Finding The Facts From The Myths In Punishing Your Dog

Through time there have been many ideas on the correct way to punish a dog. Most of today's dog trainers are complete opposites compared to their peers 50 or even 25 years ago. The punishments were physically painful but also very confusing to the dog. It also perhaps increased aggression in a lot of cases. With the development in canine psychology and our better understanding between the owner and canine bond these counter productive methods are a thing of the past. Today dog Trainers often believe that physically punishing a dog often makes the dog mistrust his owner.

    There are a few factors to think about when how to punish your dog:

1 - Your Dogs Age? You first need to establish that a puppy has done something wrong before you decide to punish him. Ease in to the severity of the punishment as your dog grows older, don't punish your puppy as you would an adult dog.

2 - The Size Of Your Dog? You wouldn't punish a Mastiff the same way you would a Yorkie right? Regardless of size all Dogs need socialisation, obedience and plain old manners. And regardless of size Dogs need to know how to react with their human, but larger dogs may require a sterner, louder "no" or maybe guide them the correct way to do something with a little more strength.

3 - Your Dogs Breed? Different breeds often require different training and punishment methods. Some breeds are so smart that they can be difficult to train, they may learn something in a couple sessions and then get bored. Maybe they end up out smarting you in to getting more rewards. Like wise some breeds require a little more time to figure things out and when you're punishing them they may become confused as to what they did wrong.

4 - Your Training Experience? If you're a first time dog owner you should definitely sign up for a group dog training class. They are so helpful, far beyond learning the basic commands. They not only help train the dog obedience they train you how to properly handle and correct your dog to the point where it becomes second nature. Even if it's been a while since you have had dogs around, classes couldn't hurt. If anything it's a great socialising experience for your companion.

5 - Which Punishments You Feel Comfortable With? Everybody has a different demeanour, some are soft spoken some are loud. Find what works best for you and your dog. If you are normally soft spoken than that's how your dog knows you, there is no reason to shout out "no" like someone else might, just enough to where your dog knows he did something wrong.

    When Punishing Your Dog Avoid The Following:

• Hitting your dog with your hand, or an object like a newspaper.

• Kicking or striking out towards your dog, that just causes fear.

• Rubbing his nose in a pee spot. If your dog or puppy peed in the house just think of it as your mistake and take steps to prevent it next time, unless you catch him in the act. In that case a stern "no" will work and then take him outside immediately.

• Using training collars, such as "pinch" or "shock" collars with out first consulting your vet or dog trainer first. Using These often will result in far more problems than you had to start.

    Always:

• Try to use a happy positive voice when your dog has done good, and like wise use your stern, mad voice when has done wrong or incorrectly. Never scream or hit, I wouldn't listen to that so why should he. • Try to use age appropriate punishments.

• Remember that your dog only understand a handful of words, so a lecture will do no good.

• Try and train him to respond to words like "Off", "Leave it", "No" and "Quiet".

• Try not to confuse your dog, don't use "Down" for getting off the couch or no jumping when you already use it for "lay down".

• Put your dog in time outs when he has done something wrong. Put him in a bed room or spare room for a few minutes so he knows you are unhappy with what he did. Keep it under 10 minutes, anything longer than that and he will start to wonder why he is being punished.

• Read up on your breed of dog so you know generally how they will react to punishment. Some breeds or more sensitive than others and some are more independent.

• Don't be scared to ask a professional trainer for help, that's their job. And try not to expect to much out of your companion, sometimes you just have to give them a break, their just dogs.