Pitfalls of Punishment

The following is the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior position statement on the pitfalls and possible adverse effects of punishment:

• "Timing punishment correctly is difficult.
• Punishment can strengthen the undesirable behavior.
• The punishment must be strong enough to be effective, but intense punishment can lead to physical harm.
• Regardless of the strength, punishment can cause some animals to become extremely fearful, and this fear can generalize to other contexts.
• Punishment can facilitate or even cause aggressive behavior.
• Punishment can suppress behaviors, including those behaviors that warn of aggression.Punishment can teach the animal to associate the owners, other animals, specific contexts, or Eenvironments with bad experiences.
• Punishment often does not address the underlying cause of behaviors or teach alternate behaviors."