I often hear from pet owners with dog and cat behavior problems. We've discussed many of these issues on the blog. The topic of how to properly modify behavior for the better can sometimes be confusing.
Most PHD and board certified veterinary behaviorists use a combination of positive reinforcement and negative punishment to achieve the best results. The punishment word if very often misunderstood.
As defined by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) punishment is anything that decreases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. To some trainers and owners punishment means the infliction of pain and in most cases that's the wrong answer.
We've talked about the problems with inappropriate punishment before. When we don't dispense punishment consistently or at the right time, the "punishment" actually reinforces the behavior instead of decreasing it. There are other problems with punishment, too.
Punishment can lead to injury if it's applied incorrectly. For instance, correcting a dog aggressively with a choke collar can cause tracheal collapse or increased intraocular pressure in dogs with glaucoma.
Punishment can lead to fear and aggressive behavior towards the owner, in some dogs. Punishment can lead to a bad association with the punishing member of the family, causing the dog or cat to avoid that member. And finally, punishment alone does not teach anything or substitute a desired behavior for the undesirable one.
When veterinary behaviorists use negative punishment they are not wackin' dogs upside the head. Instead, they are removing something the dog or cat wants to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will happen again. For instance, when my dog Darcie wants to be let in the back door she paws at it making little scratches on the beautiful door.
Back before I became enlightened by some behaviorist friends I would immediately open the door and yell at her. Two problems with that. First, I rewarded her by opening the door, thus making the scratching behavior more likely to occur in the future and secondly, Darcie is almost stone deaf making my yelling an exercise in futility. What a doofus.
For the last few months I've changed my approach. If I hear her pawing at the back door I ignore her. That, by definition is negative punishment or removing something she wants; the act of opening the door.
When she finally gives up and either lays down or heads for another door, I go out and get her and let her in while praising her. The results have been pretty favorable. Most of the time now I find her laying on the threshold or simply waiting outside. I'm careful to let her in before she initiates the pawing behavior and I offer plenty of positive reinforcement for the desired behavior.
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
You remember my friend Phil, the writer and owner of Alice, the luckiest dog in the world. Alice has a somewhat annoying and all to common problem with over exuberant greetings. She jumps up on you when you first see her.
The old school way to handle this was to knee the dog in the chest when they jumped up, so called negative reinforcement. Phil is more likely to make a little fuss when she does this and try to grab her in mid air.
When Alice does this all she is looking for is some reaction to her greeting and she usually gets one which actually tends to reinforce the behavior. Phil and I just talked about this recently and we have a new plan.
When she jumps up we are going to turn away slightly and totally ignore the behavior. Again, this is negative punishment since it denies the interaction she is looking for. When she calms down and sits to be recognized or at least stops jumping up we will immediately acknowledge her good behavior with positive reinforcement and praise.
I'll report back on how this works.
There is a great position statement on the AVSAB site about the risks of inappropriate punishment and more fruitful training methods. It's worth a read.
My friend Phil has a great essay in this month's Paris Review that's worth a read too. It's about his experiences as the fire lookout up on Hillsboro peak. Alice figures prominently in the piece.
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