Veterinarian Pet InsuranceI went to see my dog's veterinarian about pet insurance and a couple other things. I needed to ask the veterinarian about pet insurance in regards to what is the best kind and where to get it and also I had a question about punishing dogs. The veterinarian told me that all training is better taught with love than with punishment. Training teaches appropriate behavior but punishment is a response to bad behavior. You also can't control what your dog learns when you use punishment as a training technique. Punishment is not a good way to fix behavioral problems because it only puts an end to a bad behavior but without showing a desirable one. When the punishment is administered the undesirable action has already occurred and can't be undone anyway. When you punish your dog for something, you are conditioning them to expect something negative. For example if your dog jumps on your children and you punish him or your child punishes him he will begin to associate children with something bad. Obviously you don't want your family dog to learn this. If you are spending time training your dog to be social and friendly and then punish him for exhibiting this very trait, confusion will definitely result or worse. For punishment to be effective at all, it must be administered when the undesirable behavior commences. Even if you were able to punish at the correct time, your dog is usually over stimulated at that moment and therefore unable to process and understand the reason for his punishment. Also the moment your dog ceased his inappropriate action you would then need to reward him. It is the correct action, which you want him to perform after all, and for him to learn this he must be taught. If your dog has a bad habit then it is that much more important for you to reinforce the new action that you want him to perform with love, patience and attention. |