Are you training your dog to misbehave?

Here is a question for you... are you training your dog to misbehave?

I know it sounds crazy, but so many times I have conversations with clients that end up shedding some light on the big picture of what is going on at home. Here are some tips to ensure that you are not inadvertently rewarding your dog for making poor choices.

#1 You find a crater dug in the yard, the sprinkler chewed up, or a hole in the couch. Unless you can catch them in the act, dragging them over to the scene of the crime and punishing them will do more harm than good.

And here is why….

When using punishment for a problem, your timing must be SPOT ON, punishing your dog after the fact only creates a dog that may not trust you and may turn fearful of your actions. In their eyes, you just “went crazy” for no reason.

To use a correction for a problem, the punishment must be made within seconds of the problem occurring. This is nearly impossible in most instances and in turn, does nothing to stop the misbehavior.

#2 Your dog jumps up on you when you return home, you in turn push your dog down and use a stern voice to tell them “no”.

For many dogs, ANY interaction is just that... interaction. Some dogs thrive off of any attention, good or bad. In this scenario, we tend to highlight the negative (jumping up), which means that your dog is getting attention. This can be inadvertently rewarding your dog for a poor choice.

#3 Your dog darts out the front door, and is running down the street. What do you do? Follow them of course.

In your dog's eyes, he is out for a field trip… wooo hooooo! NOT!!! Following your dog, even as ticked off as we are, can encourage our dogs to keep going.

Instead, try being really noisy (in a fun voice), when you get your dog's attention, start running around and back into the house (don’t go towards your dog) while retrieving a fun toy or treat.

Chances are that your dog will run to follow you, to see what fun they are going to have next, they really do not want to miss out.

When they follow you, the key to making this work is REWARDING your dog… I know, this sounds counterintuitive. BUT we are actually rewarding your dog for coming to you, not running away. This can set them up for better choices in the future.

So, there you go, some tips and tricks to help keep you keep moving forward with your pup!!

ESSENTIAL OIL TIP

Did you see my invite to join me for my 3 day Master Class coming up October 25-26-27? If not, and you want to learn more about using essential oils around and with your pets, now is the time to register. I have a packed agenda and I am super excited to share.

For those registered, if you can’t make it to the live training, you will have access to watch all three days of training recorded.

Oh, and did I mention this event is FREE??? Win-Win all around!! Click here to register!

Today I am going to wrap up with one of my go-to diffuser blends:

CALM THE CRAZY 3-5 drops Vetiver 3-5 drops Balance 3-5 drops Serenity

This combo is great to use during the “witching hour”, or when your dog (or cat) is at their naughtiest. I always recommend starting your diffuser at least 20 minutes prior to the time of need. Gauge your drop count on the dog in need and the size of your diffuser.

Until next week my friends! ~ Bree