My Dad Is Selling My Dog Next Week!

[KathyM]

rooled up newspaper across the back side, it will never hurt them unless your forceably trying to but the noise makes them jumo and they soon learn not todo whatever it is they do wrong

our dog never ever barks unless i playfully get him to chase the cat

Please for anyone reading this, don't take this advice. Rolled up newspaper DOES hurt them, and there is no excuse on this planet for hitting an animal. Absolutely disgusting.

 

[diademhill]

There is a way to use newspaper effectively without harming the animal.

You need a broadsheet newspaper, take out the sections & roll into tubes so you have half a dozen two foot long by about & inch thick rolls.

These have to be completely wrapped in Duct tape - silver is best.

Have one within your reach at all times (thats why you have to make six or more)
.
.
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Whenever your dog misbehaves you pick up one of the tubes & holding it in front of you...





hit yourself on the head three times repeating "I must observe my dog more closely"


Have you worked out what triggers the barking yet?

 

[PlecMama]

humm, it's just a newspaper.

Now, by de-barking, don't we mean cutting it's vocal chords? shall we just say that and put it in perspective?

I have a compulsive barker, as soon as she gets excited - she goes off. I have to endure 10 minutes of solid noise from the second I walk in from work until I manage to get her to calm down, in the mean time, my husband and my 3 year old can't get a word out for all the noise she's making. And the question? how tf do you bark with a shoe in your mouth? I never figured that out.

 

[splashluff]

Suzie, it sounds like your dog is just excitable. In any event where she would get worked up (you coming home, taking out her leash to go for a walk, dinner time, etc) be totally low-key and completely ignore her while she is barking. Once she quiets down, tell her to sit and pet her, give her a treat and give her attention. She needs to know that being quiet & calm gets rewarded

Hitting any dog, with any object, is bound to result in an aggressive, defensive, fearful dog with little or no bite inhibition. Dogs should respect you without having to hurt them in any way, it will just require extra training.

 

[PlecMama]

Oh we know what's supposed to work with her, problem is, she doesn't know what's supposed to work. That's labs for ya.

Sash just has to bark until she's done barking.

 

[KathyM]

humm, it's just a newspaper.

Now, by de-barking, don't we mean cutting it's vocal chords? shall we just say that and put it in perspective?

Youre right, just a newspaper. And next time your kids (if you have them) are playing up, think about those that say "It's just a leather belt", or "I only smacked them for their own good".

And yes, let's get the mutilation under perspective too. Do you slit your kids vocal chords for playing too loud? Or maybe squirt them in the face with caustic citronella? Or zap them with a cattle prod? <tempting I know>

Sounds harsher when I talk about our human little ones doesn't it?

 

[Synirr]

Youre right, just a newspaper. And next time your kids (if you have them) are playing up, think about those that say "It's just a leather belt", or "I only smacked them for their own good".

I dunno, I kinda side with the "just a newspaper" group on that one... Child Protective Services isn't going to come take your kids away from you if you bop them with a newspaper, know what I mean? As long as it's loosely rolled it really doesn't hurt, just makes a noise the dogs don't like -- try hitting yourself with it and see! That's the best test for a punishment in my opinion, trying it out yourself . I know a lot of people now are advocating positive reinforcement as the sole means of training a dog, and while it's best, negative reinforcement can sometimes do wonders on a stubborn dog and work 10 times as fast, and it doesn't have to be cruel.

 

[KathyM]

I don't agree, never will, sorry. Whether it hurts or not, it gives the dog at least a shock. You try that with a nervous dog and you'll see the consequences. I don't agree with ANY form of punishment in training, it's never necessary, it doesn't work (in fact it often sets dogs back) and all it does is satisfy our human frustrations and teach our dogs not to trust us. I personally want a healthy relationship with my dogs (and any dogs I might train in future as up until recently I was shadowing a very good trainer) and to me that doesn't ever involve physical or mental punishment.

Now on the kids front, no people might laugh about getting a whack with a rolled up newspaper. Now what if that child was an old lady with Alzheimers? Now that might repulse you. What makes that different to whacking a kid or a dog with one? None of them are necessary. All of them are a complete copout.

 

[Synirr]

... it doesn't work...

That's the thing though, it does work with some dogs... it's not objective to generalize like that. With the newspaper, the trick is that the touch of the paper quickly draws the dog's attention away from whatever it was doing, while the noise makes sure the dog doesn't confuse it for positive attention. Again, it's not supposed to hurt, it's more of an attention-getter for a stubborn dog that doesn't give a crap about being scolded. My dad's golden retriever would be a real terror if it weren't for the newspaper, that's all I know... she thought scolding was a good thing and would sit there and wag her tail at you with the happiest look on her face while you're saying "No Molly, no!" in the most assertive tone you can muster . A quick bop with the paper though and she'd go into "uh oh, I'm in trouble" mode.

 

[geo7x]

I too have a barker, a 4 year old springer spaniel. It's not so much at home, but in the boot of the car when we take him on walks. We have a mesh guard thing but it's not as if hes crammed in at all, since we have an estate car, but hes so crazy.

I think that this whole de barking business is a bit cruel really, it must be frustrating enough that the dog cant speak our language, and finds it hard to get our attention even when it can bark, but if it couldnt bark then..... Its just another form of mutating a dog to fit into our society, or for it to be more desirable. I am proud that my springer spaniel has a full tail, and i hope that the docking etc practice stops soon, along with ear cropping (whats the point?) and maybe other things. Unlike tail docking and ear cropping, i can see why de barking is an option with some people, and how a barking dog can drive you up the wall and ruin your peaceful life. Its up to the owner really.
I think that with this discipline thing, that it is essential that the dog knows what's good and what's bad, lets get back to basics. A good action must be reinforced with either a treat or a pleasant and happy, playful tone of voice. If a bad action is to occur, then either a distraction (in the form of a loud, sharp noise) to distract the dog away from what its doing, aswell as being a slightly unpleasant sound, and giving the dog a slight shock (it is sometimes necessary imo) will deter the dog from doing this again, so in future, it can feel confident that it is doing right, other than being unsure, or simply using a less pleasant tone of voice, remember its mainly the tone of voice that the dog uses to identify your mood, not the words you use. TBH, what i just explained is nothing compared to the discipline which would go on in the wild, either in the form of playfighting as puppies, and being told off by a parent. Im sure that in the wild whilst they are cubs, countless disciplinary nips are inflicted upon them, but i am not saying that you should go around biting your dog (lol) nor am i saying that any form of physical discipline is necessary or humane, i am just saying how using a less pleasant tone of voice is nothing compared to it, but effective in helping the dog guage between right and wrong.

 

[KathyM]

That's the thing though, it does work with some dogs... it's not objective to generalize like that. With the newspaper, the trick is that the touch of the paper quickly draws the dog's attention away from whatever it was doing, while the noise makes sure the dog doesn't confuse it for positive attention. Again, it's not supposed to hurt, it's more of an attention-getter for a stubborn dog that doesn't give a crap about being scolded. My dad's golden retriever would be a real terror if it weren't for the newspaper, that's all I know... she thought scolding was a good thing and would sit there and wag her tail at you with the happiest look on her face while you're saying "No Molly, no!" in the most assertive tone you can muster . A quick bop with the paper though and she'd go into "uh oh, I'm in trouble" mode.

With the 2nd statement in bold, you've descibed exactly why I would never, ever use physical punishment. There are other ways that involve as minimal effort with no detriment to the relationship.

As for the 1st statement in bold, there are ways to do this without being physically or emotionally "mean" to the dog.

I don't agree with it at all, just as I don't agree with the use of other physical or emotional "punishments" or "corrections" (as some people like to call them to make it sound better).

A good action must be reinforced with either a treat or a pleasant and happy, playful tone of voice. If a bad action is to occur, then either a distraction (in the form of a loud, sharp noise) to distract the dog away from what its doing, aswell as being a slightly unpleasant sound, and giving the dog a slight shock (it is sometimes necessary imo) will deter the dog from doing this again, so in future, it can feel confident that it is doing right

I'm afraid it's all too easy to "humanise" dogs, and imagine they learn from physical punishment. It's true they are unlikely to continually repeat behaviours that they get scared/beaten for, but is that the way we really want to play it?

The way forward in training is to ensure you don't set yourself up for that "fall" (ie having to use punishment). Work out why your dog is carrying out the unwanted behaviour, and prevent it before it happens (distractional work with clicker, Kong etc). A dog can easily work out a desired behaviour and creating an alternative through positive reinforcement (eg. clicker work) will help as they will soon learn that Mum/Dad likes that, I'll do that for a reward.

Barking is never about a dog wanting to wind people up. We could call it a "symptom", and what you need to work out is the cause, and rectify it. All you end up with when using punishment is a dog who tries to communicate an issue getting beaten/scared by it. It rarely works itself out using negative methods, as the root cause is never addressed. The best and kindest way to sort these problems is generally through ignoring the bad regularly and repeatedly, never caving, and creating an alternative where the reward is too good to pass up (in the meantime trying to rectify what causes the barking). A dog's not stupid, it'll work out which behaviour pays best

 

[Synirr]

Once again, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree KathyM
Negative reinforcment is the only thing that ever worked with our golden... we tried it the other way first, but quickly learned that, unlike all our previous dogs, she never caught on that constantly distracting her away from an action and praising her for not doing it meant we didn't want her to do it. She'd stop for the few minutes you were concentrating on the correction, then go right back to what she had been doing previously the second you went back about your business... she really honestly just never understood that what she was doing wasn't wanted until she got the punishment, but I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. It would only take one or two times with the newspaper before she caught on, however, and our relationship with her certainly hasn't suffered from it. Now that she is trained, of course, we never have to use any physical punishment with her, commands given in a stern tone are enough.
Now we have a cat that's exactly the same way, and they're both my dad's animals . Seems like his pets take after him in the brains department.

 

[red-devil0602]

Nobody who has any sense would hit their dog, all this shows is their lack of ability to learn how to control their own dog. My boxer is trained very well and i have never needed to smack her with anything. Try using a plastic bottle put some coins or stones (coins work better) in it a put the lid on, everytime the dog does something it shouldn't be shake the bottle really hard. The noise is enough to make them stop.

If you start shouting at a dog that is barking the dog takes it that you are joining in with barking aswell and will more than likely do it all the more.

If the dog is barking out of boredom try buying a kong toy and stuff it with the dogs favourite treats and some peanut butter and freeze it, then whenever the dog is left alone give it the kong to keep it busy.

Shock collars are cruel and should never be used

Seth if you want any real training tips please feel free to contact me through pm

 

[geo7x]

Try using a plastic bottle put some coins or stones (coins work better) in it a put the lid on, everytime the dog does something it shouldn't be shake the bottle really hard. The noise is enough to make them stop.

This is what i meant by the distraction incase anyone didnt understand

 

[FishKing13]

Tell your dad you will try to train him to not bark.(If you can figure out o.0) but if not tell your dad you will pay to get your dog obedience trained by a professional.