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This answer got me thinking, is corporal punishment really an effective training method for dogs? Without doubt there are people firmly on both sides of any position like this, so answers that we have always done it 'this way' are not what I am looking for.

Are there any reliable studies, showing the effectiveness of corporal punishment, versus other training methods in dogs? Alternately any studies that show effectiveness of any particular line of training that be compared in your answer to corporal punishment as a method.

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James Jenkins
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No, corporal punishment is not an effective training method.

Hiby et al reviewed dog training results, but included corporal punishment under the broader category of punishment based training (including yelling at the dog and putting him out) and concluded

Overall, our results suggest that punishment-based training is not effective at reducing the incidence of problematic behaviours, and its use seems to be linked with the increased occurrence of potential problems.

EF Hiby, NJ Rooney, and JWS Bradshaw. Dog training methods: their use, effectiveness and interaction with behaviour and welfare. Animal Welfare 2004, 13: 63-69.

accessed 2/8/2014

Herron, et al performed a study focused on the dog's response to specific negative training techniques, and noted that 43% of the dogs in the study (12/28) responded aggressively when they were hit or kicked for exhibiting undesirable behavior. This display of aggression is a safety concern for the owner, as well as not being a desireable training outcome.

"Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors" Meghan E. Herron, Frances S. Shofer, Ilana R. Reisner Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117 (2009) 47–54

accessed online Feb 7 2014

Zaralynda
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Though the general consensus is against corporal punishment, I must say that it has its place. Corporal punishment may not be the preferred method, but it is certainly useful. Dogs, like all intelligent mammals, learn simple concepts quickly by pain or fear.

A two-finger slap on the nose while rubbing a puppy's nose in his droppings is considered acceptable. Be sure to follow this up with taking the droppings outside with the puppy and petting him with the droppings outside. Additionally, when the puppy leaves droppings outside pet him as well. Thus, droppings in the house are associated with the negative corporal punishment and droppings outside are associated with pleasure.

A more extreme example is any dog who has been hit by a car and is now afraid of the road. The dog learns to associate the road with pain, and thus avoid it. This may be corporal consequences as opposed to strictly corporal punishment, but I argue that any effective punishment (for dogs, children, or even employees) should be construed and presented as a consequence if at all possible.

dotancohen
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I think that dog training styles go in and out of fashion, and the preference for non-aversive training is not so much "science" as the current fashion. Corporal punishment of dogs should be reserved for the most serious infractions (i.e., pottying in the house, counter-surfing, destruction of furniture, and going into the street).

Jason
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