Let’s discuss punishment in training

Punishment is a hot topic in the world of dog training and one I routinely find people worried by. Simply mentioning punishment can elicit a wide range of responses.

There are two sides of this argument, one for and one against. Some owners feel any type of punishment is bad mostly because they do not like the word “punishment”.

If we look at this in a simpler form, we do all punish our dog. Let’s look at when we scold or yell “no” at our dog. By definition, scolding a dog is punishment. Scolding a child is punishing the child. We do this 99% of the time to keep them safe from harm because we love our dog.

When we say “no” we do so in different levels of tone. The lower the tone the less effect we have on the dog. The higher the pitch of our voice and its tone the stronger the reaction we elicit. The dog will bow its head in fear, lower its tail, and maybe even walk away in shame but he or she learns what the word “no” means. Therefore by scolding the dog we punishment them.

If we only look at the above example and remove the emotion pertaining to the word, punishment works. What exactly do I mean? When it comes to psychology and the application of punishment in the attempt to alter another being’s behavior we read: Punishment is defined as a consequence that follows an operant response that decreases the likelihood of that response occurring in the future. Simply put, a punishment is something that happens that causes a behavior to stop happening in the future.

The question of whether or not punishment works is not debatable, because if the goal of punishment is to get a behavior to stop happening, that is what it does. You can find more information by referencing “B.F. Skinner -operant conditioning model”, finding a myriad of studies performed in laboratories that show how effective punishment works.

Since punishment is scientifically proven to work what we are really considering is the feeling or emotions about punishment, and that is a different story.

When people say that “punishment does not work”, what do they mean? What they are actually referring to is actually physical abuse, and not punishment.

Abuse is not effective at decreasing the unwanted behavior because it cannot be applied in a consistent way that is contingent upon a specific behavior the punished one enacts.

There are numerous scientific studies that have demonstrated this to be true. Often times these studies are misrepresented to prove that “punishment” does not work, when that is not the case. In every supposed “anti-punishment” you can read how the study was performed. It is crystal clear that the animals were being abused, and not punished. To cause discomfort to an animal in a way that they cannot avoid in the future by changing their behavior is abuse, it is not punishment.

This is something I cannot allow nor will I stand idly by and watch it happen. I will intervene!

From the outside looking in, without knowing the bigger picture, it is very easy to mistake punishment as abuse. In the park when we do not know if the person we see yanking on a leash is trying to teach their dog to stop running into the street or if they are being cruel and abusive.

They may be teaching their dog the street is not safe and teaching their dog that in order to learn off leash play time is in the dog’s future. We do not know how long the dog has been exhibiting the unwanted behavior or how much pain this behavior is causing the dog’s family.

We do not know how much that person punishing the dogs loves their dog, and how much positive reinforcement they have used in their training of their family pet prior to that moment.

Simply put, from the quick initial impression being outside looking in, it is very difficult to know if abuse is happening or if it is simply the application of effective punishment being witnessed.

It is absolutely understandable if someone is uncomfortable witnessing the application of punishment. I can personally understand If someone does not want to use punishment with their own dog.

It is also easy to understand if someone is ok with the minimal amount of punishment that is necessary and not one ounce more.

What I disagree with is the saying that punishment does not work and the false label that punishment is abuse.

I the end, punishment is a personal thing and everyone is entitled to have their feelings on the subject.

For whichever direction our feelings flow on this topic, our own feelings are correct for each one of us individually.

At the end of the day, we cannot confuse facts with feelings and whether or not someone feels good about punishment; punishment by definition to correct unwanted and bad behavior has been proven to work.