Comments on: Punishment In Dog Training

By: Claudia

Claudia — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 21:26:29 +0000

I do agree with a mixed training of both positive reinforcement and negative punishment. The effectiveness of only rewarding when my dog walked loose at my side, vs. when I make us turn if he’s pulling on his lead, has been astronomical. That is a easy scenario to use a combination. Balanced approach is humane and useful.

By: Liza Marquie

Liza Marquie — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 03:19:55 +0000

Hi
Do you have research articles about effect of positive punishment on dogs?
Thank you!

By: Pippa

Pippa — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 16:09:01 +0000

In reply to Heather.

Hi Heather, this explains the principles you need https://thehappypuppysite.com/how-to-stop-your-dog-stealing/ Do join the forum too, where you can get help and support http://thelabradorforum.com – you don’t need a labrador 🙂

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 10:14:20 +0000

Hi, Pippa. A friend’s veterinarian sister recommended your site to me.
We recently adopted a young puppy from the street, a German Shepherd mix, possible from a line of feral dogs. (We live in a mountain town in Armenia.)
The puppy, who was living in a hole in the sidewalk, is now 3 1/2 months old. He’s mostly a gem. However, he has issues with resource guarding, particularly when it comes to rawhide bones that are soft enough and small enough to swallow.
The dog trainers here talk about dominance theories and tell us to jab the dog and hold him down to get him to do what we want. I’m not comfortable with this, especially as he is going to be a big dog. Nor do I want to hurt a dog who is just out of infancy. Nor do I want to get hurt myself.
Do you have any articles/books on how to resolve this particular issue more positively, and how to manage it when he does have something in his mouth that shouldn’t and is willing to fight for. (Oddly, I remove chicken bones and pork bones from his mouth all the time. He finds them in the grass. He locks his jaw and won’t give them up, but he doesn’t threaten me when removing them.)
If you can send us in any good directions, I would very much appreciate it!

By: Dog friendly person

Dog friendly person — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 06:02:30 +0000

In reply to Renata.

Why are you surprised by this ? Dogs want to be with a pack at all times and are very disturbed if left alone..only 5 hours …I would be asking if someone could look after my dog if I was going off for 5 hours. Do you have a family member or friend you could leave it with? A neighbour may be more than happy to oblige particularly the elderly who have had dogs in the past but don’t have the energy for full time dog ownership.
Alternatively You could pay for a dog walker or sitter. Your dog will not understand you are coming back in 5 hours it is tearing up its environment in fear and frustration.

By: sharon empson

sharon empson — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 17:19:26 +0000

Punishment does not tell the dog what to do. Dogs don’t think like we do. Most of the time we are punishing dogs for being dogs. There are three things we can do when our dogs do something we do not like: management, does your puppy have too much freedom around the house? X pens are great (like a play pen for children) to help contain your puppy and limit its ability to get into trouble.. Set up near where the family is they can see you and filled with toys and food delivery toys, can be disneyland to your pup. Of course you do not leave them in there forever, take them out to play and go potty, but do not let your pup have full run of the house, it will help them from beginning behaviors you do not like, like chewing on furniture. Remember puppies explore with their mouths.
Distraction- when your puppy begins to chew on anything even you, substitute a toy. Don’t play with your puppy using your hands.
Cue a behavior- if your puppy knows a behavior, ask for it and reward that behavior, your dog can’t do two things at once.
Physical punishment builds fear, using sound to scare your dog can cause fear of noises. We want our puppies to be happy, safe, learners. Let’s not resort to something like punishment. Aren’t we as humans smart enough to do something else? sharon california hot digity dog training

By: Pippa

Pippa — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 16:54:19 +0000

In reply to sharon empson. Glad you agree with the article Sharon :)

By: Renata

Renata — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 19:29:41 +0000

What should we do if the pup destroys furniture when we are away? We tried not to punish (too late when we are back), left long, toys, music… But from time to time he returns back to destroying sofas (he destroyed all his beds), so we permitted him to sleep on the sofa – and now he destroys it. We are lost and don’t see any other way than a good punishment when we are back… Btw, it is not separation anxiety, just boredom, for sure. He is calm and confident when we leave, and he does not stay alone longer than 5 hours (lab, boy, 2yo)

By: Pippa

Pippa — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 17:03:09 +0000

In reply to Sarah K.

I think you’ll be fine Sarah, I’ve met many dog trainers, and I don’t know any that would chastise you for occasionally saying NO to your dog. 🙂 Judging by the emails I receive, and the conversations on my forum, which you are welcome to join, you are more likely to meet a dog trainer that you feel is too harsh on your dog than one that you find overly positive.
The positive dog training movement may not be perfect, but it has transformed dog training from what it was forty years ago, and most of those changes are a vast improvement. Hopefully you won’t be too put off by what you read and hear and will get to know some positive dog trainers, they are usually lovely folk who are only too willing to explain their methods and help you if you want to cross over to a more positive training system. Best of luck with your dog, and here is the forum if you want to check us out http://thelabradorforum.com You don’t need a Labrador to join 🙂

By: Sarah K

Sarah K — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 16:41:06 +0000

Thank you for saying that sometimes people will say “no” to their dogs even if it isn’t the perfect way to train your dog. That’s really the sum of my point that, in reality, all four of those principles are typically used by humans. And humans are who “train” dogs. After all, those principles were not just “invented”- they were “observed” and then defined.
I’ve heard other people talk about the positive dog training movement and it seems to be showing this image of perfection. For me personally, I just want to speak to a knowledgeable, positive dog trainer that can be open minded and hear me say that I said “no” to my dog and not get reprimanded for it :). In my experience, that kind of feedback isn’t helpful for people. Should we correct a person if they got angry and hit their dog? Absolutely. If they said “no” to their dog? Not in my opinion 🙂 That dog sounds like he’s in a safe and loving environment and to me, that’s the real goal of training, bonding, etc.
Thanks for your reply.