One of the best ways to discipline a dog is to ignore them or give them a time-out. You can also distract them with a loud noise, say 'no', or order them to sit. You can also use a spray bottle to spray some water on your dog to stop bad behavior. If your dog is on a leash, you can use a quick leash snap.
First, stop your dog in the act of whatever he's doing, then give him a different, pet parent-approved option. For example, if you walk into a room and notice him chewing your shoes or hairbrush, swiftly tell him "No!" and take the item out of his mouth. Once your dog is calm, present him with an actual chew toy.
Dogs, like people, respond best to positive reinforcement. Trying to curb your dog's more aggressive behaviors by rewarding only positive behaviors can help train those aggressive instincts away. If he is calm for a while or behaves well during an encounter with guests or other dogs, reward him with a treat.
You may use "Stop!" "No!" "Drop it!" or "Leave It!" to get your dog's attention and let them know their behavior is unacceptable. A harsh, loud tone of voice will help reinforce the meaning of the command and teach your dog to cease and desist.
When done correctly and when combined with proactive training, ignoring unwanted behavior can work. However, the time it takes depends on your dog's reinforcement history and their own personal enjoyment of the behavior. For some dogs, they get through an extinction burst quickly, while others can take quite a while.
Bad or destructive behavior is not uncommon in dogs. It can be caused by boredom, malnutrition, injury or illness. When your dog behaves destructively, it is important to respond appropriately.
The most common “developed abnormal behaviors” are aggression, fear reactions, inappropriate elimination, vocalization, altered facial expression, altered posture, restlessness, and hiding [4]. Pain has also been related to repetitive behaviors [5].
Behavior changes in dogs can be challenging, which is why we say to nip unwanted behaviors in the bud as soon as possible. It takes a long time to instigate change when that behavior has been there for a long time. If the problem has been there for three weeks, it can take you three weeks to correct.
New research suggests that by yelling, or otherwise adversely training your dog, you could be causing some serious psychological harm. Number of occurrences of each stress-related behavior in the dogs averaged across the three training sessions for Group Reward (filled bars) and Group Aversive (empty bars).
If you want your dog to know that you're mad, they're probably going know without any training, because of your facial expressions and tone of voice. However, if you want to do more, you can try to give your dog a treat every time you're laughing or smiling.
A dog may be fearful because it has learned that when evidence of their misbehavior is visible and their owner appears, the dog gets scolded. Since dogs have the same level of cognition as a human 2 ½-year-old, it is unlikely that they have higher-level emotions, such as guilt or shame.
Learned Behavior
In the study, dogs acted guilty when scolded by their owners, regardless of whether they had actually committed the act for which they were being scolded. Based on this, it seems likely that dogs learn quickly that when pet parents unhappy with them, they can placate their humans by looking sad.
In many cases, the issue is that the dog has not learned what you want him to do instead (see Greeting Behavior – Jumping Up, Enrichment, Predictability, and Scheduling, and Training Basics). Attempting to reprimand all the misbehavior will be ineffective.
Management issues include inappropriate play (eg, nipping or mouthing of people); unruly behavior (eg, pulling, lunging, jumping up, mounting, overactivity); and some forms of barking, destructive behaviors, and housesoiling.
Aggression is the most common and most serious behavior problem in dogs. Different forms of aggression require different treatments.
The most pronounced behavioral issues will be noticed between six to 12 months old. Keep in mind that although hormones have a lot to do with adolescent changes, they're not the only thing responsible for some of the behaviors you may see (even neutered dogs will exhibit these behaviors).
Overall, the researchers found that the dogs' attentiveness and ability to solve problems changed a lot during life, improving up until about 6 years of age and then remaining stable.
OK—this one isn't necessarily your fault, but the way you respond to it can make a difference in your dog's behavior. Like humans, dogs go through a rebellious “teenager” phase (around 5 months to 18 months).
"Dogs forget an event within two minutes," reported National Geographic, citing a 2014 study performed on various animals from rats to bees. Other animals have long-term memories, such as dolphins, but dogs don't seem to have a long-term memory that lasts much beyond those two minutes.
Yelling encourages bad behavior
That shows your dog she has no incentive to come back. Instead, call your dog and when she comes back, praise her and give her a treat. If all you do is yell, why would your dog want to please you?
Dog aggression can be related to fear, prey drive, socialization issues, and guarding territory, among other things. Most aggressive behavior in dogs stems from fear and anxiety, rather than the desire to hurt others. A certified animal behaviorist can help you safely deal with your dog's aggressive behavior.
We think the phrase should be dropped, and not just because the words are often uttered with anger, which does nothing to help a dog calm down so he can learn a new way to behave. It's also that dogs are very good at being dogs. They're not bad at it at all.