18/11/2021
Punishment is a controversial and awkward topic but is important to talk about.
Punishment is anything that is done that makes a dog less likely to display the behaviour again; it includes things like telling your dog off, nose tapping, lead yanking and electric collars. The trouble is that even though it can work in the moment there can be serious unwanted consequences, and there are much better ways of doing things.
The key to a good relationship with your dog is trust, and their desire to listen to what you say and spend time with you. An alternative way to modifying a dog’s behaviour is to use rewards rather than punishment and this will help build trust. When you consider your own life experiences, if at school you had one teacher who used a lot of punishment to get pupils to behave and another who used a lot of praise and rewards – which one were you more relaxed around and willing to put your hand up and have a try?! It is the same with us and our dogs, if you are calm and a source of nice things, then your dog will be a much better learner and less anxious. If you are unpredictable, sometimes giving them a right earful, then they will be apprehensive and much more cautious.
There are lots of examples of how punishment can have unintended consequences:
RECALL – when your dog has given you the run around and you have really struggled to get them back, then the tendency can be to put them back on the lead, and then even if you manage to bite your tongue, to give a harsh tug on the lead and stomp back to the car. This punishment (in the form of lead tugging and negative body language) will make your dog even less inclined to come back the next time
REACTIVITY – there can be a human social expectation that if your dog lunges and barks at another walking past, that you should be seen to DO something and to be telling your dog off. However this can just amplify your dog’s stress around others as not only are they worried about the other dog but also about being told off by you – this makes them even more tense when they see other dogs
STEALING – if you tell your dog off when they have things in their mouth and forcibly take the item away, then your dog is likely to feel the need to guard things that they have, for example by growling, rather than being less likely to take them in the first place
There have been some excellent scientific studies that have demonstrated that dogs who are regularly punished are much more likely to have behaviour problems such as aggression. (Casey et al., 2014, Ziv, 2017). Rather than having a more obedient dog, you are more likely to have a dog who feels insecure and defensive, a recipe for an unhappy dog and owner.
We are all human and there are times when your dog’s behaviour is the last straw and you feel cross and frustrated. When you tell your dog off they may well look very sheepish and the idea that they know they’ve done wrong and are sorry for it can help to make you feel better. However the ‘guilty look’ is actually a ‘fearful look’ and rather than experiencing feelings of remorse, dogs are simply fearful because of how you are behaving (Horowitz, 2009). If you can, take a deep breath and walk away. When you have calmed down try to think of how you would have liked your dog to behave in that situation, and then what you could do next time to make that desirable behaviour more likely. For example can you teach your dog to go to its bed rather than jumping up, or could you use a stair gate to stop them from stealing shoes??
When your dog is behaving in a way that you like – REWARD THEM! Treats aren’t just for puppies, continue to use food or toy rewards all through the life of your dog, especially at times when they are doing what you want, don’t take that for granted! So, even though it can feel as though there ought to be negative consequences for your dog behaving in a way that you don’t like, you are risking causing more problems in the long term if you use punishment. Focus on building your relationship through rewards and seek professional advice if you are struggling.
CASEY, R. A., LOFTUS, B., BOLSTER, C., RICHARDS, G. J. & BLACKWELL, E. J. 2014. Human directed aggression in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris): Occurrence in different contexts and risk factors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 152, 52-63.
HOROWITZ, A. 2009. Disambiguating the “guilty look”: Salient prompts to a familiar dog behaviour. Behavioural Processes, 81, 447-452.
ZIV, G. 2017. The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs—A review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 19, 50-60.
