The main, effective and humane tools of dog training are Positive Reinforcement and Negative Punishment. Nonetheless, Positive Punishment is another tool that should not be discarded. Here, the terms “positive” and “negative” are used in mathematical sense to give the meaning of “add” and “remove”; therefore, they should not be regarded as “good” or “bad”.

There are some subtle distinctions to be addressed in this essay; one of them is the definition of “punishment”. When people are asked to define the “opposite of reward”, they usually give these answers: “punishment” and “discipline”. Nevertheless, the intended meaning is “no reward”. The preceded answers indicate the discrepancy over the true meaning of punishment. Some people mention “hitting”, “spanking” and “disciplining” as ways of punishment. However, punishment is not supposed to be a “Deserved Penalty”, “Physical Abuse” or “Power Struggle”. Punishment is another essential rule of Effective Conditioning.

Particularly, Positive Punishment is adding an uncomfortable element to the dog’s surroundings in order to diminish the probability of repeating a specific conduct. To understand the concept more closely, we can compare Positive Punishment to an electric shock speeding motorists get as soon as they exceed the legal speed limits; thus, they become more likely to stop the unwanted behavior of over-speeding.

Some common tools for punishment in dog training are, verbal rebuke, leash corrections,  jet bottles, shock collars, penny cans, throw chains, “bopper-sticks,” …etc. As we can open our eyes on a wide variety of positive punishment forms, we should free our minds of the traditional idea that physical pain is the only possible way of positive punishment. To further illustrate this point, people who have phobia toward rats would feel so scared if some rats were added to their surroundings. Another example, a child who exerts all his efforts to reach a cookie jar would restrict his desire if a bucket of water was poured over his head each time he tries to do so. Although water would not really hurt the child, it would evidently be annoying enough to form a type of positive punishment.

Furthermore, researchers encourage dog trainers not to include any painful element to positive punishment, especially with the existence of more humane techniques to punish dogs positively when there is need to do so. The first recommended technique is using a squirt gun to give the dog a jet of water (avoiding the eyes) as soon as it shows any undesired behavior. The squirt gun is advised for those who own more than one pet as it can be directed with remarkable accuracy toward the targeted animal. The other way of positive punishment is shaking a soda can filled with some pennies, but this method can only be adopted by people who possess one pet as the irritating sound cannot be directed at one animal.

To increase the effectiveness of the squirt gun, one should first use verbal warnings, such as “No … No” or “Ah … Ah”; thus, the animal relates these words to the annoying jet of water. Another point, squirting should happen only when the pet is not looking at its owner; otherwise, the dog may relate the unpleasant stimulation to the presence of the owner not to the unwanted behavior. Some dogs may need another element as citric acid to be added to the jet of water to increase its annoying effect.

To permanently eradicate the undesired behavior, the owner should seize the first opportunity when the pet ceases the activity it is engaged in and ask the dog to perform an acceptable action it can do. For instance, if a dog is barking, the owner should give it a jet of water in the middle of the undesired behavior when the dog is not looking at the owner. As soon as the dog ceases barking, its owner may ask it then to sit, knowing it can fulfill such task. Then, the owner should celebrate the dog’s obedience by verbally thanking it for sitting, engaging the dog in a game it likes, or taking it for a walk as the pet may have barked just out of boredom.

The owner may resort to shaking the penny can in the middle of the unwanted behavior, accompanying the shaking with the words “No…No” or “Ah…Ah”. The moment the dog ceases whatever activity it is engaged in, the owner should immediately stop shaking the can. The dog then can relate ceasing the undesired behavior with stopping the annoying sound. The owner then can give the dog an achievable task and reward it for accomplishing it as mentioned in detail in the squirt gun use. The goal of all this is to reinforce desirable behaviors and repress unwanted ones.

A point to be put in mind is that positive punishment consequences are unpredictable. Positive punishment does not have any reinforcing effect as it only represses undesirable behaviors. Moreover, the success of punishment is random as some dogs remarkably respond to it while others do not; the results depend on trial and error. Unfortunately, most practitioners boast about their great achievements, but they shy away from their failures. They are unwilling to confess the existence of punishment “fall-out”, which includes intense dislike toward the owner, aggression, defensive-biting, or fear-biting …etc. The most common side-effect of using positive punishment is that dogs tend to repeat the same undesirable behavior when the threat of punishment is away.

To overcome these side effects, punishment should be: (A) repelling enough for each pet; (B) instant; (C) happening each time the undesired behavior appears; and (D) followed by positive reinforcement of a desired behavior.

In detail, punishment should get the dog’s attention. For instance, if gentle shaking of the can is not effective, the can should be rattled harder. If fresh water does not disturb the dog, adding a few drops of citric acid or just using a bigger squirt gun may produce the desired effect. Punishment should also occur in the middle of the undesired action, not after it is ceased; otherwise, it may reinforce the unwanted behavior instead of restricting it.

There are some points to be put in mind while applying punishment on a dog: First, punishment should happen each time the dog shows the unwanted behavior because intermittent punishment is abusive and does not convey to the dog which unwanted behavior should be restricted. For instance, dogs which are punished sometimes for chewing on the coffee table, but are allowed to enjoy the same behavior for the rest of the time, cannot understand which behavior they are punished for.

Second, trainers should be aware that dogs need to replace any undesired behavior with an acceptable one; otherwise, the dog may suffer from behavioral void. Unfortunately, most trainers focus on what dogs do wrong instead of concentrating on what went well. However, dogs need a simple strategy to understand: behavior (A) for example “will bring me punishment”, while behavior (B) “will bring me reward”. This way the dog can choose what to do and what to avoid.

There are also some side-effects to aggressive and cruel positive punishments. Some dogs cannot handle punishment and suffer from physical and mental disorders instead. Some of these disorders are intense dislike or fear from the owner. Another side-effect is the influence of the environment on the dog understanding of the real reason behind punishment: for example, the dog which is punished beside a chair while barking may think that standing beside the chair is the real reason behind punishment not barking and thus tries to avoid standing beside of the chair instead of stop barking. Besides, subduing a specific behavior may result in developing a worse one. Moreover, trainers should not punish their dogs for any behavior based on fear or aggression problems.

For the preceded reasons, it is time for trainers to avoid positive punishment as far as they could in order to keep a healthy relationship with their dogs and never risk worsening the behavior of their dogs. Instead, trainers should adopt more creative ways of classical conditioning, negative punishment, and positive reinforcement.