A seasoned dog trainer has shared insights on when and how he believes in “punishing” a puppy.
Canine expert Will Atherton, with more than 900,000 followers on TikTok, imparts dog training wisdom and breed recommendations tailored to various lifestyles and temperaments. In one of his latest clips, which has been viewed more than 7,000 times, Will addresses a viewer’s query: “Is it okay to punish my puppy?”
He discussed how the term “punishment” often harbours “very negative connotations and negative emotions” yet in essence, it simply denotes any measure resulting in a reduction of undesirable behaviour.
Will posited that such action could encompass “anything”, like a “noise going off” that leads to a dog stopping a certain behaviour. He elaborated: “Technically, that behaviour has been punished.”
Will went on: “And I believe that as canine leaders, as owners of dogs bringing dogs into our home, that we have a responsibility and a duty of care to teach them what we do want we do want from them.
“But just as importantly, help them understand what it is that we don’t want from them, in a language that they understand, in a way that is as kind as possible.”
Delving deeper in his video’s caption, Will underscored the significance of guiding dogs towards desirable actions “with rewards and reinforcement” while discouraging unwanted conduct “by challenging those behaviours in as fair and consistent a way as possible”.
In his career as a canine behaviourist, he’s encountered thousands of dogs that “know what’s expected of them and have great obedience, but they’ve never been taught what not to do”.
As a result, he said dogs may become “riddled with frustration, anxiety and fear” as their relationship with their owner deteriorates. He insisted that the solution is to “quickly communicate to the dog that ‘I’m steering the ship now’ and they don’t have to worry anymore”.
Will said this approach will make both dog and owner “way happier”.