LIMA Dog Training and The Humane Hierarchy, Explained with Examples

There are two principles and concepts that completely changed my understanding of training and raising a well-mannered dog. LIMA dog training and The Humane Hierarchy. The two are very interconnected and provide a framework for changing dog behavior in a thoughtful, humane, and effective manner. While these principles stand as an ethos and methodology for professional trainers and behaviorists, familiarity with the concepts will help you, the pup parent, feel vastly more confident and comfortable training your puppy. Plus, these principles can guide you in choosing the right trainer for your dog! To understand LIMA, we need to first understand animal welfare. Animal welfare is the physical and psychological state of nonhuman animals. The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights. Basically, animal welfare means concern for the overall well-being of an animal, including our dogs. LIMA was first introduced around 2005 by Steven R. Lindsay.  So, what is LIMA? LIMA stands for Least Intrusive Minimally Aversive. It generally refers to a trainer or behavior consultant who sets out to change behaviors through the least intrusive minimally aversive methods possible. Let’s define the two pieces. #1- Least Intrusive.  Intrusive, in a dog context, can be seen as something that limits a dog’s ability to choose and act freely or comfortably. Certain techniques can intrude on a dog’s safety, well-being, and freedom to choose. And on that note, LIMA methodology lends itself to relying primarily on positive reinforcement techniques as the initial behavior-changing route. Allowing a dog to make choices (non-intrusive) and then rewarding when the desired behavior is performed is about as “least intrusive” as it gets. #2- Minimally Aversive. It’s important to define the term aversive. The dictionary definition reads: “ending to avoid or causing avoidance of a noxious or punishing stimulus”. In simple terms, a stimulus (could be a shock, harsh sound, bad-tasting anti-chew spray) that is provided to try and make your dog stop doing a certain behavior. We’ll cover this more later, but aversives have been shown to cause more stress and anxiety often leading to more problem behaviors.  Is the science 100% perfect? Nope. But the vast majority of research, studies, and evidence show that aversives negatively impact the welfare of animals (see the beginning of this section). So bringing it back to LIMA, the methodology requires a trainer to implement the most minimally aversive methods possible. To sum it all up… LIMA boils down to finding strategies and methods that put the learner (the dog) first. That means understanding the dog’s history, challenging behaviors, preferences, and learning styles. And then following a humane hierarchy approach to resolve problem behaviors in the least intrusive (think freedom) and minimally aversive (think harsh punishment) way as possible. Be sure to read the full article on the Pupford blog! https://pfrd.site/readnow And sign up for the 100% free online dog training class to train a well-mannered pup: https://pfrd.site/class-signup-noww