Do you put them in time out/tap on the nose/squirt bottle/ignore them/Stern "NO!" ?
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Becca is totally devastated by the words "bad dog". I try to keep a level tone, she goes in her crate and gives herself a time out. Once she knew 'leave it' it seemed to work better than 'no' on most occasions.
I think the personality of your puppy plays into how you handle it. I slapped Becca once as a reflex when she nipped me. It was traumatic for both of us.
I tell Ziggy no, and that usually works, but if that doesn't do the trick I will either tap him (gently, very gently) on the head, or, because I know it doesn't pass his personal limits, I will pinch his "cheeks" (chops?) and wiggle his face/head around and give him a firmer "NOOOOOOOO, don't be a bad Corgi."
Note: I never do pinch him hard in the least, just get a grasp on his head and wiggle it around-if he resisted his head being wiggled, I wouldn't even bother-he just takes it and looks at me like "Yes-okay, I get it now, stop with the face." and huffs away after I let go. Doesn't hurt him, I wouldn't dream of doing it if it hurt him... I think it's just more so a matter of he knows that if I'm too far away to touch him, I can't make him stop, and reminding him that I am, and I'm in charge, gets the point more efficiently across.. I don't have much of a clue of how I would properly discipline an actual naughty act--I think that it would land a puppy in a time out in the bathroom or a somewhere similar, boring without any toys for five, ten minutes tops.
Depends on the dog. Maddie never needs more than to be interrupted from what she was doing, to remind her to pay attention. She's a very submissive dog and there is no need to correct.
Jack needed short time-outs as a puppy (two minutes or so, unless he really needed a nap and then he'd fall asleep in time out and I'd leave him there til he woke up). He is a bossy dog who will push to test boundaries all the time. Occasionally if he's really being a brat I'll put him in a down stay and make him hold it for some time, but I'd never do that with a dog much under 18 months. I will admit that once when he was about a year old I gave him a very, very stern talking to when he bit me hard when he was playing (he had already been trained not to) and his teeth have never touched my hand again. I basically held him still and told him that if he ever bit me again I'd have his head on a plate, and I did it in a deep growly voice.
Other than that, mine rarely get corrected because I have taught them words instead. So "leave it" instead of no, "back up" instead of "stop crowding the garbage can", "off" instead of "Stop jumping!!!" and so on. For a general "cut that out" I find an "ah-ah" seems to work well for most dogs. Something about the sharpness of the sound.
Oh, and if there is a scuffle or too much craziness or a loud dog argument in the house, when mama yells "QUIT IT!", everyone in the house stops what they are doing..... if you never yell, when you do it gets their attention in a hurry! The secret to training dogs, I think, is to always ask them quietly and save any voice-raising for when you really need it. If you are yelling at them more than a few times a year, you maybe need to sit down and reassess what you are rewarding!
Remember that it is so much easier to train a dog TO do something than NOT to do something. So better to teach them to sit while you eat than ask them not to beg, or teach them to walk by your side instead of teaching them not to pull, and so on. Every time you catch your dog doing something and find yourself thinking "I don't want my dog to do that," force yourself to change the thought to "What do I want my dog to do in this situation?"
Good luck! Keep it short, keep it fun, and keep expectations very low with growing puppies.
Beth's post really said it all.
For Scout, I usually use a harsh sound, or say "Bad dog" in a low disaproving voice.
To curb her initial problems when I got her (wanting to pick a fight with a dog, chasing animals) she got a time out in the bathroom (a boring small place) and since she HAS to be with me all the time, a couple "groundings" of about 5 minutes did the trick.
Ace is independent by nature so time outs would actually be rewarding him! When he picks up something in his mouth that he shouldn't, I just tell him to Drop It. Like Beth said, it's easier to teach a dog to DO something than to NOT do something. "No" and its variants are so vague that, for a soft dog like Ace, they'd make him shut down because he'd be afraid to do anything, period.
On the other hand, when he is doing a behaviour chain that tends to be self-reinforcing (i.e. not remaining in a sit-stay when the elevator door opens, and running to the courtyard door) I stop him in his tracks with a, "Ah-ah, Ace!" and he does an about turn. I need him to stop on a dime because running itself is such a huge reinforcement for Ace.
A general yell and "hey" is all that's needed. If go over to her quickly and with authority, she'll stop right in her tracks. Luckily it's not often hence not refining my method any. Camber is a good girl almost all the time. She listens and respects me much more than Elys, but she likes Elys more.
I try to use Beth's method. There are some things where discipline seems in order. I used a squirt bottle on Snickers until she learned not to bite Jack hard when herding. I use time outs for excessive barking. I make a game show buzzer noise EHH when they forget and go through a door without permission. Other things I try to redirect. Jack Spaniels is tall enough to counter surf, and every few years he forgets he's not supposed to, so I set up a booby trap of coke cans tied to meat. The rest of the time we try to keep food away from the edge when we step out of the room. He also likes to steal tissues out of the bathroom trash- out comes the hot sauce. The things they sneak to do -because they know better are usually caused by too much freedom and boredom, so I try to avoid those situations. good discussion topic, by the way.
I did use a squirt bottle when Maddie started to harass the cat, but only had to use it twice and in the meantime worked on getting her to look at me instead when I said her name.
Billy would be in HEAVEN if i squirt him with water, he is INFATUATED with it.
Sharp verbal commands work for the most part, except when he shows aggression then I pin him along with verbal command; Or if he acts to rough with my daughter he's pinned also. Tabasco sauce ended his chewing the furniture faze, and 3 squirts of the squirt bottle ended his heel nipping.
Corgis are super smart ^_^ I swear Lemmy knows every work coming from my mouth.
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