Punishments Archives - Edie MacKenzie

Proper Discipline for Effective Puppy Training

June 7, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

The idea of punishing when puppy training makes no more sense than the idea of punishing an infant child.

Have you ever heard of anyone spanking a baby? The only thing that would do is make the baby cry, and make the adult feel badly. A small baby won’t learn from punishment, and puppies are no different.

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Just like everything you do with a small baby is designed to let it feel loved, protected and close to you, the way your treat a new puppy can affect the way that dog views you for entire relationship.

If you choose to punish a puppy, the most you will do is scare it and make it wary of you. If you smack a puppy, even lightly, all it knows is the pain of the strike and the fear it feels at that moment toward you.

It doesn’t learn that it was doing something wrong because it’s too young to understand that concept.

If your puppy is chewing on something for instance, and you punish it with even a light tap, of course it will probably stop what it’s doing.

It’s surprised and possibly feels pain from the smack, and now feels very frightened of you.

It doesn’t link the punishment with what it was doing, though, and has no way of predicting when it might be punished next.

Shouting when puppy training can also do damage to your relationship. If you startle the puppy with a shout, of course it might stop what it’s doing. But again, the puppy doesn’t understand the relationship between its actions and your shouting. Even the angry tone of your voice can cause your puppy to be afraid for a moment.

If you use these punishments on a puppy, the puppy will learn to be afraid of you, or at the very least it will learn that you can be mean.

The puppy might not trust you, because it doesn’t understand why you frighten it. This can keep the puppy from every really warming up to you, and you’ll be unable to have a good relationship as the puppy grows.

Some dogs are very passive, and will respond to you in a very defeated way. Your dog might stay in line all the time, solely out of fear, but it won’t ever trust you.

Other dogs have a more stubborn streak, and because they feel threatened by you may attempt to dislodge you as the one in charge. Dogs are pack animals, and if your dog thinks it should be the leader, you might be in for many behavioral problems big and small.

At the very least, you won’t have as good a relationship with your dog as you could have.

Just as you would do with a very small child, use gentle correction when your puppy does something he shouldn’t do.

Use gentle movements when puppy training and a kind but firm tone of voice, so that your dog understands to stop without becoming frightened.

Housetraining Schedule: How To Housetrain Your Puppy In 7 Days Or Less

May 7, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

It is quite alright if you are a new puppy owner and feel clueless about how to initiate housetraining for your dog. Many new dog owners make the mistake of scolding and punishing their dogs when they make a mess.

I made this same mistake with my first Chihuahua. Every time she would go potty inside the house I would take her over to the messy area and scold the dog with a loud voice with the occasional tap to her rear.

Soon enough, I noticed something strange happening. My puppy was still refusing to use the bathroom where she was supposed to go, but she started pooping and urinating underneath the bed and in closet areas. I caused my puppy to be afraid of going to the bathroom!

She did not understand why I was angry all of the times before and all her little brain knew was that every time she used the bathroom, I would yell at her. I realized that she started to be fearful of going potty and was basically trying to hide it by going in places that I could not see in plain view.

The Positive Approach Always Works Best

The moral of the story here is that you must take a positive approach to housetraining and totally eliminate any negative scoldings or punishments. The best thing to do is to supply your dog with a schedule each and every day. This schedule must be adhered to without fail in order to produce the quickest results possible. Here is a sample schedule:

6:30 AM: Immediately upon waking, remove your puppy from his crate, leash him up, and take him to his potty area, wherever that may be. Allow him to focus by staying quiet as he sniffs and circles the area.

When he starts to eliminate his wastes, offer praise and start repetitively giving a potty command such as “Go Pee, Go Pee”. As soon as he is done, offer more praise and a treat if you like. Now take your puppy back to his crate.

7:30 AM: Exactly one hour later, give your dog breakfast and then take him outside to the potty area approximately 20 to 30 minutes later. Immediately return him back to his crate until the next potty break.

10:30 AM: It’s time for another potty break.

12:30 AM (Noon): Take your puppy outside to his potty area and follow the same routine. Afterwards, come inside and feed the dog lunch and then some playtime.

3:30 PM: It’s time for another potty break.

5:30 PM: Take your puppy outside for another potty break and then back inside for some dinner. You do not have place him back in the crate until the next bathroom break.

During this time at night, try to play with your puppy as much as you can. This is a good time to tire him out a bit for his nighttime sleep. But keep a close eye on his behavior in case he starts to sniff and circle an area in the house before using the bathroom. If you cannot keep a close eye on him, simply put him back in his crate.

9:00 PM: If your puppy is sleeping at this time, wake him up for one last bathroom break. Follow the same potty routine and then put him back in his crate until the next morning potty break. Start the entire routine all over again.

How To Teach Your New Puppy To Play-Bite Softly

July 6, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

One of the first dog training protocol you will want to initiate when you get a new puppy is to teach him to inhibit the force of his play-bites. It is not necessary to reprimand the pup, and certainly physical punishments are not called for. But it is essential to let your puppy know that bites can hurt. A simple “Ouch!” is usually sufficient. When the puppy backs off, take a short time-out to “lick your wounds,” instruct your pup to come, sit, and lie down to apologize and make up. Then resume playing.

If your puppy does not respond to your yelp by easing up or backing off, an effective technique is to call the puppy a “Bully!” and then leave the room and shut the door. Allow the pup a minute or two time-out to reflect on the association between his painful bite and the immediate departure of his favorite human chew-toy. Then return to make up. It is important to show that you still love your puppy, only that his painful bites are objectionable. Have your pup come and sit and then resume playing once more.

It is much better for you to walk away from the pup than to physically restrain him or remove him to his confinement area at a time when he is biting too hard. So make a habit of playing with your puppy in his long-term confinement area. This technique is remarkably effective with lead-headed dogs, since it is precisely the way puppies learn to inhibit the force of their bites when playing with each other. If one puppy bites another too hard, the dog who gets bitten yelps and playing is postponed while he licks his wounds. The biter soon learns that hard bites interrupt an otherwise enjoyable play session. He learns to bite more softly once play resumes.

The next step is to eliminate bite pressure entirely, even though the “bites” no longer hurt. While your puppy is chewing his human chew-toy, wait for a bite that is harder than the rest and respond as if it really hurt, even though it didn’t: “Ouch – Gennntly! That really hurt me, you bully!” Your puppy begins to think, “Good heavens! These humans are soooooo sensitive. I’ll have to be really careful when mouthing their delicate skin.” And that’s precisely what you want your pup to think: that he needs to be extremely careful and gentle when playing with people.

Your pup should learn not to hurt people well before he is three months old. Ideally, by the time he is four and a half months old (before he develops strong jaws and adult canine teeth) he should no longer be exerting any pressure when mouthing.