The RIGHT way to punish your dog.
Lots of people think that punishment is most effective when it is unpleasant for the dog, I would argue that this is not always the case.
When many dogs get attention, be it positive or negative, it is STILL attention. Which means your dog is getting something out of the situation.
Here is the skinny…. when we use aversive punishment, our dogs figure out to not do “x” while we are around. They are not actually inhibiting their behavior, which means the moment we are out of the picture, your dog goes right back doing “x”.
This is often seen in the dogs that get into the trash, chew on items they shouldn’t and more. When we are there, they fear getting punished, so they don’t do it. We leave, the fear of punishment is no longer a problem. So basically, we are training our dogs to misbehave when no one is looking and to fear us when we are around.
So, what should you do?
In my world, I teach my dog to do something that is incompatible with bad behavior. For example, if my dog has a problem with jumping on people, I teach them to sit or down to great new people.
Of course, this has to be practiced…A LOT! You know the saying… ”practice makes perfect”, but really we are not going for perfect, we are training to bank out odds in our favor that our dog makes good choices.
For that reason, it is super important that we reward our dog for making the right choices, yes, this means giving your dog a high-value treat. Something that they value so that they choose the right choice to get the reward.
I know I make it sound simple, but honestly, it really is.
So, what is the RIGHT way to punish your dog?
You use a reward to teach your dog the right response to certain situations. When your dog performs the correct response on cue, you then start practicing with distractions and build up your dog’s ability to think even when super excited.
Then the punishment becomes you giving your dog a cue so that they perform that task at hand, BUT the goal is to practice it so much that your dog actually offers the skill before you have to ask.
When that happens, you best be rewarding the heck out of it!!!
ESSENTIAL OIL TIP
Does your dog need a little more focus in training, especially with distractions?
Then you may want to check out the doTERRA Thinker OR doTERRA InTune.
Both of these oils have worked wonders with so many of my clients, after acclimation you can use either of these topically on the rear pads and down the spine of your pup to help with focus and attention.
As an extra tip, apply your oil of choice to your wrists and ankles and now you are a human diffuser for your dog. Win-win for both of you.
Until Next Week! ~ Bree
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