Spray Bottle

[huski]

I tend to agree with lovemesideways.

I'm not saying the spray bottle never works effectively or shouldn't be used, I have used one myself on my adult dog although I didn't find it neccesary to spray her in the face.

Ellz what is the difference between a puppy/dog who cowers away from or avoids a rolled up newspaper and one who does the same at the sight of a spray bottle? It's important to rememer what is aversive to one dog may not be to another and if spraying a dog in the face works to stop the behaviour then the dog obviously finds it aversive.

I'm not saying using aversives is wrong - but you need to really think about whether or not spraying a baby puppy in the face is really the best method to use.

[ellz]

I tend to agree with lovemesideways.

I'm not saying the spray bottle never works effectively or shouldn't be used, I have used one myself on my adult dog although I didn't find it neccesary to spray her in the face.

Ellz what is the difference between a puppy/dog who cowers away from or avoids a rolled up newspaper and one who does the same at the sight of a spray bottle? It's important to rememer what is aversive to one dog may not be to another and if spraying a dog in the face works to stop the behaviour then the dog obviously finds it aversive.

I'm not saying using aversives is wrong - but you need to really think about whether or not spraying a baby puppy in the face is really the best method to use.

I'm NOT saying that a dog who cowers away from a newspaper or a spray bottle is any different. If a dog cowers away from either/both then they have obviously not been used correctly, that's what I am saying.

I will also add here that the spray bottle is NOT my first method of choice for correction either. Actually, it is a long way down the list of "tools" that I use with my animals. And more often than not, I don't need (or want) to use it on some animals or situations at all.

BUT it CAN be effective if done correctly! I really believe that as with any form of training, no matter whether it be dogs or horses....TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!!

[Lab lady]

I think there are much better ways to train a dog than by spraying them in the face with water. Especially with young puppies.

Your dog "shying" away when you show them the bottle, is not something I would be proud of. Its like saying "when I pick up the newspaper and he cowers, he knows he's done something wrong"

Having my dog be afraid of me, is never something I want.

I agree, especially as the pup in question is to be a guide dog the last thing you want to do is make it shy of a water bottle or a spray of any type.

[huski]

I still believe that a dog which has had a squirt from a spray bottle is in a much better place physically than a dog which has had the bejesus beaten out of it with a newspaper!

I agree but keep in mind that a dog doesn't need to have the beejesus beaten out of it with a newspaper to shy away from it - just like the spray bottle, it is the dog who decides what it finds aversive not the tool. Some dogs might like being sprayed in the face with a bottle, some might cower just at the sight of it.

[ellz]

See maybe I'm missing something but none of my animals are SHY of spray bottles as in the sake of a spray bottle directed at them for drinking purposes in the show ring, or even grooming purposes at home or ringside. Those who have needed the "voice of God" seem to be well aware of the difference between a spray bottle directed for correction and a spray bottle directed for other things.

Perhaps it is in the body language and tone?

[aussielover]

Mindy doesn't "shy" away from it, but will stop doing whatever she was doing immediately and stare. Then she will go and lie down. I rewarded her, as soon as she stops the behaviour.

She is not scared of it and will even grab it off the floor or table if left lying around. I have sprayed her with conditioner/detangler and she hasn't reacted at all.

I don't use the spray bottle on her anymore though, of course I don't want to her to be scared of it, you are absolutely right LMS, I didn't even think about her potentially being scared of things that spray .

This morning we were at an oval and the sprinklers were turned on, on us!!! all the other dogs freaked out (and people, me included) Mindy was completely oblivious to it and when she finally realised, she started playing in it!

She is turning out to be a great puppy now, she is much less naughty than she was a few weeks ago. She is one of the most confident puppies I've ever seen though (too confident for her own good i think!)

[sas]

Dogs will not shy away from a spray bottle or any other bottle if they are trained correctly with it i.e. they don't see the actual bottle.

Water is a pretty minimal adversive so I don't think people should be doing the whole judgemental thing.

[corvus]

Dogs will not shy away from a spray bottle or any other bottle if they are trained correctly with it i.e. they don't see the actual bottle.

Agreed. I think they shouldn't even know where (who) it came from. I have enormous tolerance for puppy behaviour and prefer to concentrate on teaching what I want them to do. I have found that if you're constantly looking for things to reward you find them quite a lot and generally don't need to "correct".