Beks Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Hi everyone! Wondering whether I can get your opinions on a training technique a friend told me about last weekend. He's got a little terrier (Jack Russell I think - but I don't think it's important). Anyhoo - He's got a rather odd way of solving the problem of his dog chewing garden furniture / fences / shoes / anything it's not supposed to. If he gets home from work and say, for example, the dog has chewed the leg of an outdoor chair, rather than scolding the dog (who by that stage has completely forgotten he's even done anything wrong), he actually scolds the chair - he shouts at it, hits it, acts like a complete maniac - all aimed at the chair! Apparently this teaches him dog that the chair is "bad", and he shouldn't go near it. Don't know why it works - maybe the dog thinks that he'll be the one who gets told off if he goes near it again? Has anyone else used this technique before? Does it work for you? Bek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seita Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Errm... honestly I doubt that this would work. Dogs do not have logic which is why if you come home and find the dog has eaten a chair and you scold the dog for it, the dog will not understand that they are in trouble for eating the chair, the dog will not make that connection. It would be exactly the same if you scolded the chair, the dog would just look at you and have no idea what you were on about and it may even think it's in trouble because of your raised voice and your body language! But seriously your friend would probably be better off catching the dog in the act and scolding it then or putting some foul tasting stuff on the furniture so the dog no longer enjoys eating it! It would make a great home video though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Soooo .... does the friend say it works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beks Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 Hi Sidoney, Yeah he said it does! That's why I'm so interested to find out whether anyone else has tried it before! In fact, he actually brags about how well behaved his dog is! (Don't we all hate that ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Hi..I heard this method recommended by a vet on radio some years back. he swore by it.... but did advise anyone trying it to make sure neighbours weren't watching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I don't know if it would work in that situation because a chair is a chair, whether or not it's a damaged chair would not be obvious to the dogs. However I have used that technique in house training. If I found a puddle or pile on the floor some time after the deposit had been made I would tell the offending substance off as I cleaned it up. The pup would watch me wagging my finger at the mess and telling it how naughty it (the mess) was for being on my floor. I made no connection between the mess and the pup such as 'look what you did' but she was certainly aware that the mess was in trouble. I do not chastise pups for accidents inside the house, I make no comment at all unless I catch them about to go into action. When that happens I say 'outside' and quickly take pup out. I'm very aware any accident they have is my fault for not watching my dog and not taking her outside often enough or when she gave signals. The difference between that and the chair is that the chair would remain where it has always been whereas the mess would be removed from the area where it wasn't supposed to be. Maybe it's a nutso technique but I thought it was worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Errm... honestly I doubt that this would work. Dogs do not have logic which is why if you come home and find the dog has eaten a chair and you scold the dog for it, the dog will not understand that they are in trouble for eating the chair, the dog will not make that connection. It would be exactly the same if you scolded the chair, the dog would just look at you and have no idea what you were on about and it may even think it's in trouble because of your raised voice and your body language! But seriously your friend would probably be better off catching the dog in the act and scolding it then or putting some foul tasting stuff on the furniture so the dog no longer enjoys eating it!It would make a great home video though! No that's not the object of the exercise at all. The pup knows the chair is in trouble but puppy is a good girl and not in any trouble at all. I honestly don't know how it would work with a chair being left where it originally was but a distinction must be made that the offending substance (in my case) was in the wrong place and was very naughty. Pup on the other hand was a good girl. I didn't go overboard with raising my voice or do anything that would make the pup afraid or think it was connected to whatever was being chastised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvawilow Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I sorta did the same thing. My 2 girls decided that after living together for 6mths that they no longer liked each other and were having the most awful bitch fights It was very difficult to break them up (tried water, wheelbarrow, pot lids, etc) and then one day I had a brain explosion. I found my old dressage whip in the shed and went out and whipped the outdoor table whilst telling it that it was a "bad table" in my grumpy voice. Then my neighbour stuck his head over the fence to make sure I was beating up my dogs because he said I was sounding very odd and out of character They had one more fight after the table got "in trouble" and all I had to do to break it up was whip the ground and say "stop" in my grumpy voice and that was it no more fighting - my theory was the they thought that the table copped it and they didn't want to be next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 If your friend is trying to train the furniture why use aversives?He may have more sucess training the Chair and so in Drive. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clicking Mad Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 (edited) ... Edited January 21, 2008 by Clicking Mad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I've done it ..... recommended in particular for house-soiling accidents. Although I usually suggest to clean up in the absence of the dog (so the dog cannot in any way, shape or form perceive any 'importance' between you and the 'mess'), if this can't or isn't done, then grumble at the 'mess' whilst you clean it up. Supposedly reduces the chance of perception of "importance". I've also done it during the "training my dog not to get up on my water bed" process. Hhhmmm .... because I coupled this with other methods as well, I can't attest that the getting mad at my bed worked in itself. But my girl 'Kal' (RIP) did learn not to. Until she got sick - and then I really didn't give a hoot what she did ...... Dunno ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 If your friend is trying to train the furniture why use aversives?He may have more sucess training the Chair and so in Drive. Tony :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I heard about thi when we got Dante....tried it...no luck LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 It was probably designed so that people would vent at inanimate objects (thinking they were 'training') rather than at their dogs :rolleyes:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatevah Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I want to see the video!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I've read about this technique too and wondered if it works. Never tried it on my dog. Guess it makes light of a tense situation and gives stress relief to the human if anything!! :rolleyes: Can dogs distinguish between animate and inanimate objects copping a scolding?!? Also, if the object is scolded after the fact, does the dog still make an association?!?! Dog psychology fascinates me!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beks Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 Thanks for everyone's opinion! I guess this sort of technique is a "see if it works on your dog - but no guarantees" training tool. When my friend told me about this he actually mentioned a problem he had with his dog always trying to run out the front when the side gate was open. He said that he spent about 10 minutes shouting at the gate like a maniac and hitting it and unfortunately a few neighbours did see him! Probably thought he was a nutcase. But from that day onwards the dog didn't go anywhere near the gate without the owners say so, so guess it was worth it! I might try it out whenever any of the dogs do an indoor mess - most people here seem to have more luck with that than the outdoor furniture bashing! :rolleyes: Bek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clicking Mad Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 (edited) ... Edited January 21, 2008 by Clicking Mad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvawilow Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 CrashTestDummy Posted 9th Nov 2007 - 08:07 AM I want to see the video!!!! I especially want to see Silvawilow whipping the outdoor table I have a very well behaved table thank you very much Seriously though I think it was the sound of the whip and me going of my tree that stopped my girls fighting, not the table being punished. I was at my whits end and was getiing tired of having to come home every 2 hours to make sure they were both still alive (I was paranoid that one of them was going to break out of the dog run and get to the other) and thought hey why not try this Also very happy with my neighbour popping his head over the fence - we'd only been here a few months - good to know people still care about other people's animals welfare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seita Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 @ everyone's responses! I am curious though about what your dog actually thinks when you do start going off? I might have to try this next time Ella digs a hole!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now