Punishment suppresses behaviors best when it occurs as the respones is being made, or immediately aafterward (timing), and when it is given each time a response occurs (consistency). Thus, a dog that has developed a habit of constantly barking can be effectively (andhumanely) punished if water is sprayed on its nose each time it barks. Ten to fifteen such treatments are usually enough to greatly reduce barking. This would not be the case if punishment were applied occasionally or long after the barking stopped. If you discover that your dog dug up your flower bed while you were gone, it will do little good to punish him hours later. Likewise, the commonly heard childhood threat, "wait till your father comes home, then you'll be sorry," does more to make father an ogre than it does to effectively punush undesirable response.