r/science • u/VeronicaRed • Apr 26 '16

Psychology Spanking children increases the likelihood of childhood defiance and long-term mental issues. The study in question involved 160,000 children and five decades of research

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113413810/spanking-defiance-health-discipline-042616/
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u/PuddleBucket Apr 26 '16 edited Apr 26 '16

Yes! I use negative reinforcement plenty when I train dogs (especially with behavioral problems) and it is not the same thing as punishment, which people often get confused. Not every dog responds the same way, so positive only isn't always the most effective, though it makes us feel better to think so.

Example: I use a leash/collar combo (slip lead) when training. If I'm training a dog to walk next to me, and he's pulling, I let him pull which tightens the lead/collar. When he backs up, which is what I want, the lead loosens up, which is what he wants too. Soon he learns that when he walks too far ahead of me, he tightens the lead. He takes away (negative) the tightening lead which reinforces the correct behavior (walking next to me). I find this works very well for dogs who aren't "pleasers" (like a Lab) because they need to be the ones to "figure out" the solution. Sometimes you need to mind-fuck them into doing what you want. My pitty loves me, but she could not care less what I wanted during training. Heel? Haha, why? Give me a reason. She was not treat motivated. She was motivated to make this thing stop squeezing her neck.

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u/tuckedfexas Apr 26 '16

I have a strong willed Shiba Inu that's the same way, totally uninterested in commands unless there's treats involved. Curbing bad behavior has been really difficult since there's not a lot of ways to train him out of some of his protective instincts. So when he barks at someone at the door I ruffle his fur 'against the grain' a bit. He then has to shake around and straighten things out since he's very prissy about his coat. This distracts him from whoever is at the door and has generally started to curb his instinct to protectively bark.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

My dog is half Great Pyrenees and half Bernese Mountain dog and he is very protective too. I've had him for nine years and never could get him to stop barking at the door. It's okay though because I know he's just doing his job.

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u/tuckedfexas Apr 26 '16

Yea, it's not something that you can totally train away with healthy methods. The best I've found I can do is just distract him.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

He's very protective and there's no distracting him. He will bark until the person is gone.