How Do You Punish Your Pup

[Kyra]

I was looking for some advice on how to punish kyra when she destroys our house, she jumped the baby gate from the laundry last night to get into the living areas and destroyed things out of the bathroom, lounge room and ripped out all the bedding from the rat cage.

I got out of bed and found her chomping on an oven mitt and my first reaction was to smack her and put her outside, but after thinking about it I was wondering if I should have done that and if I could have gone about it in a better way when she does something like this.. it isn't the first time she's destroyed half the house.. i want to get her out of this asap.

Any advice would be great please..

[poodlefan]

Buy a crate. She can sleep in it with the door closed provided you give her toilet breaks.

I use verbal corrections only. However some are delivered at high decibel levels.

Edited September 17, 2008 by poodlefan

[Miranda]

You can't expect a puppy not to destroy things so as PF says crate her when you can't supervise.

[Bjelkier]

Hitting is definatly not the way.

I have tapped the boys on the butt a few times to get their attention but never in anger. Hitting makes for a nervous and unhappy dog.

I have a growl at my two when they are doing something terrible (only if I have caught them in the act however, any later and the dog dosn't have any idea why you are so angry) take away whatever they are destroying or remove them from the thing.

If they are jumping up or mouthing I get up with a growl at them and turn my back on them, they hate being ignored and learn quickly that the certain action they are doing gets nothing good from me.

I also agree with the others, get a crate if she is jumping the baby gate and destroying things.

Edited September 17, 2008 by Wolfsong

[ZEPING]

definatly no hitting !!

yelling works

so does ignoring (time out)

crates are excellent

ive hear of putting chill or something similar on item that you doent want him to touch(never tried it)

and if his chewing on thing give him a bone mayb redirect this or make him so exhusted theu training that he just wants to conk out!

[Kyra]

I'm not a crazy woman who goes around belting my dogs in case anyone was thinking I constantly hit her. I was quite worked up and that was my first reaction to smack her bum & put her out the back.. My bad.

I think I need to read up on crate training.. & how big of a crate to get. I just got rid of the one I had as it was far too small for her and she never went in it without a fuss. So I'll read up on crate training and most likely buy a new, larger crate.

Around how big do you think the crate should be? Thanks

[LuvMyCav]

Kyra, the crate needs to be big enough for her to stand up and turn around in when she's fully grown. The crates usually give ideas of which breed sizes they're designed for.

[badboyz]

Never hit your dogs Kyra, especially after the event. They will not understand and just become shy of you. As others have suggested, find a more suitable way of securing your dogs when you can't be with them, either with a crate or secure run. When you do catch them in the act, an angry growl or a water spray bottle (very effective with pei, not sure about with Kyra) will do. If they stop what they are doing then call them to you and praise them. Remove the offending item and give them something more suitable to play with.

[puggy_puggy]

I doubt anyone would think that you are a crazy woman who goes around belting your dogs.

Did you actually catch her in the act of ripping up things? If so then firm yelling at her, maybe even spraying with a water bottle, and putting her outside is a good idea. I alot of the time will lift a pug, that is doing something wrong, up by the scruff of the neck and put it outside or remove it from the situation. Doesn't hurt the pug as they are little enough to do this. Not sure how big your girl is o don't know if you could do this.

If you don't catch a dog in the act of doing something then yelling at them and putting them outside really isn't going to work as they don't know what they are being told off for. Although I do feel like if a dog has done something and you have discovered it later they do know they have been naughty.

I think the trick is to prevent her doing it. Is the baby gate you have just a normal height? I know that you can get ones that are double the normal height. Maybe try the crate thing.

[puggy_puggy]

If they stop what they are doing then call them to you and praise them.

Yes yes if you correct them and they respond to your correction always praise. Go from a deep angry voice for the correction to a high happy one for the praise.

[Kyra]

No.. the only thing I caught her in the act doing, was eating the oven mitt.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

[persephone]

Kyra- IMO there is absolutely nothing achieved by growling at a puppy who has chewed stuff up,already and is chewing something...especially if you're angry.

They have already learnt that chewing brings the reward of taste/smell/sound..they pick up this stuff quickly!!

A puppy is a baby- puppies learn about textures and their world through chewing.

A house is like heaven for a puppy- so many different textures,sounds and shapes---all deliciously scented with the smell of her pack- YOU

It is definitely your responsibility to prevent her getting to anything which you want to protect.

It is also your responsibilty to make sure she is physically and mentally exhausted when bedtime comes- so she has no urge to search and destroy .

here is an example for you- we live in the country- and have an acre yard around the house- there is also someone home all day.We are fortunate indeed!

I have had several dogs over the past years, from baby pup stage- all inside- and ,luckily.. nothing chewed.( I lie- one tab off a shoe, and one off a boot).They have slept in my room on their own beds... my room is of the sort where I know there is a floor somewhere , so they could have wrecked anything..... however, they were active all day, had other dogs around, plenty of bones..and were glad to sleep the night through.

So- given plenty to explore and do during the day- somewhere inviolate which is THEIR space, and rules about bedtime from day one- puppies will learn to sleep

MY theory, anyhow......FWIW

[Tonymc]

We are supposed to be the smarter specie's and its up to us to utilise good management. Tony

[Pug Hugger]

I have a water spray bottle (couple of dollars from the supermarket) Louie will get a spray of that in his face (on jet) if he is being very bad. Now all I need to do is look at it and he stops! I usually only every verbally reprimand him though as he has mostly grown out of the evil stage.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

We are supposed to be the smarter specie's and its up to us to utilise good management. Tony

I agree. A lot of puppy training is about puppy-proofing the house so that it does not get an opportunity to do the wrong thing. That, combined with giving the puppy lots of opportunities for appropriate activities.

Once the puppy has discovered that the rat cage is fun, your job becomes 10 times harder than if it never discovered that at all.

I'm not a big fan of physical punishment including spray bottles etc, but I do use timeouts and withdrawal of attention for short periods. Works a treat.

The only sensible use for a rolled up newspaper is to hit oneself on the head with it and say "I forgot to shut the door/put the shoe away/crate the puppy".

[kristin_e102]

Hi,

This will be a little cotroversial but if my 17 week old lab is doing something naughty - to me in particular - such as biting and jumping up to bite my clothes Ill say NO in a really big voice and if I have to do that three times because he wont stop he gets a smack (not belting him but hard enough so he knows im angry and not just patting his bum). It works because it doesnt happen a lot so when it does he knows im serious! He then gets put outside and more often than not when he comes back in he wont do what was making me angry again.

This is my second pup and the first one we disciplined like this all the time and he was toilet trained within a week and had good behaviour. Before I got Tayza I read up on everything and wanted to do everything right so I was not smacking him and opposed to anyone else smacking him. I also didnt rouse on him when he had an accident inside but nearly two and a half months after we got him he STILL is not toilet trained. I guess its like the smacking your children debate everyone has different opinions. But Im just letting you know that I smack when he is doing something really naughty & repeatedly, and it works on him.

Cheers,

Kristin

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I smack when he is doing something really naughty & repeatedly, and it works on him.

In your post you actually mention two punishments at the same time - a positive one (smacking) and a negative one (time out). Why didn't you just use the time out?

[ZEPING]

I'm not a crazy woman who goes around belting my dogs in case anyone was thinking I constantly hit her. I was quite worked up and that was my first reaction to smack her bum & put her out the back.. My bad.

I think I need to read up on crate training.. & how big of a crate to get. I just got rid of the one I had as it was far too small for her and she never went in it without a fuss. So I'll read up on crate training and most likely buy a new, larger crate.

Around how big do you think the crate should be? Thanks

LOL no just so yoou know i personally didnt thnk you a crazy person!!

it needs to big enuff to accommodate them when there adult size as you can section of the crate bit my bit! and let them have more space as it grows

it like a place for sanctuary for them mine goes in when it tired or just wants a break from everything!

[TrinaJ]

I can understand the frustration, Jett has decided to become a Clothesline Thief!! But you need to remember one thing, hands are used for praising and petting not smacking, you dont want your puppy to shy away from you. Puppies are just that puppies, they need to be taught what is acceptable and what is not. You need to get a crate and crate train your puppy.

I have a crate for Jett inside, she is safe and my things are safe. As the others have said, you will get an indication of the size of crate you will need from the suppliers of the crate. Buy one large enough for her for when she is fully grown. Jett's crate came with a divider so I could close it off - she's never gone to the toilet in her crate either, she knows its her place.

Get a kong, stuff it with peanut butter, or a bone, toys etc and put them in with her, she will soon learn that a crate is a fun place to be and wont see it as a punishment. You will also have somewhere to put her when visitors come over or if she is being silly (like a time out, with a bone - you dont want her to see the crate as punishment either).

Puppies also chew on things when they are bored. THey need physical and mental stimulation just like we do. Have you enrolled her into ob classes as yet? You will both benefit a great deal and its a lot of fun.

Good luck with your new puppy!!!

Trina

[Scotty]

I remember my parents shoving the noses of dogs into holes, wee poo etc and belting them with rolled up newspapers. Makes me cringe now and scared the hell out of me as a kid. They thought that was how you trained a dog. No-one ever told them different and they never looked for better answers. It was what their parents did I suppose.