Training a new dog can sometimes be frustrating. During the training process, accidents may happen at home, things may get damaged, and overwhelmed dog parents may sometimes become annoyed to the point of yelling. What was once considered a harmless, mild, punishment-type training method is now proven to have long-lasting effects on our beloved companions, and it's time to think twice.

Does the owner’s training style affect the dog’s habits?

Now that we have a variety of training institutions and training resources, it is important to understand what are the most common training methods provided by dog ​​training institutions. When you research what training methods are available, you will often see these two training methods:

Positive reinforcement/reward training: reward-based, non-forced clicker training. This training method starts by establishing a mark for correction and how long it takes, and then reinforces the correct behavior through rewards or play time. For example, try using a clicker to teach your dog how to sit on command. Use the clicker every time you want to tell your dog it's time to listen. They will soon realize that once the clicker is out, it's time to pay attention and listen if they want a reward. !When they actually successfully sit down on command, you can reward them by clicking the clicker, and then reward them with food. By using positive reinforcement training, you will have a well-trained dog. Of course this process gets more involved with each new command, but the basic premise is that a command is followed by a reward.

Negative reinforcement/discipline training: This kind of training is based on the dog's fear of punishment to control the dog's behavior. It can be reprimanding the dog loudly, pulling the leash, beating or any other form of "correction" during training. behavior, and do everything possible to teach them basic obedience. While this training method may have been new to the world of dog training, it has now been proven to have long-lasting effects on dogs’ mental health.

Most of the research on dog behavior and punishment training has been conducted on police dogs and military dogs. To find out how dogs actually react to punishment, scientists at the University of Porto in Portugal (research led by Ana Catarina Vieira de Castro) recruited 42 dogs for reward-based training (with food or playtime as a reward), and 50 dogs Dogs undergo punishment training (including scolding and whipping).

In order to accurately measure the dogs' stress levels, each dog's saliva was tested for the stress hormone cortisol before and after training, and their training process was recorded. The short-term result is that more "fear-based" punishment-based training results in higher cortisol levels in dogs' saliva during training and in the following hours after training.Same. They also display physiological signs of stress, such as lip licking and yawning. Dogs trained with positive reinforcement did not experience any spikes in cortisol levels or develop stress-related body language. It's obvious that the training method you choose can have an immediate impact on your dog's stress levels, but what about the long-term effects?

To find out whether their training methods had lasting effects, the team studied how 79 dogs responded to food rewards. First, they trained each dog to associate one side of the room with the tasty sausage. If the bowl was on that side of the room, there would be sausage in it, whereas every bowl on the other side of the room would always be empty. They then placed an empty bowl at various locations between the two extremes and measured how quickly each dog approached the new bowl. The researchers divided the dogs in the study into pessimistic and optimistic dogs. Optimistic dogs receive reward-based training in their training, while pessimistic dogs receive milder punishment-based training. Researchers explain these two personality differences as glass-half-full and half-empty personalities. An "optimistic" dog will eagerly approach the bowl in the hope of finding a sausage, while a "pessimistic" dog will approach the bowl slowly and appear more uneasy. Pessimistic dogs also happen to be associated with separation anxiety and a variety of behavioral problems. The more severe the punishment they receive, the more severe the consequences.

This study shows that the way we train our dogs can have a lasting impact on them. While the study doesn't address the effectiveness of the training methods or which method is "better," it's clear that the long-lasting effects on dogs can be sad. Some studies even show that reward-based training can help our dogs better understand and accept their training process, rather than just fearing a certain action. No matter which method you choose, it’s now clear that reward-based training is better for your dog’s happiness and mental health.

Reward-based training is also considered to be more effective in instilling obedience in any situation. In fear-based training, the dog often associates the fear of punishment with the person training it. With this training method, your dog may not follow commands if you're not around. With reward-based training, everyone who issues a command may bring a reward!

Although dogs have many behaviors that are difficult for people to understand, we can treat them in a friendly and fearless way. The next time you feel like yelling at your dog, remember that their happiness and comfort are in your hands.