Training new puppy is not easy and can be rather challenging. Frustrated pet parents often turn to yelling in order to avoid accidents in the house and the destruction of their property. What was once considered a harmless mild punishment training is now proven to have long-term consequences for our beloved pets. It's time to think twice before ranting.
Given the plethora of training schools and resources offered to us, it's crucial to know the most prevalent training styles used by these dog training academies. When you are looking for training methods, often you will come across the following two:
Positive reinforcement/reward training:
It is also known as reward-based, force-free, and clicker-style training. Establishing a marker for correctness and timeliness, and then reinforcing the behavior with a treat or play time, is how this strategy works. Consider the process of teaching your dog to sit with the help of a clicker. If you use your clicker every time you want your dog to pay attention, they'll quickly learn that when the clicker comes out, it's time to pay attention if they want a treat! You reward them with a click and a goodie when they sit on demand. You'll get a well-trained puppy who is ready to please if you use positive reinforcement. Of course, with each additional command, the process becomes more intricate, but the essential principle remains the same: a command followed by a reward.
Negative reinforcement/discipline training:
This method is centered on establishing dominance over your dog through the threat of punishment. During training, this could include yelling, leash tugging, hitting, shock collars, or any other sort of "corrections" aimed at teaching them basic obedience. While this method was the first in dog training, it has recently been proved to have long-term repercussions on a dog's mental health.
The majority of dog behavior and punishment training research has been done on police and military canines, therefore it was time to discover how our canine companions felt about our methods.
The scientists at the University of Porto in Portugal (study led by Ana Catarina Vieira de Castro) recruited 42 dogs from reward-based training programs that used food or play as rewards, and 50 dogs from negative reinforcement training that included yelling and leash jerking to see how true companion dogs reacted to punishment.
Each dog had their saliva analyzed for the stress hormone cortisol before and after training, as well as their training sessions recorded, in order to correctly quantify their stress levels.
The dogs had higher amounts of cortisol in their saliva during training, as well as at home in the hours following their training sessions, as a result of more "fear-based" training. They also exhibited stress-related bodily behaviors such as licking their lips and yawning. Cortisol levels and stress-related body language did not rise in dogs that received positive reinforcement training.
It's obvious that the training methods you choose have an immediate impact on your dog's stress level, but what about the long-term consequences?
The researchers looked at the reactions of 79 dogs to a food reward to see if their training methods had any long-term impacts. They then taught each dog to associate a delectable sausage goodie with one side of a room. There would be a sausage in the bowl if it was on that side of the room. On the other side of the room, every bowl would always be empty. They next placed an empty dish in various locations between the two extremes and timed how quickly each dog approached it.
The two types of dogs were classified as pessimistic or optimistic by the researchers. The optimistic dogs underwent reward-based training, while the pessimistic canines were subjected to light punishment. The researchers labeled these two personality types as "glass half full" and "glass half empty," respectively. The "optimistic" dog would quickly approach the bowl in the hopes of finding a tasty sausage, whereas the "pessimistic" dog would approach the bowl cautiously and appear nervous.
Separation anxiety and a variety of behavioral issues have also been linked to pessimistic dogs. The more intense the punishment-based training, the more dramatic the outcomes.
This research shows that the way we train our dogs has a long-term effect on them. Though the effectiveness of training methods was not discussed, nor was it determined which choice was "better," it is evident that the long-term consequence on a dog is tragic.
According to several research, reward-style training may help our dogs better grasp their training process rather than simply being afraid of an action. It's now evident that incentive training is considerably better for your dog's pleasure and mental health, regardless of whatever approach you use.
In addition, reward-based training is regarded to be more effective in terms of establishing obedience in all situations. Dogs typically identify one pet parent or human with the fear of probable punishment in fear-based training. Your dog may not obey commands in situations when you are not present if you use this training method.
When you use reward-style training, every person who receives a command has the potential to receive a reward!
It is our responsibility as pet parents to create a life full of love and comfort for our beloved companions. We can assist our dogs comprehend the foundations of obedience training without the anxiety and stress that comes with punishment-style methods by focusing on reward-style training.
Even if our dogs have their own set of annoying habits, they can be addressed in a loving and fearless manner. Remember that the pleasure and comfort of your animal friend is in your hands the next time you feel compelled to yell at them.
