How to Correct Your Dog’s Bad Behavior?

Dogs can exhibit problematic behaviors such as barking, biting, mischief, and damaging objects for various reasons. These issues can often be managed through effective training and a thorough analysis of the situation.

We provide solutions for improving problematic dog behaviors, drawing on our unique insights as pet-friendly housing experts.

Incorrect methods of reprimanding

When training a dog to stop problematic behaviors, it’s crucial to build a mutual trust before taking corrective actions such as reprimanding. By expressing your intentions through reprimands, you can communicate what behaviors are unacceptable.

However, it’s important to use the correct methods when reprimanding a dog. Incorrect reprimands may not effectively communicate your message and could even exacerbate the problematic behavior.

Yelling and hitting

Shouting at your dog or hitting them is counterproductive. Loud noises can make your dog more excited and increase their barking. Similarly, hitting instills fear without addressing the underlying issue, potentially causing your dog to become more anxious or aggressive.

Ignoring the Dog’s Face

Scolding your dog without making eye contact, such as by hitting their rear, fails to convey your displeasure effectively. The dog cannot see your facial expressions or understand the context of your reprimand.

Throwing Objects

Throwing objects at your dog also induces fear rather than teaching them what they did wrong. This method is ineffective because it creates a fear response rather than solving the problem.

Ignoring or Isolating

Ignoring your dog or putting them outside as punishment does not help them understand why their behavior was wrong. They may not connect their actions with the punishment, so it doesn’t address the behavior issue.

Offering Food

Distracting a barking dog with food can backfire. Intelligent dogs might learn that barking results in treats, which could lead to more barking. Excessive use of treats can also lead to food-focused behavior and difficulty in controlling their weight.

How to Discipline with Affection

The key to effective discipline is to correct your dog immediately when they misbehave and to praise them as soon as the behavior stops.

“Good disciplinarians are also good at praising,” so it’s best to combine discipline with positive reinforcement. Ensure that discipline only occurs at the moment the undesirable behavior happens.

When disciplining, avoid calling your dog’s name; instead, use their name during praise. This helps your dog associate their name with positive feelings.

To reinforce this approach, focus on short, intensive practice sessions. Involve family and friends to help you master this method of discipline.

How to address problem behaviors

Nipping

For dogs living in human society, the act of “biting” is unnecessary in daily life. Dogs typically start nipping at around 2-3 months of age, so it’s important to stop this behavior early on.

When a dog opens its mouth to nip, press its jaw down with your hand, and scold it with a stern face and voice. This helps the dog understand that biting is not acceptable to the owner.

After scolding and once the dog calms down, gradually praise it. Repeat this process several times.

In addition to teaching the dog to stop nipping, providing chew toys can be helpful. Playing tug-of-war with toys like ropes is also effective.

Jumping Up

Many dogs jump up when their owner returns home, which is often seen as cute and joyful. However, this behavior can be problematic and dangerous if the dog jumps on people during walks or on children.

To address this, stop the dog by using both hands and lifting your knee to push the dog away from your body. Scold the dog with a stern face and voice, and praise it gently once it stops jumping.

Repeat this process a few times, and if the dog hesitates to jump, reward it with praise.

To prevent the dog from jumping on others, ask family and friends to help by calling the dog. If the dog tries to jump on them, stop it and reinforce that jumping is not allowed.

Scavenging

Scavenging can harm a dog’s health, so it’s important to address it.

On walks, dogs might find various items on the ground, including spoiled food, toxic substances, or things they shouldn’t eat. To prevent scavenging, follow these steps:

Drop some of your dog’s favorite treats along the walking route. If the dog tries to scavenge, stop it firmly, glare at it, and scold it with a stern face and voice.

If the dog continues to approach, stop it and scold it again, then praise it when it stops. Repeat this process several times until the dog avoids approaching or looking at food on the ground.

When the dog shows this behavior, reward it gently.

Mischief

Dogs may sometimes put various objects in their mouths or chew on them.

There are many things, both indoors and outdoors, that you don’t want your dog to chew on. It’s crucial to prevent such behavior, especially when outside or in other people’s homes.

To address mischief, differentiate between items that are dangerous, dirty, or acceptable for play.

When your dog picks up something undesirable, remove it from its mouth, scold it with a stern face and voice, and then praise it once it stops.

To speed up the process, place the item back in front of the dog and repeat the same action. The key is to always praise after scolding and teach the dog that it will be scolded for picking up items but praised for leaving them alone.

Excessive Barking

Excessive barking can be a significant issue, especially in close living situations like apartments.

While excessive barking might seem pointless to humans, dogs bark for specific reasons. Understanding why and when your dog barks is essential. It might be due to alerting to outside threats, wanting to go out, or reacting to outside noises.

To manage barking, quickly stop the dog by pressing its jaw down and scold it with a stern face and voice. Praise it gently when it stops barking.

Repeating this process can reduce barking over time. When the dog begins to show restraint or changes its barking pattern to quieter sounds, reward it immediately.

Understanding your dog’s barking triggers and practicing in those situations can help reduce excessive barking.

Urinating

You need to stop your dog from urinating in public places or in front of other people’s homes.

While it might seem challenging to control morning urination, dogs can hold it until they reach a designated spot, like a park.

Generally, dogs find it harder to urinate while running or sitting, so allow them to run to a suitable place and wait at stops during walks.

Once you reach the park or designated spot, say “You can go potty” and praise the dog when it urinates in the right place. Repeating this helps the dog learn to hold it until reaching the appropriate spot.

Training your dog to urinate only in designated areas can resolve this issue.

Summary

Dogs can exhibit various problem behaviors, including nipping, jumping up, scavenging, mischief, excessive barking, and urinating inappropriately.

These behaviors can be improved through proper training and building mutual trust. It’s important to scold the dog firmly when it misbehaves and praise it generously when it corrects its behavior. Avoid using incorrect methods of scolding and ensure that your corrections convey affection.

Effective training to address these issues will reduce stress for both the dog and the owner, leading to a more harmonious and enjoyable pet life.