Lately I'm seeing an epidemic. It's dogs who are behaving badly because they have no clue what their owners are asking them for. It's the dogs who jump. It's the dogs who mouth. It's the dogs who run around like a spastic chicken while the owner stands there makes a noise that is supposed to mean no.
And here's the kicker....when did anyone EVER teach a dog what those things mean? I mean really, what is the purpose of all these weird things that you are raising your voice at your dog for? It makes you feel better, right? You feel by saying at the top of your lungs "UH UH" that Fido might possibly stop what he's doing because you are being firm. Here's a thought...maybe Fido stops what he's doing because he thinks you're out of your mind? Or you might be scaring the crap out of him with these odd things.
So, in the last few months, I've come up with a solution! And it's a fun one too. The conversation goes like this:
Me: Give me one word, a fun word that everyone in your family can remember.
Client (Well, it was their 4 year old actually): Pork Chop!
Me: Okay, here's the deal. Every single time you want to say "No" or make a sound like "Uh uh" you get to say that word. So, when Fido is doing something you don't want him to, take a deep breath and quietly say "pork chop".
Client: **baffled look"" We aren't supposed to yell at our dog is what you're telling us?
Me: BINGO! (Thank goodness the dog's name wasn't Bingo!)
It gets the point across though. Even yelling "pork chop" at the top of their lungs basically has the same effect as "No", "Uh huh", "Tsch", "No no no no". I'm just giving owners an opportunity to see the futile attempt at using the words to train a dog. In most cases the family sticks with the process of replacing the "no" word and they end up having fun with it. The family in my example actually used "Pork Chop" for the kids and everything. It's hard to be upset when you are giggling at the ridiculousness of it.
The best way to get your dog to stop doing something you don't want them to? Train incompatible behaviors. Dog jumps all over people when they come in? Train the dog to sit and get treats. Dog barks at the doorbell? Train the dog to go a room when the doorbell rings. (This one is especially handy if you teach them the doorbell means to kennel up.)
I recently assessed a dog who seemed very out of control. Within a few minutes I had him sitting at my feet calmly and taking treats as I clicked for good behavior. When I first got there, the person who was handling the dog would ask the dog to sit. "Can you sit?" and when the dog wouldn't sit she would "UH UH" really loudly and harshly. This sends very mixed signals to the dog. I like to keep all training very upbeat and even when I'm not training, I like to still use praise and rewards for capturing good behavior. Greyson laying down on the floor next to the couch still to this day can get a "Good boy! Good down!" even though he knows what "down" is and he knows he's a good boy, it's the playing of the lottery to get rewarded. Even if it's just a verbal praise!
Now, this is not to say I'm perfect. I lose my cool at times. I've been known to yell. There have been plenty of "What in the world are you doing?"s come out of my mouth. The idea is that you don't want to be constantly sending those mixed signals to your dog. Sooner or later, Fido isn't going to know if he's coming or going and that's normally when I get the phone call.
So always keep it upbeat, positive, and remember, you can't yell "NO" at your dog if you're giggling because you agreed to say "pork chop" instead.
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