Trained Dogs Rock
Avoiding the Dangers of Punishment
There are many people who still believe that the greatest motivator to make dogs better behaved is fear. It is a very old-school way to go about dog training and fortunately has become very unfashionable. The technique is very easy to do and many dog owners find themselves unconsciously using it when they are particularly perturbed about a dog’s behavior. All you need to do is order what you’d like the dog to do, and then teach him there will be negative consequences in the event that the result is not what you were anticipating.
While dogs will certainly take these kinds of threats seriously, thank goodness that modern times have brought us positive motivation and other fun, stimulating activities for dogs. These no longer require dangerous training methods that can mess up a dog’s psyche for life.
In the first case, the benefits of having the dog stop maintaining the bad behavior in order to avoid punishment could backfire, and may cause a dog to become more unruly and even violent.
Punishing your pet also makes it unsociable, which isn’t healthy. It will be very difficult to form any sort of a bond with dogs using these kinds of strategies. The dog will also become very unresponsive in the future if you wish to correct another bad behavioral trait, or if you ever want to teach new dog tricks. As I have often stated, which would you prefer; learning through fear or being positively motivated to do the right thing?
Using dangerous physical abuse or violence doesn’t do anything great for us either. Becoming angry or disappointed, uses up lots of our vital energy.
It is important to learn how to target our energy into creating a more uplifting and inspiring environment for our dog. Dogs with bad behaviors and aggressive dogs need our help and we have to always understand their needs and have to show some empathy.
Our job of dog obedience training becomes considerably more manageable when we treat dogs just as we would a fellow human using operant conditioning and other modern techniques designed to positively reward them every time they show even the slightest trace of a positive behavioral trait.
Over time, these little rewards will add up to a big reward for the both of you!
