Greenhill Humane Society follows the recommendations of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) regarding the training we provide for the animals in our care, the training instruction we provide our staff and volunteers, and the trainers we recommend to the public. AVSAB recommends trainers that follow the scientifically based principles of positive reinforcement, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, desensitization, and counter conditioning. AVSAB does not endorse dominance hierarchy theory or the use of punishment to modify behavior as this involves the use of adversives, force, coercion, and physical corrections. In addition to the risk of physical harm to the animal, punishment can also have unintended consequences such as strengthening the undesired behavior, causing aggression, and creating extreme fear in the animal. Our focus is on lowering the stress associated with the shelter environment, providing enrichment activities, making learning new skills easy and fun, reinforcing desirable behaviors, and preventing the rehearsal of undesirable behavior. Here is a PDF for more information about Positive Reinforcement Training.