Should I ever punish my dog?

Any parent of a teenager knows that, by and large, taking away their phone is the ultimate punishment. However, if my phone use (landline exclusively during my teen years!) was restricted as a kid, it would have hardly been a bother. Punishment is relative; it largely depends on the opportunities around us and the preferences and sensitivities of the person receiving it.

When it comes to dogs, however, we sometimes seem to forget this. We often mistakenly associate punishment exclusively with physical aversives, such as leash tugs, assuming that these are always the worst possible punishments. And for some dogs, particularly fearful ones, they definitely are. However, fearful dogs are not all dogs. Most dogs, like humans, exist on a spectrum. While we all hold feelings of fear at times, some people and dogs are more sensitive and fearful than others. Think of friends who like to ride a motorcycle or scale mountains compared to those who prefer to play pickleball or knit!

Punishment can be a very helpful way to communicate with some dogs. Done correctly, punishment can convey, "You did something wrong, and I need you to do this instead." Critically, the dog must 100% know, understand and be capable of doing the other task (e.g. sit, look, focused heel) they are supposed to perform.

For some dogs, the worst punishment is akin to taking away a teen's phone. Taking a piece of warm chicken away from a Golden Retriever might be far worse than a leash tug. Unfairly taking a ball away from a German Shepherd or a Malinois might be more severe than taking away that warm chicken. And not playing tug with your pit bull for three days might be unthinkable to them!

It's essential to think about punishment as a potentially helpful communication tool, but also one that requires careful thought when deciding upon its usefulness, intensity, timing, and form. This is where a good trainer can be extremely helpful. A good trainer will understand a dog's genetic proclivities and interests, assess their sensitivity and fear levels and understand that the goal of punishment is to stop one behavior and encourage another. For example, instead of a dog barking and lunging at another dog, we want them to keep walking and look at us. You can use a combination of rewards and punishment to gradually achieve this behavior over time. The specific punishment used will depend on the dog's sensitivities and natural inclinations.

Of course, there are nuances when applying rewards as well. For example, what is the optimal reward? Should it be consistent or variable? Should I hand the reward to my dog or have him chase it? These are very interesting questions for another day! However, the reality is that it is far easier to give a dog a reward for doing something good than it is to punish them for doing something wrong, while also asking for a different behavior. When we punish a dog, we are often asking them to suppress a behavior driven by instinct or very strong feelings. This is an extremely hard training task.

Additionally, when rewarding a dog, there's far less risk of what trainers call "fallout"—unwanted, unintended consequences. An example of fallout would be exclusively physically punishing a dog when he barks and lunges at the postman. Instead of learning to sit and look at his handler when the postman arrives, the dog ends up disliking the postman ever more, thus intensifying the dog's feelings and behaviors. This is a very real consequence of poor use of punishment and aversives and unfortunately, it happens far too often in dog training.

When looking for a trainer, make sure they understand breeds, how rewards-based training works, and the nuances and risks of punishment. Also, please don't assume that taking away something a dog loves is somehow a kinder punishment than a quick leash tug. It depends on the dog. Personally, I would much rather endure a short period of pain that won't cause lasting damage than have something I truly love taken away from me. For example, if I was about to go hiking in the White Mountains and someone said, "Sorry, Meghan, you screwed up, you're not going," I would be absolutely crushed. On the other hand, if they said, "Meghan, you screwed up, I'm going to slap you on the wrist, but you can still go hiking," it wouldn't bother me as much. It all depends on the situation and the individual.

So, when you're thinking about punishing a dog for something they shouldn't do (and most of us will encounter this), realize that while punishment can be an effective way to communicate, it is extremely challenging to apply correctly. There are some risks and it can be hard and unpleasant to do.

Second, make sure your dog has a set of behaviors you can draw upon so you can ask them to do something else instead of bark and lunge. You can teach these on your own, in a class, or with a trainer, but your dog needs to have them. These might include a watch, a focused heel or a sit.

Third, and this is where I would definitely bring in a trainer, you want to understand if some sort of punishment is necessary to interrupt the unwanted behavior. If you and your trainer agree that this could be useful in helping your dog understand what NOT to do, you need to determine the actual means of punishment. A good trainer will discuss the options with you and ask for your opinion, thoughts and feelings. Also, if you are not comfortable with punishing your dog, you need to honor your own feelings and take that into account. Your own temperament should also be a factor in the type of dog you adopt. If you're considering high-drive dogs like Huskies, German Shepherds, Malinois, some pit bulls, or Australian Shepherds and you KNOW you don’t want to punish your dog in any way, you may wish to reconsider. Instead, consider adopting a golden retriever, a small companion dog like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, a chill labrador retriever (not intended for field work) or a poodle.

I hope this article has been helpful in providing a broader understanding of the nuances of punishment. It's not black and white, good or bad, but a tool that can be helpful if studied thoroughly and applied carefully.