I somewhat agree with you .. ppl place human emotions on dogs all the time .. you never have to abuse your dog , but especially with a puppy, you need to gain their trust as they are doing with us and let them know you're their leader, not them leading you ... Boston responds very well to tones and our body language.. when my girl was a pup, i kust focused on growing our bond and her trust with me .. now she doesn't ever need any verbal commands from me .. shit i never even trained her for this , but she will look at me for the okay before doing anything when we are out in public.. she is very obedient and learns whatever I teach her either accidentally like catching bugs. One day, she saw me grab a fly in the air .. now she will bark if there is a bug around to alert me, then wait for me to kill it, lol .. its easy to train her because we have an excellent bond