The use of punishment in dog training is not effective!!!
Let me say it again, “Punishment is not effective”
Yet, the overuse of punishment by dog owners is something that trainers confront every day. A dog growls at a kid, smack them. A dog shows teeth when you approach his food dish, yell and take his food dish away. Yet, when the punishment does not bring about a change in the behaviour or worse, escalates it, people act surprised. There must be something wrong with the dog.
I will let you in on something…your dog is fine. Your dog is attempting to communicate with you. He is trying to tell you there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. It is not your dog’s fault that you are not listening. This is not a dog problem, it is a human one. Therein lays the reason why people have such a hard time accepting this line of thinking. If we accept this is a human problem, we have to accept blame for creating the problem.
Does that means you should allow a dog to growl at you?
Kind of.
Personally I would rather have a dog growl at me than to make a snap at me. A growl is certainly better than an attack. A growl alone is not going to result with me in a hospital. My feelings can survive a growl.
What I am going to do through is recognise the growl for what it is…a sign that my dog is uncomfortable with something. I will not only recognise that but I will act to encourage him to get comfortable with it. That line of thinking ladies and gentleman is called “Classical Conditioning”.
Humans were born with a marvellous capacity to think. It is one of the many reasons we have evolved into the most dominant species on the planet. We were not as strong as many of the other animals in this world. We cannot run as fast, climb as well, nor fight as fiercely as many of our other earthly brethren. What we possessed is a capacity for complex thinking. We have an ability to analyze an issue and think outside the box.
It is sad that we have that capacity yet completely choose not to use it when it comes to interacting with our dogs.
Let’s examine one of these issues, growling when approaching a food bowl, and discuss what can be done as well as the possible outcomes…
Using Punishment:
Dog is eating, people approach dog shows his teeth. Dog gets yelled at, backed away from the food bowl, food gets taken away. You can also substitute silly things like pretending to eat from your dog’s bowl, eating your own food before the dog gets his food, actually eating from his bowl…I have heard a lot in the ten years I have been doing this.
result: dog learns owner approaching food dish is not a good thing. He learns that if he expresses displeasure, he is punished. He learns to either bottle up the displeasure and accept it or he escalates the displeasure. Both these cases often result in sad consequences, sad for the dog and sad for the owner.
Now let’s examine what happens when we use some very basic classical conditioning:
Dog is eating, people approach the bowl, people toss a treat to the dog and back away. Dog pauses to stop eating, gets treat and eats again. Dog thinks…”hmmmm, that was fun”. Human repeats, dog again thinks, “hmmm, I like that” Human takes things slow, repeats this exercise and similar ones over and over again, dog eventually appreciates when people approach his bowl as it means wonderful things happen.
result: the dog stops growling when the food bowl is approached because the owner has now made it fun and interesting for the dog.
“But Ken, how is the dog supposed to know his place? The dog should not growl in any case because he should know I am the boss”
My response…”Why?” Why does your dog need to know this?
Using classical conditioning, you now have a dog that is totally safe to be approached when he is eating. You have a dog that thinks you coming around his bowl is the best thing ever. Isn’t that what you wanted in the first place? If a dog knowing his place is important to you, using classical conditioning results in your dog knowing you control the distribution of treats and food. He will still “know his place”.
Using punishment in behaviour modification is a slippery slope. It can work. However, the biggest pitfall is that it can backfire. It can create other more serious longer lasting issues. Distrust of the owner, suppression of early warning signs, and confusion of the dog to name a few. I challenge anybody to look at the two situations I presented logically. Find a downside to dealing with the problem using classical conditioning. You would be hard pressed to do so.
So here is a challenge to any readers. Next time you are facing an issue with your dog, start thinking outside the box. Examine the problem from it’s root cause. Most times, you can come up with your own solutions that are effective, safe and do not involve the pitfalls inherent in the use of any punitive measures.