If you catch your puppy misbehaving, try a loud noise such as clapping your hands or a loud "uh-uh" or a sharp “off”. Remember, reprimands need to occur while the behavior is happening, preferably just as it begins, and never after.
When You Shouldn't Ignore Your Dog's Bad Behavior. There are some behaviors you don't want to ignore, such as puppy nipping or pulling on leash. Any behavior that feels good to your dog, is naturally calming (such as licking or chewing), or is fun to do is not likely to go away when ignored.
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.
Lastly, never punish your dog for aggression. Dogs don't understand punishment and thus are more likely to act out or act more aggressive when punishment is used. Instead, the best way to train away aggressive behavior is to reward good behavior.
Negative Punishment (-P): If you want your dog to repeat a behavior less frequently, remove any reward or perceived award for the behavior. This should happen rarely – focus on reinforcement. Think of positive and negative in the addition/subtraction sense.
Physical punishment should never be a course of action following a puppy or dog bite. Tapping or popping them on the nose can be misunderstood and seen as being playful. This could also encourage more unwanted biting behavior. Hitting a dog, or being too rough with a dog, frequently encourages more biting as well.
However, unlike humans, dogs do not understand the consequences of their actions, so regular punishment will be no good. Instead, you have to use negative punishment and positive reinforcement to help stop undesirable behavior.
Do dogs understand why they are being punished? Unlike humans, dogs do not always understand why they're being punished or the consequence of their actions. So depending on how you punish, it could cause a lot of problems such as fear, aggression and sadness in your dog.
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.
Yelling, spanking, and even aggressive handling can mentally damage your dog and doesn't yield good behavior. In short, any sort of negative reinforcement on your pet doesn't work whatsoever. In fact, you might actually be causing further problems for them.
However, experts have explained why you shouldn't shout at your dog, and that shouting can actually do more harm then good when trying to teach your pup to be well behaved. In fact, not only is it likely to make them naughtier, it can even lead to even stress and depression.
Our pets do understand that certain actions violate family rules and will result in certain reactions. Cause and effect is a great lesson! Pets don't have to feel guilty to be well-behaved. But even if pets do feel guilty sometimes, let's not assume that their guilty looks are always based on their behavior.
Studies have been done with dogs to establish their memory capacities. When it comes to long-term memory, researchers believe that dogs will remember events that were strongly positive or negative and have a major impact on the animal's ability to survive.
Yelling at your dog does not work because it will just get him more stressed or it will only increase his energy level and how excited he is about the situation. Instead, your Bark Busters dog trainer can teach you how to use a calm yet firm voice to refocus your dog and to teach the desired behavior.
Things You Should Do When Working with an Aggressive Dog:
Make sure your dog is getting enough exercise and other canine enrichment activities. Maintain a calm demeanor around your pet. Use positive reinforcement and reward-based training techniques. Purchase and use a muzzle if your dog bites or you suspect he may.
If the dog continues to lunge or jump at you, try to protect your face by turning away. If the dog is large enough to push you over, tuck yourself up into a ball and clasp your hands around the back of your head whilst trying to remain as calm and quiet as possible.
Do not raise your voice or hit the dog. Verbal or physical punishment is not an effective way to prevent bad behavior. Instead, your dog will simply learn to fear you. For example, hitting your dog after they urinate in the house might just cause them to hide where they urinate.
Use enough force to redirect your puppy's attention and stop their behavior but not enough to frighten or scare them. They should respect and understand correction, not feel afraid. Follow your correction with praise for directing their attention toward you.
Your dog will know when you are mad.
Dogs hate to disappoint and can sense the emotions and body language that comes with an upset "parent". When you are upset with your dog and he gives you those "sweet puppy dog eyes" he knows that you are upset and is hoping to change things.
Memory Span
Dogs have a very short short-term memory. "Dogs forget an event within two minutes," reported National Geographic, citing a 2014 study performed on various animals from rats to bees.
Dogs and Anger
While dogs can indeed get upset by a situation, they don't get mad at someone in the same way that you do. According to HealthyPsych, anger is what psychologists refer to as a secondary emotion, which is a human response to primary emotions like fear and sadness.