Training through punishment compromises a dog’s well-being

Dogs trained using aversive stimuli become more anxious and stressed, according to a new study. If the training method relies on frequent punishment, this distressed state persists in other everyday situations.   How should you train your dog? That’s the question every new dog owner asks. There are many training methods, but a new study examines certain practices that have already come under criticism. Indeed, aversive training—which punishes dogs for inappropriate behavior—is not universally accepted and is strongly disapproved of due to its harmful effects on canine well-being. Previous studies, primarily based on surveys, had sought to demonstrate that training based on punishment contributes to reduced animal welfare. But until now, there was no scientific evidence to support this conclusion. That has now changed with the first large-scale, systematic study examining how different training methods influence well-being during and after the animal’s training. Researchers observed the behavior of 92 dogs trained in Portugal using so-called aversive methods—which rely on punishment as the primary motivator—positive methods—which reward and encourage desired behaviors—and mixed methods—which combine rewards and punishments. Ultimately, dogs trained using aversive and mixed methods exhibited more anxious behaviors (barking and crouching), and their levels of cortisol—a stress-related hormone—increased after each training session, compared to dogs trained using a positive method. By measuring the animals’ underlying emotional state, the authors also found that dogs trained with aversive methods respond more negatively to unfamiliar situations they encounter, suggesting that this state of anxiety persists over time and influences their behavior in various contexts. These results thus show that aversive training induces lasting suffering in animals and negatively affects their behavior, not only during training sessions but also in everyday life, particularly when used frequently. For these reasons, this training method should be avoided in dogs.