January 2026 – Controlled Aggression Podcast

Idealism vs. Pragmatism in Canine Training: Behavioral Science with Dr. Stewart Hilliard

January 8, 2026 suddeth08 1:38:18

In this episode, Jerry Bradshaw and Dr. Stewart Hilliard discuss:

Why your dog training should be based on theory, pragmatic results, and experience.
Theoretical vs intuitive dog training.
How is idealist training different from pragmatic training?
Why you should not be removing all stressors from your dog training.
Control and learned helplessness.

Key Takeaways:

Dog training is a long series of lonely decisions. You are a team of one training your dog, and even if you have a coach, in the moment, you are the one making each decision based on the problem facing you in the moment.
Technical training is great, but you do need to be able to generalize the training for different locations and situations for the best results.
If, in the course of doing its job, your dog will face adversity, then having a background in overcoming some adversity in training is going to stand the dog in good stead.
There is considerable discussion and data that speak to the point that the ideal state for an animal to develop in is not necessarily one that is free of stress.
Aversive control can be used without producing bad welfare for the subjects of the training. On the flip side, excellent positive reinforcement technicians also produce really good results in dog training.
Animals in avoidance are not running from something; they are running to something safe.

“If you want to engage with dogs intellectually, they’re a very rich topic for intellectual engagement, because they’re super interesting. And you can look at them at any level you want; you can look at dog training at any level you want. And for some people, the pathway to getting really good is becoming theoretically very, very strong.” — Dr. Stewart Hilliard

Episode References:

Go to Kynology.org now and start an account to stay up to date on Kynology events, upcoming resources, and products!

Get Jerry’s book Controlled Aggression on Amazon.com

Contact Stewart:

Website: https://www.caninetrainingsystems.com/

Book: Schutzhund, Theory and Training Methods – A Book by Susan Barwig and Stewart Hilliard, Ph.D. – https://www.amazon.com/Schutzhund-Theory-Training-Methods-Reference/dp/0876057318

Contact Jerry:

Website: controlledaggressionpodcast.com

Email: JBradshaw@TarheelCanine.com

Tarheel Canine Training: www.tarheelcanine.com

YouTube: tarheelcanine

Twitter: @tarheelcanine

Instagram: @tarheelk9

Facebook: TarheelCanineTraining

Protection Sports Website: psak9-as.org

Patreon: patreon.com/controlledaggression

Slideshare: Tarheel Canine

Calendly: https://calendly.com/tarheelcanine

Tarheel Canine Seminars: https://streetreadyk9.com/

Tarheel Canine Student Portal: https://tcstudentportal.com/

Sponsors:

ALM K9 Equipment: almk9equipment.com

PSA & American Schutzhund: psak9-as.org

Tarheel Canine: tarheelcanine.com

The Drive Company: thedriveco.com

The Drive Company Instagram: instagram.com/thedrive.co

Dog Armour: dogarmour.com

Dog Armour Instagram: instagram.com/dogarmourpro

Rogue Arsenal: roguearsenal.com

Rogue Arsenal Instagram: instagram.com/rogue_arsenal_official

Train hard, train smart, be safe.

Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You’re the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Training the PSA Carjack Exercise

In this episode, Jerry Bradshaw discusses:

What judges are looking for during the PSA Carjack Exercise.
Safety precautions and training progressions for decoys, dogs, and trainers.
Keeping your dog focused in the right place.
Rewarding, capping, and knowing your dog’s limits.

Key Takeaways:

In training, you should be training in neutrality as you prepare for your PDC. Just because they have the skills in the exercise does not mean they are prepared for the neutrality between exercises.
If you are able to, get a vehicle to train with your PSA club on these Carjack Exercises. There are a lot of progressions you can do as you work up to the full exercise.
It is the first impression of the aggression that’s going to catch the judge’s eye.
Spend time focusing on transitions. Even in PDC, there are transitions you can work on. A good transition can help you be well prepared.

“One of the big mistakes I see is rushing into the vehicle without doing the proper neutrality to the vehicle when they’re younger, not doing the proper neutrality to the vehicle, where they now have to experience the bite work, in addition to the unstable footing, and in addition to the enclosed area, the tight space of the vehicle. All of these things impinge on the dog’s experience during that carjacking exercise.” — Jerry Bradshaw

Episode References: