Don’t yell at your Dog!

Remember when you were a kid and did something "wrong," and your parent yelled at you? I will always remember when I was a teenager, I took a shower in the upstairs bathroom (located directly above the kitchen). I committed the mortal sin of leaving the shower curtain outside the tub.

Afterward, oblivious, I dressed, went down, and started eating breakfast. Of course, as I sat, water began dripping out of the light fixture above the table—drip, drip, drip onto the scrambled eggs and toast.

My mom started moving food off the table, and my dad put two and two together and roared at me. That shocked me. But I understood immediately that my action (a) had caused the leaking shower (b) that led to my dad's uproar (c). (To be honest, I never made that mistake again, and even in hotels, I am circumspect about placing the shower curtain inside the tub.)

But I'm a human, and even as a teenager lacking a fully functioning frontal lobe, I could easily understand how this all connected. Behavior corrected.

But here is the question. If that sequence works for us (the humans reading this), does it also work for dogs? In other words, does yelling at a dog or any adverse "punishment," yanking a dog's collar, pushing a dog down, or using a shock collar change their behavior over the long term (without causing long-term stress in the dog)?

Research says definitely "no." Let me be clear. Punishing a dog for a behavior, jumping up, barking, or resource guarding might change behavior in the immediate term, but the change rarely lasts and can cause long-term stress.

One study ("Training Methods and Companion Dog Welfare," Ana Catarina Vieira de Castro et al.) found that ". . .The higher the frequency of aversive stimuli used in training, the greater the impact on the short—and long-term welfare of the dog."

There are a couple of things to unpack. First, dogs are not necessarily great at connecting the action (a) to the consequence (b) and the punishment (c)— they are not little humans. The punishment must be applied immediately, within a few seconds, for a dog to connect her action to being punished. Otherwise, she'll think she's being punished for something else. Hypothetically, if you could instantaneously punish a dog for a transgression over a long period every time it happens, it might lead to behavior change, but at a cost. You end up with a stressed and fearful dog.

So no to yelling at a dog or using a choke or shock collar.

The goal is an obedient, happy dog that is easy to live with. Getting there starts with understanding the basics of dog psychology and training. To beat it into the ground, punishment and fear-based training is antiquated and doesn't work over the long term.

Positive reinforcement, catching a dog doing the right thing, and rewarding her (with praise or treats) is the gold standard. Example: Our Chihuahua-Terrier (terrorist) mix, Maisie, used to bark and strain on the leash with murder in her eyes when encountering people or dogs on our walks. At first, I'd rely on the customary method of pulling her back and yelling at her to stop. Didn't work. It made her more excited. So, after talking to a great trainer, I changed my approach. Whenever we'd run into people, I'd tell her, "Treats!" (She is very treat motivated.) When she'd turn her head to face me, I'd give her a treat. It took a few times, but eventually, she'd turn and come back to me. Cut to the chase. Now, when we come across people (who she associates with treats), she automatically comes to me, sits, and gets a treat. She doesn't bark or threaten to kill someone (she's all of ten pounds). Does it work with other dogs? Not even close. She still thinks she is the "Death Star," so I have more work.

Here's the bigger picture. Our culture (thankyou Puritans) has often relied on punishment to shape behavior. For example, we have the meta-punishment, "hell." Of course, sometimes punishment to change behavior (think shower curtains) is appropriate with humans. And yet, think of all the times we use punishment, when instead we could “catch someone doing the right thing” and reinforce that behavior. The truth might be that punishment is often the least effective way to change behavior in the long term, not only for dogs but also for humans.

For more lessons about dogs check out “Dog Lessons: Learning the Important stuff from our Best Friends.” Available at Barnes and Noble, Collected Works in Santa Fe and online!