How To Discipline A Dog
Dogs are very intelligent creatures but we owners should not assume that they have humans ability to comprehend and to separate what is right from what is wrong. A dog that is allowed to jump on a master wearing old shirt and jeans will not understand why its usual way of greeting is not be appreciated by the female master wearing stockings and a deceptively simple but very expensive designer dress.
What disciplinary methods can you use to manage a dog’s undesirable destructive chewing and excessive barking behaviors and control its tendency to chase and torment other pets and to eat spoiled food from the trash cans? Dogs are highly attuned to what humans feel thus these animals can easily interpret and understand the facial expression and body movement of human. A dog that had destroyed your favorite $500 bag will slink under the table when it sees the anger in your face. The dog may look repentant but the pet owner should not be complacent as the dog’s bad habits will surface again and again. It is not always possible for pet owners to constantly supervise the dog thus to prevent the pet from being destructive it has to be disciplined. After seeing the destruction or the mess created by the pet, the dog owner may physically punish or scream at the dog however, this will not accomplish anything more so if the destruction was done much earlier. The dog would not learn anything and would never associate the smacking to the bag-chewing incident.
In a dog/human relationship, the human should always be viewed as the leader of the pack. Dogs being lower in rank must follow humans. Training would be an effective method of disciplining the pet. Training would be more successful if conducted while the dog is still a puppy. Dogs have the tendency to obey commands given in an authoritative voice.
To discipline the dog, you can use methods that will discourage the dog from being destructive . Bitter apple discourages the dog from chewing things and a spray of cold water stops the dog’s excessive barking.
To make the dog associate the disciplinary action with the bad behavior, reprimands must be made while the dog is doing the act. As soon as the dog is seen about to do one of its destructive acts give a STOP or NO command. Disciplining the dog cannot be accomplished at once but consistent training that is reinforced with lots of praise and treats will eventually modify the dogs unwanted behavior.
Learn more about how to discipline a dog and dog first aid at Sarah’s Dogs.
Originally posted: How To Discipline A Dog
