Is This What You Are Supposed To Do?

[yasimum]

I am like a new dog owner so be gentle! I had my last lovely girl for sixteen years so I have well and truly forgotten puppyhood and am out of the loop about current training practice.

The other day i took the dogs down to a little beachy part of the harbour so they could ahve a paddle. Carter is just a real boy and gets a little to rough with his play and because he is so big the other dogs get scared.

This worries me as i don't want to be constantly on edge when i am out with them. He was chasing and wrestling like he does with Rori (she was with my niece on the Bay Run) and this dog didn't like it. Fair enough. I chastised him and that was it but the owner of this other dog asked me if I wanted to see what I should do if he did something I didn't want him to do. I said yes.

She called him over and he trots over like a little lamb and she grabbed him with two hands by the scruff of his neck and shook the bejesus out of him until he cried. She said it didn't hurt but this is what their mother's did to them to tell them off.

Is this current practice? Seems a little harsh to me but then again I don't want him turning into a thug either.

[animalsluvbree]

well its no good shaking him once he has stopped and gone away (i know she was showing you what to do) - but it will just teach the pup to not come to you as he will associate it with getting hurt. And i wouldnt particuarly like being shoke so i dont see why it wouldnt be nice to dogs. If the pup is getting too over excited take him away from the commotion and let him calm down. Its not a punishment, change it into a positive experience so get him to sit or lie down etc. He is a puppy and hasnt learnt social boundaries but as a puppy they can kind of lose themselves in all the excitement so try to learn this behaviour and try stop it before it happens.... hope this makes sense and helps

[Tonymc]

Yasimum, he is your Dog not hers.Any disclipline or correcting is for you to handle.Simply put him back on the Lead and take him away if you see it as being too rough.

Be careful about letting somebody off the Street handle your Dog like that.Imagine if the Womans actions caused him to become defensive and he snapped or bit in self defence.You then could have some Mug wanting your Dog put down or classed as a dangerous Dog,when it was not his fault. Tony

[yasimum]

Thanks for your replies. You are right Tony, I never even considered that! Tony I followed your advice about the laying down when walking and am happy to report that he never once lays down now and really loves his walks. Thanks for the advice, it was very effective.

[Tonymc]

Yasimum, no problems at all.I am glad it was beneficial to you both. Tony

[Faolmor]

So...she called your dog, he obeyed, and then she punished him for being obedient? sounds like a great way to teach a dog not to come when called the next time! Your poor dog. Nope, definitely NOT what you are meant to do.

There are definitely other ways to teach your dog to be more gentle at play. All that lady succeeded in doing was to a) punish your dog for coming when called, and b) fear the next stranger to put their hands on him. What a total idiot.

I hope your dog is okay!

I usually find that the best "punishment" for a dog that plays too rough is to remove it from the game for some time out until they learn that rough play means an immediate end to the fun. Gentle play means that they get to keep playing.

[Poodle wrangler]

No!

Any punishment has to be IMMEDIATE i.e. when the dog's doing it. Your dog was punished for coming when called.

Useful piece of advice I got: Never call your dog to punish them ...trains them to NOT come!

Try redirecting your dog if he plays too rough e.g. throw a ball, put him back on leash, get him to sit etc. and reward him with a favourite food treat when he obeys. It's probably going to be difficult if he's excited, so make it an exciting treat. Add praise and redirect him to doing something else he finds fun.

Good luck with your new dog!

Edited March 13, 2007 by Poodle wrangler

[Wynnlake]

What mother dog grabs her pup by the scruff and shakes the crap out of it? I have never seen this ever!!! The mother dog at most growls and pins the pup to the ground. She doesnt shake them!!!

This woman sounds like a nutter, no pup needs to be hurt to be trained. Positive reinforment works better in the long run. Happy trained dogs is what i like to see not submissive semi trained dogs.

Dont listen to this woman, she talking crap! Next time if someone does something to your dog like that, do it back to them and see how they feel.

[sas]

I would have smacked her around the head for starters.

Your dog exhibits a behaviour that many dogs do, and they learn to calm down over time with more socalisation in controlled environments.

I suggest you start really training you dog so that you can recall it in any situation, especially when you see it starting to get too rough, then do onlead work with him....one day he's going to be too rough with the wrong dog.

You can also simply remove your dog from the situation as he'll soon come to understand that over the top behaviour means the game stops.

What this woman did to your dog was repremand him when he came when he was called which could potentially stuff up future training you do with your dog and also mess up your dogs confidence levels with strangers....she clearly has no idea at all....

You call a dog to you, you praise it, not punish it.

You can't repremand a dog after the act as it is.

No I would in no way handle a dog like this, completely unnccessary....as human leaders....we shouldn't be bullies....we should be firm and fair.

Any interactions with a young dog should be positive......when training puppies and young dogs distraction really needs to occur rather than punishment.....i.e. dog chews something its' not meant to....you give a firm 'No' and redirect the chewing to something you want the dog to chew and then praise............verbal correction then verbal/physical praise.

Edited March 18, 2007 by sas

[yasimum]

Thanks again folks. It certainly doesn't sit well with me as I never used this form of reprimand with my old dog.

I guess it all comes down to the fact that I worry he will get hurt. I have sussed out now who is around and when and try to take them when I know there are no aggressive dogs around.

He is learning to play nicely! This morning when I took them to the water, I had to laugh. Rori is much more energetic than he is. There was a sixmonth old staffy there today and she and Rori were having a great time wrestling in the water and the sand.

Carter joins in intermittently but most of the time he goes into the water shoulder height and walks back and forth. IT reminds me of people doing lap walking at the pool. He is just so big and ungainly that he can't keep up and it is like he isn't going to make himself look silly trying to!

[benny123]

Oooh, I wish you could post pics of them now - I'd love to see them. I saw Rori when she was about 7 weeks old (when we were picking up or pups) and have never seen carter in the flesh.

[yasimum]

I've tried benny but not being very au fait with photos on the computer, it keeps telling me that they are too big even though i try to resize them. Will try again.

[yasimum]

Da,da! I have created a page on dogster which has some photos.

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/503959

[yasimum]

PS: The grey dog is my beautiful Jenna who I lost last year at the age of 16.

[Akayla]

I would have punched the woman if she did that to one of my pups! But then I might get a dangerous person collar

Even if you choose to use a negative reinforcement, it should ONLY be done at the time and you would want to be very careful when you use it. The pup may associate the negative action with other dogs (and in the case of the woman doing it, strangers). Then you would have a dog you could not take out at all. I would save it for a more approppriate time if you want to use "punishment".