Some dog trainers, particularly those with national exposure on popular television, advocate the use of dominance and punishment-based techniques to alter the behavior of dogs. In contrast, veterinarians and veterinary behaviorists strongly recommend the use of reward-based training, combined with negative punishment. Why is there such a strong difference of opinion? Positive punishment (the application of unpleasant stimulus) is intended to decrease a behavior and NOT to discipline the pet. For a confident and experienced trainer or handler, it may be possible to use these techniques to modify the dog’s behavior in the presence of that individual, often with great success. While punishment can be effective at decreasing those behaviors that are undesirable, if it is not administered properly it can aggravate existing problems and cause new ones. Even if a punishment is sufficiently unpleasant for the pet to stop the behavior in the presence of a trainer or one or more family members, the dog may become defensive and aggressive if the same type of punishment or handling is applied by others. In the short term, punishment by means of physical force will often appear to be successful. However, one problem with punishment is that it may suppress behavior temporarily, but does nothing to modify or address the underlying motivation for the inappropriate behavior. Punishment may also interfere with the bond between dog and human; the dog may lose its trust of humans because of an inability to predict what will happen in any given situation. Often, this is the result of inconsistent application of punishment, or if punishment is administered long after the inappropriate behavior has occurred. Remember that you need to punish the behavior you wish to change. If you did not see your pet chew up the object or eliminate in the area, all you are doing is disciplining your pet for being present at a mess on the floor. Since that makes no sense to your pet, your reprimands could create fear and anxiety, which could lead to aggression and owner avoidance. Another major disadvantage of punishment-based training is that it does nothing to help the pet learn the proper way to behave in a given situation. But the biggest problem with using punishment for behavioral modification is that it may make the animal worse in the end; for example, a fear-aggressive animal that is punished for aggressive behavior may become more fearful, and increase the likelihood of future aggression. Veterinarians and animal behaviorists recognize that the best way to learn something is to receive a positive reward for success. The more desirable the reward, the stronger the motivation to earn it becomes. By using positive reinforcement such as a reward during training exercises, most animals quickly learn to perform desirable behaviors for their humans (i.e. when the dog sits, he gets a treat). If the dog fails to perform the desired response, he does not get the positive reinforcement (i.e. if the dog jumps up or fails to sit properly, he doe not get the treat). Negative punishment is an effective and humane training tool that is often used in conjunction with positive reinforcement. With negative punishment, a reward is removed because of an inappropriate behavior. For example, if you are playing a game with your puppy and the pup gets overexcited and begins “play biting”, you immediately stop the game and walk away. Dominance as a concept is sometimes misunderstood when applied to social situations, especially situations that involve dogs and humans. Dominance is not a quality of an individual, but is rather the quality of a relationship between two individuals. Thus, a dog may show dominance towards one person, such as a family member, but may be submissive to another, such as the dog trainer. The desirable relationship between a pet dog and its human family is not a dog that is submissive to the family members, but rather a dog that defers to the leadership of the humans. Human leadership and control over the dog should be achieved through training and handling methods that teach the dog what the appropriate responses are. The dog needs to learn that rewards are not given for demanding or inappropriate behavior, but are earned for compliance and obedience. Becoming the “leader of the pack” does not imply harsh punishment, but rather implies control. In conclusion, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends that punishment should only be used under specific circumstances, and then only with great care. Punishment devices such as pinch collars, electronic shock collars, or choke chains should never be used as a first line treatment for a behavior problem. For further information on behavior and training, both in dogs and cats, consult our veterinarians. If you are a current client of our practice, you can download our behavioral handouts by logging in and selecting the Pet Health, Articles tab (for password information, contact the clinic). To see the full position statement and guidelines of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, visit www.avsabonline.org. |
