Veterinary Behavior Society Reminder: Punishment Usually Doesn’t Work
I believe B. F. Skinner was the first person to point out animals (including humans) respond more favorably to positive reinforcement than they do to punishment. In other words, if you want to train your dog, cat or spouse it is more effective to reward good behavior than to punish bad behavior.
A news item in the February 15, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association reinforces that notion. Here is an excerpt.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has issued a position statement and guidelines on the use of punishment for dealing with behavior problems in animals.
The guidelines clarify that while punishment can be effective in specific contexts, it also has an association with many adverse effects.
The news item goes on to point out that punishment, as it is employed by most people, is ineffective. In fact, it can lead to increases in undesirable behaviors such as aggression. It can weaken the bond between the punisher and the punished, and it may cause animals to become generally fearful.
Many people punish their pets out of anger, do not use punishments consistently, or time punishments inappropriately. Unless you have training in animal behavior, it is unlikely that punishing your pet will bring about desirable behavior changes.
So there you have it. The next time you come home and find garbage strewn all over the house, resist the urge to yell at the dog. It might help you blow off steam, but it won’t keep your pet out of the trash in the future.
You have questions. 
I’m a positive methods of training advocate. When I used negative methods, my dog were like oh, are we done yet?. Now that I use positive they’re like oh, I can’t wait for another treat. this is fun!
I’ve always successfully used a system that favored positive reinforcement, though negative punishment is used, it’s normally to indicate that I am displeased with the choice of actions and followed by a switch to a positive behavior and praise.
Though, my “system” of training was developed through a lot of reading and actually working with a professional trainer (My first experience with a professional training class was superb, and I strongly recommend that every dog attends classes as a puppy, even if the owner no longer needs it. Professional Trainings will have the most up to date information on training if they’re going to conferences and really doing their jobs properly).
My cats are both perfectly well behaved, no excessive scratching, no soiling, no aggression, no begging or stealing food, and they pay attention. How? Easy - we pay attention to them. If they don’t want to be tickled or wriggle when we pick them up, we put them down. They always have a tidy litter tray. They are acknowledged but not spoilt. They have fixed mealtimes and don’t scrounge because they have never been given treats from the dinner table, and on the rare occasion they get people food its only when we have totally finished. Their mealtimes are theirs and ours are ours. They know some vocal commands, but are not overwhelmed by them, and we are consistent with vocal tone and body language. We believe if we respect them as cats, slightly wild and definitely NOT human, we get the best out of them! We don’t need to reward them, in fact they reward US with affection and good manners!