the pink dogs

punishment is “easy”

while talking to a number of people - from a variety of backgrounds - it is amazing how easy it is for people to just fall into the default that punishment is okay and acceptable. i was talking to a friend today, and she doesn’t have a dog herself, but has a couple of friends who do. we were talking about potty training a dog, and what to do when they pee in an inappropriate spot. she asked, “what should they do? should they hit them?” of course, my first thought was: wow, i would never even consider hitting a dog.. but then she asked, “how do we tell a dog that they did something wrong?” my reaction was: “if the dog has an accident, then it’s the owner’s fault. the owner did not set the dog up for success, and the owner should improve his/her behavior”. of course, that response was not met with much acceptance. a confused face, actually..

and i don’t blame her! because that is what we are taught to believe in our society. and this problem will not get better when, TODAY, i hear this from professional dog trainers. they claim they are using positive reinforcement training, but use verbal and leash corrections themselves. and suggest to dog owners that if the owners are calm, then their dog will be calm (in regards to dealing with a dog that is reactive to loud noises while on walks. hello?? desensitize and counter-condition??.

i hope that one day, positive reinforcement training will be the only method with which dogs are trained.

note* i am not saying that there is absolutely no place for punishment in dog training. if all humane non-intrusive methods have been tried, and the behavior does not improve, then perhaps something like a citronella collar can be used with extreme caution. but i stress: extreme caution - only to be used by somebody who is experienced and knows what s/he is doing.

edit (09.14.11 11:17pm)* thanks smbshawn for the reblog + comments! i do want to clarify that i am using the term “punishment” here in layman’s terms, not in ABA terms. oops. bad behavior analyst-in-training!! i believe, though, that if an owner hits a dog immediately after the dog pees in an inappropriate spot, the dog’s behavior of peeing in that spot in the presence of the owner will definitely decrease in the future. but, of course, that may not be the case in front of another person!