{"id":12079,"date":"2015-08-26T07:35:39","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T06:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=12079"},"modified":"2025-05-01T12:16:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T11:16:39","slug":"punishment-in-dog-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Ever Punish Your Dog? The Great Debate!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

People sometimes ask me how to punish or discipline a dog or puppy.  Yet many people nowadays do not punish their Labradors and some believe that no-one should be allowed to punish a dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Punishment in dog training is actually on the decline.  And not everyone agrees that this is a good thing.  Today we\u2019re going to look at the benefits and disadvantages of punishing dogs, and to ask if training without punishment can ever really work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use and misuse of the word punishment as it applies to dog training lies at the heart of much disagreement between dog trainers and dog owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So before we talk in any detail about punishment, let\u2019s take a moment to define what we mean by punishment.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"sad<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Retribution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n

In human terms punishment is defined as \u201cthe infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it doesn\u2019t really make sense to inflict \u2018retribution\u2019 on dogs.  After all,  it is neither fair nor productive to impose a penalty on someone that is not capable of anticipating the consequences of his actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet it is this \u2018social\u2019 or legal definition of punishment that many of us have in mind when we think about dogs and dog training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cruelty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another common definition of punishment is cruel or harsh treatment of dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This makes talking about punishment very confusing as each of us will have different opinions on what is or is not cruel or harsh.   Some will think smacking a dog\u2019s bottom is an act of cruelty.  Others will think it a mild and harmless correction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best definition of punishment for dog training purposes is a behavioural one.  After all, dog training  is about changing behaviour.  And the way dogs behave is governed by the laws of behavioural science.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n

What is punishment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Punishment in behavioural terms is something that diminishes behaviour.  That is how we define it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If something YOU do, makes your dog less likely in the future<\/i> to do something he previously enjoyed.  Then whatever YOU did, was a punishment for your dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your Labrador is enjoying a particular activity – climbing on the sofa for example – and  you do something to your dog right now, in the present, that decreases the chances of him climbing on the sofa in the future.  What you did was a punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut supposing I call my dog away from the sofa and give him a piece of cheese?\u201d  you say  \u201cThat wasn\u2019t a punishment was it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are quite right, calling your dog and giving him some cheese wasn\u2019t a punishment, and it won\u2019t (by itself) decrease the chance of your dog climbing on the sofa again.  In fact , he might learn to climb on the sofa more often in the hopes that you\u2019ll call him off it and give him some cheese afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is nothing wrong with calling your dog and giving him some cheese by the way, in fact, for today, it is probably the best strategy. And it can form part of a training plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you do need to plan how you are  going to prevent your dog climbing on the sofa in the future, either through training or management or a combination of both.  We\u2019ll be looking at that in another article.  Let\u2019s get back to punishment for now, and look at some examples<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Examples of punishment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Punishment is anything that diminishes behaviour.  There are lots of things that dogs do that we don\u2019t like. And there are lots of different ways that people have devised to punish dogs, in order to diminish unwanted behaviours<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our sofa example, the owner of the dog might scold the dog angrily \u201cGrrr you BAD dog\u201d or even smack him.  Or she might squirt him with some water, or shake a rattle bottle at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some more examples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • A squirt of compressed air (aerosol pet corrector)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Electric shocks (e-collars)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Neck compression (choke chains)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Neck pain (prong collars)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Verbal intimidation (angry voice, shouting, growling, tssst noise)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Postural intimidation (aggressive or threatening posture, staring)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Training discs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pokes or jabs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Kicks and foot taps<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    As you can see, not all<\/em> of these examples involve pain or even any kind of physical contact with the dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Returning to the dog snoozing on the sofa, there are plenty of dogs who will be most upset by one or all of these above actions on the part of their owner and best friend.  But there are also plenty who will happily sleep through all but the most aggressive onslaught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Which brings us to the next and most important point.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
    \n

    The dog determines what is punishment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    It isn\u2019t what I<\/i> think is mean, or what you<\/i> think is cruel that counts.  You and I have no<\/em> say in what is a punishment for YOUR dog.  Only he can determine that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because for something to be a punisher, the dog has to find it aversive.   In other words it has to be something he fears or dislikes sufficiently for him to work to avoid it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is a good thing in a way because it puts all the arguments about what constitutes a punishment firmly to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s have some examples of how different dogs are<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s say you are trying to load the dishwasher after supper.  Your dog is intent on making sure the plates are thoroughly licked, and you don\u2019t want him to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you smack your dog and he carries on licking those plates, smacking was not a punishment for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If on the other hand you say “Tshsst”  to your dog and he slinks into his bed, you just punished him.   It doesn\u2019t matter that you didn\u2019t touch him or harm him, if he hates the sound “Tshsst”  you still punished him<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another example.  Let’s say your dog is tormenting your cat, chasing him, poking him etc, and your cat is getting fed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you pick up your dog by the scruff of his neck and shake him firmly while saying  Grrrr BAD dog.  You put the dog down and he carries on<\/em> tormenting your cat.  That scruff shake was not a punishment for your dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But if you say Ah-Ah!  to your dog when he places his feet on the kitchen table, and if he immediately stops what he was doing and pretends to be counting floor tiles, you either just punished him or  told him that a punishment was just about to come.  And we\u2019ll look at that next<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    The use of punishment markers or predictors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Many people train their dogs to recognise certain sounds as punishment markers.  For example, they may say “Ah-ah” to their young dog and if he does not comply or break off what he was doing, they then apply some kind of punishment, be it exclusion, a scolding, or whatever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If consistently used in this way “Ah-ah” becomes a punishment marker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dogs that don\u2019t find Tsst aversive in itself, may still work to avoid the sound Tsst if it has become a punishment marker for that dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What about corrections?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    People often say that they are ‘correcting’ their dog.  I have used this term myself in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The word ‘correction’ is actually a euphemism for ‘mild punishment’. It often makes us feel better to think we are ‘correcting’ the dog rather than punishing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It isn’t a very helpful word if you eventually want to progress to force-free training as it allows us to avoid recognising that we are still using punishment on our dogs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Punishment is not defined by how much it hurts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    So, punishment in dog training is not about the degree of force involved.  Nor is it about the amount of harm involved – harming and harsh treatment are acts of cruelty.  Punishment is not necessarily cruel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But is punishment helpful to dog trainers? Do we really need to use punishment, even mild punishment, in order to have a well behaved dog?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At one time, the answer from me and from most dog trainers worldwide, would have been a resounding yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But there has been a massive change in dog training principles and practises over the last few years, and nowadays, many trainers would answer a resounding no.   Let\u2019s look at the arguments from both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Benefits of training with punishment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There are benefits to some dog trainers in using punishment in dog training.  It is tempting for me to say that there are not, but there are.  And we need to take these into account when deciding how to train our dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Comfort zones<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Most professional dog trainers – especially those over forty years old, learned to train dogs using traditional and often quite punitive methods.  This then is their comfort zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They feel at home with what they know, and learning a whole new skill is really quite a big deal for them.  For them, the benefit of punishment is that they know how it works, and can get results from it without spending time learning something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Faster proofing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There are some aspects of proofing in dog training that can sometimes be achieved more quickly using traditional methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Proofing is where we teach dogs to respond to our voice or whistle in a wide variety of different circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some of the more unusual situations where we want dogs to obey us are more complicated or involved to set up in a force-free matter.  Especially with a dog that has no previous experience of force free training<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Celebrity effect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The celebrity effect is not a benefit of punitive training, but it is a reason that training with punishment still holds an appeal for many dog owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is possible to achieve apparently dramatic training effects in the short term using fear and intimidation.  This is because frightened dogs tend to \u2018shut down\u2019 and do nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This makes brilliant television.  In the space of thirty minutes or an hour, you can appear to see a dog whose owner\u2019s problem is \u2018fixed\u2019.  Viewers don’t see the fall-out from this kind of training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, if punishment is not necessarily cruel, and if it has some benefits, why is the use of punishment in dog training declining?  And why do so many websites, including this one, now advocate reward-based training methods?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To understand that, we now need to look at the disadvantages of training with punishment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Disadvantages of training with punishment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Some of the disadvantages of punishment have only recently come to light. Others have been recognised for much longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Social attitudes to punishment have changed significantly in the last twenty years or so, and those who continue to use punishment now face increasing public disapproval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Smacking dogs (and children) was once considered completely normal and acceptable.  In the UK at least, if you smack your dog in a public place, you are quite likely to be assaulted by a passing stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This change in attitude is accelerating the change in training methods, but it isn’t the sole cause.  There are good reasons why dog trainers and behaviourists are on board with modern training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Aggression<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Importantly, we now know that using punishment is associated with a higher incidence of aggression in the dogs themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Several studies have shown that dogs trained even with what most of us would consider a very mild form of punishment, are more likely to be aggressive than dogs trained purely with rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is an important consideration for the safety of those living with dogs, and  in a world where a dog\u2019s life may depend on his temperament, for the safety of dogs themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Slow learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    From your point of view as a dog owner, one of the biggest disadvantages of training with punishment lies in how long it takes to establish new behaviours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Modern training methods are very fast ways to teach a dog to sit, come, lie down, walk next to you and so on.  LINK to dog training methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Punitive methods slow learning in two ways.   They make dogs afraid to make decisions for fear of making the wrong choice, and they often involve the use of a process called \u2018modelling\u2019 where the dog is manipulated into different positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Modelling slows learning by creating the wrong association between a command and the muscle movements that accompany it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Not only that, but modern methods are the ONLY way of teaching dogs to do a whole range of fun things that don\u2019t come naturally to them (unloading the washing machine for example) Many of the things we want assistance dogs to do nowadays simply cannot be taught with force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Spiralling punishment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    One key disadvantage of punishment, to both you and your dog is that punishment has a natural tendency to escalate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many dogs have powerful instincts and urges.  It takes powerful punishments to diminish them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In addition, many dogs are tough characters.  A light smack or a tap on the nose that is effective at punishing a six month old dog, may no longer work at nine months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And what works at nine months may fail at twelve.  In this way it is possible to get into a horrible spiral of escalating punishment that ultimately ends in abuse and physical harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why is punishment declining?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Part of the reason for the decline in the use of punishment in dog training is the shift in our attitude to dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nowadays, most of us see dogs as beloved family members.  Together with a general social shift away from physical punishment, this means that fewer people want to punish dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The disadvantages outweigh the benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On balance, the disadvantages of training with punishment greatly outweigh the advantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Speed of proofing using punishment is balanced against speed of establishing a wide variety of different skills using reward based methods. Coupled with the risk of causing aggression and the tendency for punishment to escalate, this makes punishment-free training very appealing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We are improving at dog training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    At the same time, our knowledge and ability to train without punishment has escalated. We now have role models to follow and mentors to lead us and skilled trainers to teach us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Police dogs, guide dogs, bomb detection dogs, and assistance dogs are all trained using modern positive reinforcement techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dogs trained without force are succeeding in competition in ring and field. The barriers are coming down and force free training is now available to most of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Can we train dogs effectively without punishment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Whether or not training without punishment is possible was once hotly debated.  But the verdict is now clear.   It is entirely possible to take a dog to a very high standard of obedience using modern methods and avoiding the use of punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So if you want to have a go, don\u2019t let anyone tell you otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Punishment in dog training  is any consequence you as his trainer apply to your dog’s behaviour and which results in him doing it less<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It doesn\u2019t have to be harsh or cruel, it simply has to be something that the dog finds unpleasant and will work to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For most of us, and for most dogs, the disadvantages of training with punishment outweigh the benefits.  The dog training world is now moving away from the use of punishment, and many dogs nowadays, including many of our amazing service dogs, are trained without the use of aversives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Check out our training pages to find out more about training without punishment and don\u2019t forget to join our forum for help and support from others who are training this way too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    People sometimes ask me how to punish or discipline a dog or puppy.  Yet many people nowadays do not punish their Labradors and some believe that no-one should be allowed to punish a dog. Punishment in dog training is actually on the decline.  And not everyone agrees that this is a good thing.  Today we\u2019re…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-labrador-training-articles"],"yoast_head":"\nPunishment In Dog Training - How It Works And If You Should Use It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Should you punish your dog? We look at the pros and cons of punishing dogs, and ask if training dogs without punishment can ever really work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Punishment In Dog Training - How It Works And If You Should Use It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Should you punish your dog? We look at the pros and cons of punishing dogs, and ask if training dogs without punishment can ever really work.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Labrador Site\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-26T06:35:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T11:16:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"688\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pippa Mattinson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pippa Mattinson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pippa Mattinson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cfd930db92862dd13408d3cc05ea59d0\"},\"headline\":\"Should You Ever Punish Your Dog? The Great Debate!\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-26T06:35:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T11:16:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\"},\"wordCount\":2688,\"commentCount\":20,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Labrador Training Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\",\"name\":\"Punishment In Dog Training - How It Works And If You Should Use It\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-26T06:35:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T11:16:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"Should you punish your dog? We look at the pros and cons of punishing dogs, and ask if training dogs without punishment can ever really work.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg\",\"width\":1220,\"height\":688,\"caption\":\"use of punishment in training labradors\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Should You Ever Punish Your Dog? The Great Debate!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Labrador Site\",\"description\":\"All about Labrador Retrievers\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Labrador Site\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"The Labrador Site\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cfd930db92862dd13408d3cc05ea59d0\",\"name\":\"Pippa Mattinson\",\"description\":\"Pippa Mattinson is the best selling author of several books on dogs. She is the founder of the Labrador Site and a regular contributor. She is passionate about helping people enjoy their Labradors and lives in Hampshire with her husband and four dogs.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/author\/pippa\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Punishment In Dog Training - How It Works And If You Should Use It","description":"Should you punish your dog? We look at the pros and cons of punishing dogs, and ask if training dogs without punishment can ever really work.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Punishment In Dog Training - How It Works And If You Should Use It","og_description":"Should you punish your dog? We look at the pros and cons of punishing dogs, and ask if training dogs without punishment can ever really work.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/","og_site_name":"The Labrador Site","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite","article_published_time":"2015-08-26T06:35:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-01T11:16:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1220,"height":688,"url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Pippa Mattinson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pippa Mattinson","Est. reading time":"13 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/"},"author":{"name":"Pippa Mattinson","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cfd930db92862dd13408d3cc05ea59d0"},"headline":"Should You Ever Punish Your Dog? The Great Debate!","datePublished":"2015-08-26T06:35:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T11:16:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/"},"wordCount":2688,"commentCount":20,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg","articleSection":["Labrador Training Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/","name":"Punishment In Dog Training - How It Works And If You Should Use It","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg","datePublished":"2015-08-26T06:35:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T11:16:39+00:00","description":"Should you punish your dog? We look at the pros and cons of punishing dogs, and ask if training dogs without punishment can ever really work.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training.jpg","width":1220,"height":688,"caption":"use of punishment in training labradors"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/punishment-in-dog-training\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Should You Ever Punish Your Dog? The Great Debate!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/","name":"The Labrador Site","description":"All about Labrador Retrievers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#organization","name":"The Labrador Site","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cropped-Labrador-Site-Dogsnet-Family-Logo2.png","width":200,"height":200,"caption":"The Labrador Site"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theLabradorSite"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cfd930db92862dd13408d3cc05ea59d0","name":"Pippa Mattinson","description":"Pippa Mattinson is the best selling author of several books on dogs. She is the founder of the Labrador Site and a regular contributor. She is passionate about helping people enjoy their Labradors and lives in Hampshire with her husband and four dogs.","url":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/author\/pippa\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":40,"label":"Labrador Training Articles"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/punishment-dog-training-1024x577.jpg",1024,577,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Pippa Mattinson","author_link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/author\/pippa\/"},"comment_info":20,"category_info":[{"term_id":40,"name":"Labrador Training Articles","slug":"labrador-training-articles","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":40,"taxonomy":"category","description":"A well trained Labrador is a happy Labrador. Training creates a fantastic bond between dog and owner, as well as teaching them great manners. Our articles cover everything you need to know, from recall, to sit, stay, fetch and much more. ","parent":0,"count":68,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":40,"category_count":68,"category_description":"A well trained Labrador is a happy Labrador. Training creates a fantastic bond between dog and owner, as well as teaching them great manners. Our articles cover everything you need to know, from recall, to sit, stay, fetch and much more. ","cat_name":"Labrador Training Articles","category_nicename":"labrador-training-articles","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12079"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12079"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42466,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12079\/revisions\/42466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}