber rhetoric, recited lies, and biased misinformation – dedicated to the “force free” ideology. This book is written using fact, evidence and real-life experience.
If you are passionate about dogs and you want to make a real difference to their lives, well-being and welfare – it is imperative that you are armed with the correct information and resources.
Thank you Tully, may you continue to share your knowledge to those who are truly invested in the pursuit of professionalism.

Tully Williams has written an incredibly well researched book, showing that while the positive reinforcement (Force Free) approach started as a welcome addition to the evolution of dog training, over the past 10-20 years has become an ideologically biased approach at a systemic level.

An ideology that becomes more extreme by the week, marginalising more and more dogs and owners when they can’t achieve the outcomes insisted are possible according to cherry picked research with little to no practical evidence in the field.

Tully unpacks, with cited examples, the hypocrisy and disinformation presented by leaders of the positive reinforcement / Force Free movement, and breaks down why science does not show what they claim.

I’d highly recommend this book to any dog trainer or dog enthusiast who wants to understand the ongoing industry debates and why ‘positive’ isn’t always so positive and that Force Free training is ‘not’ the science based approach it claims to be.

Congratulations Tully, on an important book that is so needed right now.

Love this book, and Tully’s approach and mindset when it comes to training.

Dog training today suffers from an ideology, and this book is the antidote.
Years ago, renowned behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner claimed that punishment was ineffective for controlling behavior. He fueled a well-meaning but misguided movement against even mild correction in animal training from pigeons to people. But research shows that Skinner was wrong: punishment is effective, natural, and necessary.
Through vivid examples and careful explanations, experienced dog trainer Tully Williams shows how punishment is part of life and, when properly applied makes a better, happier dog (and owner!) than reward-only methods. A “balance-trained” dog not only learns faster but winds up happier than those unfortunate animals trained by less effective methods based not on science, but on ideology.
A great and necessary book.

The dog training world is in crisis! More dogs are ending up in shelters due to unresolved behavioural issues than ever before. At the root of this growing problem is the rise of the “Force Free” ideology that dismisses tried and tested training methods, leaving dogs and owners without real solutions.
In Real World Dog Training, Tully Williams boldly challenges this ideology. Drawing on decades of experience across multiple training disciplines, he delivers a powerful critique of the force-free approach and supports it with evidence of what truly works and what doesn’t.
An essential read for professional dog trainers and dedicated dog owners alike.

It only takes a little reflection on our own lives to see how much of our behaviour involves avoiding consequences that will hurt us. We avoid touching a hot stove, driving through red lights, and making jokes in immigration queues at airports. We do these things not because somebody has rewarded us for doing so, but because the world in which we’ve evolved naturally arranges aversive consequences. And we learn very quickly and efficiently to avoid them.
We share this evolutionary history with other animals, including dogs. So it’s both surprising and misguided that the dog-training profession has been so strongly influenced by an ideology that demonizes the use of punishment. We should, apparently, never even say “no” to our dogs. This philosophy of only allowing our dogs to use half of the learning system they’ve evolved to have not only results in training methods that are time-consuming and often ineffective, but betrays a serious misunderstanding of learning principles researched through 100 years of behavioural psychology, including unjustified appeals to research that has been debunked long ago.
Tully Williams’ important book draws on both his extensive experience as a dog trainer and on his confident understanding of learning principles.  It is a much-needed and bracing corrective to the misguided “reward only” approach, and it’s also an engaging and entertaining read. This book should be required reading for all dog trainers, and probably for all dog owners as well.

A must-read for veterinary professionals – and indeed all dog trainers – who value science- and evidence-based methods. My own dogs are proof that what Tully says and teaches, works.

This book should be mandatory reading for every dog trainer, and owner, on the planet. Tully’s humor keeps the information fun, and the reading enjoyable, but the knowledge offered from a lifetime of training experience makes this book a gem.

Well written and honest approach in explaining why a “positive reinforcement” only approach will ultimately set dog owners up to fail. Busting the myths behind “balanced training” and the false narratives that are pushed by so many modern day trainers. Will be recommending this book to my clients.

A must-read for anyone responsible for the raising and training of a dog, or even a human child for that matter.
As someone with 16 dogs, years of rescue experience, and a doggy daycare that specializes in working, hunting, and larger breeds (I take all the dogs that don’t get accepted or get kicked out of other facilities), this book really hits the mark and all backed by science and common sense. I’ve recommended it to many friends in the dog training world.

After years of confusion and lack of progress attempting ineffective “positive” methods, I can finally communicate clearly with my dogs again! Reward good behavior, correct bad behavior – the dogs quickly grasp this approach. Instead of struggling with countless treats on the leash that never worked (and me growing frustrated) just a couple of firm jerks were all it took and no more pulling and now plenty of praise and enjoyable walks!
I’m incredibly grateful both for myself and my dogs that Tully dedicated so much time and effort to demystifying and debunking the “positive” training methods.

I recently purchased Real World Dog Training, and as someone who isn’t a big reader amazingly finished it in just four days – a personal record!
I’ve been a dog trainer for decades, and I value realistic, spirited debate.
The public should be able to research and make informed decisions about who helps them train their dogs, free from misleading or false claims.
Your book empowers readers to use their own deductive reasoning to make choices based on real-world outcomes.
I bought your book because I was intrigued by the title and wanted to see how you’d back up your claims. You did so boldly, clearly, and with a willingness to be scrutinized.
I was both shocked and pleased to discover an Australian had written such a balanced, thought-provoking book that champions experience, choice, and the long-term welfare of dogs in our society.
Thanks again, I really enjoyed it. I hope to meet you one day for a good, unreserved chat.

Your book is a godsend for me. The FF/PP cult had me thinking I was doing it all wrong and “abusive”. Excellent, excellent, book!!!

Backed up by decades of practical experience, sound reasoning, and genuine evidence, this book clearly and thoroughly explains why reward-only training does not work. I highly recommend it to anyone involved in dogs, whether it’s the first dog you’ve ever trained or the thousandth. This book has been a long time in the making, and it doesn’t fail. An insightful and entertaining read!