"You need to show the dog who's boss." "If they do something wrong, they must be punished immediately." "If they don't understand, a yank on the leash will put them in their place."
If you've heard any of the above, you're not alone. These ideas have been circulating for years. But the science of animal behaviour tells us something very different.
When you add punishment to your dog, usually the unwanted behaviour may stop momentarily but it doesn't teach your dog anything long-term. They simply learned that this behaviour brings something unpleasant. They might stop doing it in front of you, but will continue when you're not there.
Fear is created. The dog doesn't learn what to do. They learn what to avoid. And this fear can generalise: they may start fearing you, walks, hands, or anything they associate with punishment.
Trust is lost. The relationship between human and dog is built on trust. Every time the dog is punished, a piece of that trust is lost. The dog begins to approach their guardian with caution instead of enthusiasm.
The science is clear
Decades of research in animal behaviour have shown that adding punishment creates more problems than it solves. Dogs trained with harsh methods show more signs of stress, more aggression, and less willingness to cooperate.
What do we do instead of punishment?
Positive training doesn't mean leaving the dog without boundaries. It means we focus on what our dog does that we want them to do, and for the behaviours we don't want, we find alternative behaviours for them. We add various exercises that help the dog want to cooperate with us.
This approach requires time and effort at the beginning, but the results are deeper and more lasting, because the dog chooses to cooperate, they're not forced to.
Change starts with us
Often, the first step isn't about the dog, but about us. We need to change the way we view their behaviour and it's our responsibility to find the best way to raise them right.