Not F***ing Cheerios, That's for Sure

Yesterday a friend told us a joke.
One night, two boys decide to swear in front of their mother to see what happens. The next morning they come for breakfast and the mother asks "So what would you boys like for breakfast?"

The first boy says, "I'll have some f***ing Cheerios."
"What did you say?  the mother blows up and gives him such a smack that he falls off his chair.

She then asks the other boy, "What do you want for breakfast?"
The boy replies, "I don't know but not f***ing Cheerios, that's for sure."

We laughed—it's a pretty funny joke.

Then I suddenly saw a parallel to dog training.


How much can a dog learn from being punished?

Not only punishing your dog will hurt your relationship—is there any way the dog can actually figure out what they're being punished for?

A human being should be able to reason out what the real cause of the punishment was. Though, let's face it, overall, as a species, we don't learn very well at all.

If the dog cannot figure out what the problem was, how are they going learn anything?

Dogs are very good learners but only when they understand the cause and effect. With punishment, the best case scenario is that they won't learn much of anything. The worst case scenario is that they'll learn fear.



I think we should all mediate on this joke and how it relates to dog training.

Related articles:

From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization  
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed  
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat 
Observation Skills Of Dogs  
If You Want Your Dog To Do Something, Teach It  
Tricks? It's Not Just About The Tricks 
What Constitutes The Perfect Dog?
Are Dog Training Classes Really For The Dogs?  
Look Where You Want To Go: Finding My Reactive Dog Training Zen Zone? 
Dog Training And Emotions 
Dog Training And Emotions: Postscript
Dogs Love Sentences In Question Form?
Not All Dog Trainers Were Created Equal Either 
A Thought On Separation Anxiety
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
About Freedom, Trust And Responsibility: A "Pilot Study"
So, We Have A Bear 
About Happiness: What Makes Your Dog Happy? 
Our Example Of The Use Of "Look At That" (LAT) 
Why Do Dogs Dig?
Who Is In The Wrong?
Your Dog Wants To Follow You. You Just Gotta Be Going Some Place
We Still Have Two Dogs: A "Pilot Study" Part Two  
Early Winter Safety: Exploring New Territories
Cookie Is Okay. We ... Might Be, Eventually. (Don't Try This At Home)
One Thing I Love About Winter: I See What They "See" 
Give Your Dog What They Need, Get What You Want
Cookie, The First Of The Great Hunting Rottweilers  
Distance Is a Relative Concept  
Dog Communication: Be Good to Cookie or She'll Tell on You
The Benefit of the Doubt  
Putting The Guilty Dog Look To Rest?
The Stench of Fear: Is There Good and Bad Timing for Vet Visits? 
I am a Helicopter Dog Mom
Routines: Easy Come, Hard to Go
Mosquito Apocalypse 
Things Always Change: Cookie's Hunting Adventures 
The Advantage of Your Dog Not Barking All the Time: Cookie Saves Horses' Asses
"Look at That" (LAT) Game and Barking at Traffic  
The Role of Thresholds in Dog Training and Behavior 
Dog Days of Summer: Keeping an Eye on Cookie 
Dog Days of Summer: Cookie Gets Her SprinklerThe Evolution of My View on What Is and Isn't Dirty  



Comments

  1. Well put! Thanks. (And I liked the joke too.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kelley. It IS a funny joke, isn't it? Only a crazy dog person would think of dog training while laughing at it :-)

      Delete
  2. Good joke and excellent point. I'm afraid dogs don't have the ability to put cause & effect into context - especially after the fact.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no way for them to figure it out after the fact. I still remember what Stanley Coren described in one of his books, when an owner comes home to torn up shoes. The dog knows he's in trouble and perhaps might know that it has something to do with the shoe pieces, so he's thinking, "should I have made smaller pieces? "Should I have arrange them further apart?"

      Delete
  3. That joke is such a perfect encapsulation of why punishment does not work! Unfortunately it took me far too long to figure out with my previous dogs that removing access to the trash (management) was the solution instead of yelling at them when I came home to a garbage party. Thanks for joining the Hop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lara. You did figure it out, that's what's important :-)

      Delete
  4. That's my new favorite joke, and a perfect example regarding using punishment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jen. I thought of that parallel almost immediately. I'm totally gone to the dogs, aren't I?

      Delete
  5. How clever to tie the joke, which I liked too btw, to dog training. I think positive reinforcement works well with humans too LOL.
    I still come home to a garbage party quite regularly (only the recycling is within the little ninja's reach, sort of). I never punish Kilo of course, but I'm pretty sure he knows I do not appreciate the mess. However the fun of playing with all the plastic bottles etc is well worth any sighs from me. The only solution is to keep looking for better spots out of reach. XS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping using the joke might make it easier to sink in.

      Yes, the easiest way to deal with garbage parties is management/keeping it out of reach. I our house, bottles and boxes are allowed; Cookie doesn't steal any but she'll ask when she wants one LOL

      Some days the floor looks like a battle field.

      Delete
  6. Wow. That video is really impactful. I will definitely share.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome video, isn't it? Poor guy and everybody's laughing. Kind of can't help that.

      Delete
  7. Oh love this post. I hate it when I see negative reinforcement being used inappropriately. Great info and I like the joke too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :-) I'm happy not to use negative reinforcement at all, other than clearing of the throat every now and then or a shout to stop a mad dash to some place.

      Delete
  8. You are so right about punishment! It doesn't really work well for anyone - especially not our pets. Cats don't respond well to punishment either. It can actually set training back a ways. Positive reinforcement is the only thing that actually teaches the intended lesson.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. It's true for dogs too.

      Delete
  9. Poor Isidro! What a trouper he is to have continued with the experiment. Excellent video, I loved that joke too & how the joke tied in to it perfectly. Having lunch w/ my good friend Barbara today, I'm going to tell her that joke, I bet she'll crack up laughing like I did! Thanks for an excellent post.
    Love & Biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cathy, I hope Barbara will enjoy the joke too. And hopefully, it might do some good to the dogs out there.

      Delete
  10. Punishment doesn't work for our fur children (not really for humans either). Thank you for sharing the information.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gotta wonder when were finally going to learn that as a species.

      Delete
  11. Haha very interesting. Love the video as well!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think everybody who has a dog should see that video.

      Delete

Post a Comment