How To Discipline A Dog
by Jerry Welsh
Filed under Dogs
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.
So how will you discipline a dog that has the tendency to bark excessively, or one that torments other pets, or one that has a destructive chewing habit or one that has the inclination to raid 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. The dog may not understand that the destroyed bag has made the master angry but seeing the anger on the master’s face the dog would either slink under the table or have an imploring look on its face. The repentant look of the pet is not an assurance that destruction of shoes, bags and other things will not happen again. Unless you do something to discipline the dog, the undesirable act will be repeated again. 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.
It is necessary to make the dog understand that human are the leaders of the pack. The dog has to learn that it is lower in rank and therefore must follow the rules set by the leader. Training would do a lot in preventing development of inappropriate behavior. Training would be more successful if conducted while the dog is still a puppy. Commands to discipline a dog must given in an authoritative voice.
To discipline the dog, you can use methods that will discourage the dog from being destructive . Spray the dog with cold water every time it starts to bark or spray the furniture leg with Bitter Apple.
To make the dog associate the disciplinary action with the bad behavior, reprimands must be made while the dog is doing the act. Commands such as Stop, No and Leave it will prevent the dog from doing its destructive act. It would take some time for the dog to understand the meaning of these commands but consistent training, lots of praise and treats are invaluable tools that will correct the dog’s unwanted behavior.
Learn more about how to discipline a dog at Sarah’s Dogs.
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