In training, negative punishment simply means removing something the dog wants in order to decrease an unwanted behavior. No fear, no intimidation—just removing access to a reward so the dog can settle and make a better choice. In the video, you see five dogs getting a little too rambunctious during play. Instead of letting the excitement escalate into chaos, we use a command they already know—“down”—and temporarily remove the opportunity to play. Here’s what’s happening: The reward they want =