Article: This cannot be emphasized enough! Physical punishment has few benefits, if any, and many negative consequences. For example, your pet may become fearful and wary of you. Depending on your pet’s temperament, he may actually become more aggressive if you physically punish him.  The bad behavior may also become worse.  Examples of physical punishment including hitting, whipping, choking, and using devices that choke.  Physical punishment can injure your pet.  Physical punishment can also quickly escalate to animal abuse.  Although physical punishment is rarely warranted, it may be appropriate for horses who are especially dangerous and aggressive.  Physical punishment may also be warranted in situations in which the animal may other injure himself, you, or others. This is crucial to maintaining a good relationship with your pet when he misbehaves. Whichever type of pet you have, yelling at him is not an effective method of reprimanding him for bad behavior. Your pet will likely become fearful and wary of you, and may even hide from you if he can. Rather than yell him, you could let him know that he has misbehaved by saying ‘no’ in an authoritative voice. Reprimanding your pet after he has done something wrong is ineffective because he will not know why you are reprimanding him. This can cause your pet to become confused and maybe even fearful of you, both of which can hurt the relationship you have with him. It is recommended to issue your reprimand  immediately —within 1 to 2 seconds of the bad behavior. For example, if you come home one day and notice that your cat has scratched up your furniture or your dog has chewed up your shoes, it is too late to reprimand him at that point. If you do not reprimand your pet each time that he does the bad behavior, he will likely not understand that the behavior is bad. For example, if you do not give your cat a time out each time that he plays roughly, he will not associate his behavior with an undesirable consequence, and may keep on doing it.  It is very important that you reprimand bad behavior 100% of the time that it happens.  Another way to be consistent is to use the same cue or action each time you reprimand the behavior. Some pets may demonstrate behavior because they are afraid of a certain situation, and not because of willful misbehavior. Reprimanding fear-based behavior will not only make your pet’s fear worse, but may cause him to become increasingly aggressive.  If your pet has fear-based bad behavior, you should promptly remove him from the situation that makes him fearful. If possible, prevent repeated exposures to the fearful situation.  If preventing the fearful situation is not possible, you can gradually re-expose your pet to the situation to decrease his fear and lessen his fear-based behavior. Your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist can provide helpful guidance on how to do this. Stereotypies are abnormal behaviors that can develop when an animal is an abnormal environment. Stereotypies are often repetitive and typically do not perform any function. An example of a stereotype is cribbing—when a horse bites down an inanimate and stationary object and sucks in air. It can be difficult to stop your pet from engaging in stereotypes. It is best to seek the expertise of your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist to correct the stereotypical behavior. Your dog or cat will not learn anything from you rubbing his face in his urine and feces. This is  not  an effective method of reprimand. Your pet may end up fearing you and might even hide from you when he has to go to the bathroom. Your dog or cat may also end up thinking that  you’re  the one with bad behavior.

What is a summary?
Do not physically punish your pet. Do not yell at your pet. Do not reprimand your pet after the fact. Avoid inconsistency when reprimanding bad behavior. Do not reprimand fear-based behavior. Do not reprimand stereotypes. Do not rub your dog or cat’s face in his urine and feces.