Bringing a puppy into your home is exciting, and you want to teach your puppy acceptable behaviours in the best way possible. However, puppy and dog training is a minefield, and knowing which training system is best can be tricky.
Let’s look at some common training advice you should ignore.
You Need To Show Them Who’s The Boss/Be The Alpha
This advice is VERY old school and based on dogs being like wolves in their behaviour. Yes, dogs share a common wolf ancestor; however, these people forget that dogs have been domesticated for a long time. Domestication changes an animal’s behaviour and appearance. If it didn’t, all dogs would look like wolves, and most would avoid humans.
The other thing to remember is that the dominant alpha theory is based on a flawed scientific observation of wolves conducted in 1947 by Rudolph Schenkel. The study observed captured unrelated wolves in a strange environment. The wolves were not displaying their natural behaviours as they lived in an unnatural environment. Therefore, the data that was collected regarding wolf behaviour was false.
Mech, L. David 1999 wrote the paper Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs in the Canadian Journal of Zoology 77(8):1196-1203 – and is worth a read. Many scientific studies on wolves can be found on the www.wolf.org website, and other intesting facts about wolves. The main point was that wolves live as a family unit in their natural habitat. The senior breeding pair (the parents) with their cubs and some older cubs. There is no alpha, and they do not use aggression to rule the pack.
Instead of using fear and aggression on your puppy, guide it to the behaviours you want, reinforce the good behaviours, and redirect the unwanted behaviours to acceptable ones. Your puppy will not know what you want from it unless you teach it. The easiest way is to reward good behaviour. If a puppy finds a behaviour rewarding, it will repeat it. Your puppy will be eager to learn if it isn’t in a state of anxiety and fear.
Rub Their Nose In It If They Toilet Inside The House
Yuck! Rubbing a puppy’s nose in pee or poo is just awful, and it teaches them nothing except that the human does nasty things to it. Dogs toilet where and when they need to, much like babies and toddlers. It’s up to us as their guardians to teach them where it is appropriate to toilet.
Puppies have very little control over their bladders, and their bodies are not mature enough to control them. Punishing a puppy for something that it cannot control is cruel. It will also cause your puppy to become anxious, leading to more accidents in the home.
Harnesses Cause Your Dog To Pull On The Lead
Completely false. Your dog pulls on the lead because it hasn’t been taught how to walk on a lead and wants to go forward. It’s really that simple. A good-fitting Y-shaped harness doesn’t apply pressure to your dog’s neck, shoulders or back. Making it safer and more comfortable for your dog.
Prong collars, shock collars, slip leads and head-restricting collars put pressure on your dog’s neck, causing pain and damage to your dog in some instances. They may stop the dog from pulling, but it isn’t learning to walk on a lead. It’s learning to avoid the pain.
You should also consider the emotional damage these aversive tools can cause. They can cause the dog to feel anxious and fearful when in use.
Fear can often be redirected; for example, if the dog pulls as another dog or child walks towards it, the dog experiences pain from the tool and associates it with the dog or whoever is walking towards them.
The aim is to have a happy, well-trained dog; better alternatives exist than aversive tools.
You Should Let Your Puppy Meet Everyone And Every Dog To Socialise Them
Socialising your puppy is vital to help them become happy, friendly, confident dogs. However, rushing your puppy into new experiences before it’s ready can cause unnecessary fear and anxiety. These fears and anxiety can turn into lifelong anxiety and behaviour issues.
Socialisation is about providing positive ways to let your puppy learn what to expect in its daily life. This includes new experiences, new objects, new people and other animals. This can be overwhelming for a puppy, so it is essential to take it at your puppy’s pace.
If you want your puppy to grow into a happy, friendly, confident dog, you must observe it closely and go at their pace. Look for calming signals from your puppy, and allow it to move away from the stressor and approach at its own pace. Rushing socialisation can cause your puppy to become fearful and anxious. Which in turn will make it reluctant to try new experiences and training.
Not every puppy is happy to be approached and touched by strangers or other dogs. You need to be your puppy’s voice, which can be uncomfortable as most people love puppies and want to touch them. There is nothing wrong with saying, “he’s feeling a bit overwhelmed and scared, please don’t approach him”, or “I’m sorry, please don’t approach, I’m training her”.
Taking the time in these first few months will make your puppy a more confident dog who enjoys going to new places, trying new things, and meeting new people and animals. It also reduces the chances of lifelong fears and anxiety, which can result in behavioural issues.
You Shouldn’t Let Your Puppy Growl
Growling shouldn’t be seen as aggressive. Growling is your puppy communicating that it’s uncomfortable or scared and wants the stressor to go away.
When a puppy or dog growls, its calming signals and discomfort levels have been missed or ignored. The puppy or dog is making a good choice. It’s choosing to vocalise its discomfort loudly and not snap or bite.
If you remove your puppy’s voice by punishing the growl, how is it supposed to let you know it’s scared?
Dogs communicate by body language as well as barking, snarling and growling. Calming signals such as turning away, licking lips, yawning, and sniffing around are your dog’s first steps in showing you that it’s uncomfortable in a situation. Your puppy or dog may snarl or growl if the stressor is still present. If the stressor is still present after the snarl or growl, your dog may resort to an air snap or bite.
It is rare for a dog to “bite out of the blue”; it is more likely that all of the dog’s signals have been missed or ignored. A dog will bite as a last resort. Punishing the growl removes an essential escalation marker for your dog and you.
Dog Training
Dog training has come on leaps and bounds. Many scientific studies have been done on dog behaviour and how dogs learn. Aversive methods have proven to harm the dog’s wellbeing and the human bond with the dog. There are more effective training methods, such as positive reinforcement, that are good for the dog’s wellbeing and the human/dog relationship.
You might find these articles helpful:
Comings And Goings: Defuse Triggers, Defuse Drama For Your Dog
Creating A Safe Spot For Your Dog
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