Is pain aversive? Not always. Usually.
Is shock aversive? Not always. Usually.
Is food appetitive? Not always. Usually.
Is praise appetitive? Nope, not always.
Is petting appetitive? Nope, not always.
Is a flat collar appetitive? Nope, not always.
Is a prong collar aversive? Not always. Usually.
Is a head halter aversive? No. Not necessarily.
The way we assess and measure if something is aversive and appetitive is in found in the definition of those words.
Aversive means something the dog will seek to avoid. Appetitive are things the animal seeks out, that they want. Nothing fits firmly into a category. What we look at is the impact something has on an *individual's* behaviour. So, if I am doing crunches and it hurts and I keep going, that pain is not aversive to me. I am seeking that pain because it means better abs. Ironically, that pain being a sign of welfare.
However....(you knew that was coming), we cannot explain to our animals that something is in their best interest. And so, I cannot say, "Hey dog, when I cut your nails, it's really for your best interest." So we have to put the work into it to help them learn to be okay with such a thing. This is why something like TENS *might* be appetitive to some. In training, using shock usually is aversive. How do we know? Because if the dog changes their behaviour to avoid the shock *no matter how mild* it is aversive to that dog. If the dog isn't working to avoid it, then it isn't aversive. In training, that makes no sense to do something that has no effect.
Similar with a prong collar. Does the dog lean and pull into the prong? It's not aversive to that dog. If the dog actively tries to stay close to the human so as not to feel the prong, the feel of the prongs are aversive to that dog. If it were not aversive, the dog would pull in that collar.
I'm equal opportunity, so what about a head halter. Well, does the dog pull into it? Most dogs do. If the dog is fighting it, ripping it off, then it's aversive to that dog. However, if the dog pulls into it, then it is not aversive to that dog. Here is where it gets interesting. Will a head halter "work" if the dog pulls into it? Yes. Usually. Because it's not pain based. It "works" because the dog's neck muscles are weaker and the animal cannot pull with great force.
Similar things apply to praise, touch etc. Not all dogs like being touched. And some dogs learn that food means "bad things are going to happen." We need to be acutely aware not which category something belongs into, but what impact it has on behaviour, and how the individual perceives it. It just so happens that some tools won't work unless they retain their aversive nature. The same as some things won't work if they do not retain their appetitive nature.
Yvette Van Veen (awesomedogs)
