Don’t Scold Your Dog, Help Him Understand
Uncontrollable barking, destroyed objects, excrement on the floor in the lounge… Don’t scold your dog. This is not the way to solve the problem, in fact you would only make it worse. Try to overlook his mistakes and praise his merits.
Learn to arm yourself with patience
We all agree that there are situations in which our four-legged animals contribute greatly to making us lose our temper. But let’s always remember that their intentions are never bad. We get angry like humans, they act like dogs.
It is therefore important that in the face of these cases you learn to take a deep breath, arm yourself with patience and, with a lot of love and dedication, try to make your pet understand how things must be done.
“Trained or not, a dog will always be himself up to a certain point.”
-Carol Lea Benjamin-
Shouting doesn’t solve things
First and most important, convince yourself of the following: shouting will not solve the problem, nor will it cause your four-legged friend to stop doing what he is doing that is making you so mad.
It is easy that, by scolding him, you will get the animal to stop doing a certain action for a few moments. Yet, after a short time he will resume with the same activity.
The cries are only a temporal solution, and do not cause any good in the animal.
Don’t scold your dog, find a solution
There are many situations in life in which shouting does not lead to the solution of problems. When a person wants to impose something through screams, if he succeeds, it is because of the fear he instills in the other. And this is not an optimal way of solving things.
The same happens with your dog. For this reason, one of the best methods to educate him will be through Positive Reinforcement, a technique with which the good behaviors of the animal are rewarded through:
- Food to your liking
- Words of encouragement
- Caresses
- Toys
- Games
- Walks
When it’s okay to scold our pet
Consider the fact that if your dog, for example, has exhibited destructive behavior, scolding him will only be useful if caught in fragrant.
Scolding him in retrospect will only confuse him. The dog is unable to associate your reproach with something that happened in the past.
However, if you catch him in the act while destroying something, that is a good time to raise the tone of his voice, so without shouting but assuming a firm and blunt tone, let him understand through a “NO” or another similar term that what he is doing it’s wrong.
Resist scolding your friend once more
Shouting at a dog or intimidating him with physical punishment will not make his negative behaviors disappear. Indeed, it will certainly increase them.
Furthermore, it is purely a way to generate fearful animals that will be more prone to develop a behavior disorder, just like in the case of stereotypes.
Therefore, the best thing to do is always to encourage good behaviors and ignore the negative ones.
Educate your dog patiently and consistently
Keep in mind that training a dog is a daily job that requires:
- Time
- Patience
- Constance
Do not be discouraged if the results do not arrive immediately, and above all never give in to the temptation to scold your little friend. It may take several weeks before you begin to feel any positive changes.
In the meantime, let him know he’s a good dog. Show him all your affection with sweet words and caresses, and reward his progress.
Count to ten and give him love
The dog learning method is based on repetition and association of concepts. It is for this reason that to be able to eliminate a wrong attitude, the ideal is to replace it – gradually – with a positive one, which can be rewarded.
Educating your dog must be a positive experience for both you and him. Undoubtedly the best learning method is the one that aims to create a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Persecution and anger lead to nothing good.
Therefore, before yelling at your dog for something he did wrong, count to ten and find the most effective way to get him to give up that negative attitude that irritates you so much.
