Discipline

[TimmyOwner]

My puppy is 11 weeks now, and doing well!

He still likes to chew at our shoelaces time to time (THE MOST ANNOYING THING), or chew on the cat's crap in the litter box when he know he shouldn't.

When either of this accours, my steps:

1) Yell TIMMY NO (BITE OR CHEW, ECT)!!!!

2) Repeat 1

3) Spat is bottom (JUST ENOUGH TO GET HIS ATTENTION AWAY).

By the time step 3 is done, he is sitting looking up at me. Then I say ''TIMMY, NO BITE'' , ect.

Most of the time, he growls, and jumps around and me in a playful attacking manner (hopefully).

Sometimes, he will just do nothing, and walk away.

The question is, Why does he do this? Is he in a form ''Talking back?''.

I love him lots! He sleeps with my every night, I play with him hours a day, always petting him, ect. We have a great time. He never shows any agression towards me!

So why is it when I displine him, sometimes he does this?

Thanks alot!

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

He's doing this because you are yelling at him and hitting him!! What is wrong with you? DON'T EVER HIT YOUR DOG FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER!!!

Please use the resources here in the training and behavior and puppy and book sections to find some excellent help in dealing with typical puppy behaviors such as what you describe, in the PROPER MANNER.

A quick list of books you need to read immediately: "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson, "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell and "Training Your Boxer" by Joan H. Walker

If you are yelling and hitting your dog to make it stop, the dog doesn't know what you are doing or why. It is animal cruelty to discipline a dog in this manner, in my opinion, without FIRST guiding the dog or showing or training the dog to know what you DO WANT. If the dog has not other alternative behavior other than jumping, he will continue to jump because YOU have not shown him an alternate behavior which is acceptable and preferable to jumping.

PLEASE get copies of these books, read them and apply their theories and techniques. It will go much more smoothly for you and the dog, you won't make enemies of your dog and the dog will learn well and much more quickly if you use POSITIVE TRAINING TECHNIQUES rather than savage beatings and yelling.

Try and put yourself in YOUR DOG'S paws for a moment before you decide to slap it around and yell at it.

This site also has a search engine which you may use to find many suggestions and resolutions to specific problems you may be having with behavior. Please use these resources to help you and your dog.

 

[DaleLuke]

Also , Because you are yelling "Timmy, NO" your dog will not come when called by name because it will associate his name with a negative behavoir How about puppy kindergarden? They will train YOU how to properly train your dog with kindness

 

[Scrapper's Mom]

Don't make the mistake of thinking dogs "think" like we do. They don't. A dog works on trying to please you, as the leader of his pack. A puppy chewing shoelaces isn't being bad, he's just exploring and being puppy-like, or possibly teething. When he chews on them, remove them from his mouth, say "no chew" (you can be firm without yelling and defnitely don't hit) and give him something he can chew on.

Eating cat poop is common for any dog. My vet said cat food is so rich, cat poop smells like it still has good nutrients in it to dogs. You have to find a way to put the catbox in a place the dog can't get to it. That's not his fault, it's yours, and you are hitting him and yelling at him because you didn't put it in a place he can't get it.

It's good that you are playing and spending a lot of time with him. That's the basis of a good relationship with your dog. But you need to get on the right track as far as discipline, because there will be lots of other stuff you need or want to teach your dog and you need to find the best way to get the behavior you want without giving the wrong signals to the dog. Instead of hitting the dog, when he does something REALLY wrong, take a rolled up newspaper and slap it against YOUR own leg, or slap the floor by the dog. The noise will startle him and he won't like it.

Get those books Tulsa-Dan recommended, and use the BoxerWorld search funtion to find lots of information on other discipline and behavior questions you may have.

 

[TimmyOwner]

Oh come on!

No where did I say I SPANK or BEAT my dog.

If there's cruelity here, you guys are!

COME ON!

I said I give him a little spat........ Almost a faint TOUCH just to have him look at me!!!!

CHRIST!! NO where did I say I BEAT HIM, or SLAP him down!

I'm not cruel, so dont make me sound like it.

-Timmy Owner

 

[BRIDGIT]

You have to understand that this is a group of VERY passionate people when it comes to our boxers. *Most* of the people here believe in only positive reinforcement. You are coming on this board asking for opinions and you should know that you will get many different opinions, even one's you may not like. Dan has a lot of knowledge when it comes to training and you will find that most of us go to him for help. He trains dogs for a living and is nice enough to give his time and advice to those that need it here on boxerworld. I would recommend reading the books he suggested and your perspective might change on "spating" your dog. Good luck.

 

[martins]

The strength of the 'spat' is not the only issue - it is not JUST the case of the physical harm, it is that mentally the dog doesn't understand what this means or why it is happening. Basically, not only is it mean, it is just unnecessary. It can also be very dangerous as little Timmy grows into Big Timmy. The dog will only come out confused and not know what he is supposed to do. If it is a tap to get his attention, he may just take that and the yelling (which he probably perceives as barking) to be an invitation to play and that is why you are getting that response from him.

He doesn't need to be yelled at for doing something wrong, just redirected to what you do want him to do. He probably DOESN'T know that he isn't supposed to snack from the litter box, he hasn't been shown something else to do. Although the best solution to this problem is probably moving the box out of his reach, as Scrapper's Mom said.

Reward him with a treat for looking at you when you say his name nicely, that's a good way for him to learn that when you say "Timmy" he should look to you to find out what to do next. Then when you have his attention you can guide him to what you want him to do, i.e. chew on toy instead of sholaces.

You can find ways to teach him anything you want with no force or violence. The books suggested to you are wonderful, along with resources on this site and puppy classes. Please consider trying some of these suggestions you've been given and best of luck with Timmy.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

There are less harmful ways to get your dog's attention than "spatting" it, whatever that entails. Physical punishment to a dog is very dangerous in the long run and can cause many horrible behavioral problems later on in life. This is why I am so concerned about ANY physical punishment or correction of any kind, be it mild or severe. It is all the same to the dog.

To you it may be a little "spatting" but what is it to the dog? Have you stopped to think what this might mean or how it might feel to an 11 WEEK old puppy? Evidently you haven't.

If you need to get your dog's attention, try clapping real loudly, whistle, use a squeeky toy or something to get it to look away from the distraction and look at you.

As was mentioned, the Watch Me command is one of the first commands any good obedience trainer will teach you to train your dog so that you CAN get your dog to snap to attention when he's called. This is done without any "spatting" hitting or physical discomfort whatsoever. Perhaps at 11 weeks, it is a excellent time to enroll your puppy in some basic obedience classes so that you and the dog can learn the proper way to train and be a loving, happy, UNAFRAID member of your family.

My response to your post was another way to get your attention, and I managed to get your attention and make my point WITHOUT "spatting" you on the rear end or smacking you with a newspaper!! Point taken?

 

[HaLaHaKa]

I have found that I rarely use "NO" and generally use "AH,Ah" with different tone inflections, depending on the seriousness of the infraction. Sunny will understand. Dog training takes patience and you have to do lots of reinforcement. Dogs really want to please us, and it is very easy to be too harsh even in tone which can backfire. If I have ever made a mistake with my dog it has been that I discliplined her when I was angry the same goes for my children. We are all human and we don't do this dance perfectly but we should really aim high and remember that praise gets the results everytime. Puppies, are exploring the world and part of the expense is that if my dog chews my expesive shoes it my fault not the dogs. The puppy was just being a puppy and I should of been watching her if I have illegal items for her around. I think is great that you are open to learning the wonderful art called dog training it is a work in progress. There is lots of wisdom at BW; wisdom from experince and passion about Boxers. Youre lucky to have a boxer!

 

[Nicole510]

Why does he 'know he shouldn't' eat cat poop? Because you think he shouldn't? He's a dog, Nash, not a human being.

You have posted questions on different boards and no matter what the reply you seem to instantly go on the defensive. If you ask for advice be prepared for some answers you don't like. What you are doing isn't working which is why you are seeking the advice of those more knowledgeable than you...which Dan definitely is.

In a different forum you stated that dog training is not important. If you'd open your eyes and mind you'd see that it is extremely important. What do you think all your questions are about?

Do you know why dogs eat cat poop? Do you know why your puppy is chewing on your shoe strings? Do you know why he's barking at your back while you're on the computer? Maybe if you educated yourself about puppy/dog behavior (or had prior to getting a dog) you'd be more open to suggestions on how to stop same.