Teaching Your Dog “No” Might Not Help!

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by Suzy - Online Dog Coach

Behavior Problems? Teaching Your Dog No Might Not Help

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Do you find yourself using the word “No” more than three times a day with your dog?

Using the word “no” leaves your dog confused and always on guard. Some dogs will become fearful and timid, hesitating to come to you. Others may stop the undesired behavior for that moment, but continue to do it at other times. The best dog training uses positive reinforcement methods to teach your dog what TO do instead of what not to do. If you start these techniques while training a new puppy you stand a better chance of maintaining control in a difficult situation.

Since dogs will have the mental capacity of a toddler for their entire life, you need to show them the behaviors you expect of them. Actually, I believe dogs get smarter with this type of training. With time and consistency, your dog will automatically choose the behaviors you want over those you don’t because they ultimately want to please you. Behavioral science research shows that animals (as well as humans) respond well to positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement such as uncomfortable collars and the word “no” are less effective teaching tools (Pryor).

Instead, try replacing “no” with alternate words that tell your dog what TO do! An effective dog command replacement word is Leave It. Use this command when your dog is rolling in something, digging, chewing on your things, trying to lunge at another dog, or sniffing and nudging another person. Reward your dog when they have turned their attention to you and away from the negative behavior. Teach your dog to Leave It instead of using the general, unspecific word no. Other replacement commands are:

• Tell your dog to stay before he pushes through the door or races down the stairs.
• If your dog is jumping up, ask them to sit or down before you pet them. Train you friends and visitors to do the same.
• Work on heeling when your dog is pulling on a leash. Use watch frequently, and mix up your walk with games your dog enjoys so they want to stay with you.
• Is your dog under foot? Try using settle/place to get them to a safer location.
• When your dog is racing across the street to greet a friend or chase a rabbit, ask them to come.
• Your dog is barking excessively; tell her to quiet or “That’s Enough”.
• Housebreaking an issue? Teach your dog the Hurry Up command to reinforce proper housetraining behaviors.

Now, some of these commands take more training than others, and you probably don’t have hours everyday, and you don’t want to send your dog away to camp! You can still achieve results by working on the commands most useful for your situation for a few minutes every time you see your dog.

• Work a couple of repetitions when you are feeding your dog breakfast, and again at dinner.
• When you come home from work, take two minutes to practice a desirable behavior instead of crazy play time.
• While watching TV, use commercials to work with your dog.
• Start walks with your dog by practicing come a time or two before snapping on the leash. You can also work on it before taking the leash off at the dog park.

Training isn’t hard, it just takes you remembering to do it every time you interact with your dog. Like parenting, you can’t turn off the training if you want a well behaved dog!

References:

Pryor, K. “Don’t Shoot The Dog,” Bantum Books, 1999.