Is it Bad to Tell Dogs Off?
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Does your dog misbehave? Do you not know what to do when it doesn't pay attention to you or breaks something?
All these situations are more common than you think, and many people go through the same during their dog's training process. Even though dogs are not always well behaved, telling a dog off is not an effective way to get it to stop behaving badly. This is because most behavioral problems in dogs are directly related to a lack or a deficiency in some aspect of basic care.
Keep reading this Animal Wised article and discover if it is bad to tell a dog off and what you should do when they misbehave.
In certain circumstances, telling a dog off can be a serious mistake
Understanding a dog's behavior and its natural form of communication is not always easy, especially if your best friend has been up to no good and you are angry with it. However, their expressions, sounds and body language can reveal a lot about what they are trying to tell you.
For example, if a dog growls it is giving you a warning and letting you know that it wants to be left in peace. A growling dog is having a bad time and it doesn't want you to continue with what you are doing. In these cases, telling your dog off can be counterproductive because you're telling it that growling is bad; it will skip that step and get on to biting. Find out why your dog is growling before telling it off.
Something similar happens when they bare their teeth and squint their eyes, which has a similar meaning: "Don't bother me".
Another circumstance in which you should never tell off a dog is when you notice one of the most common behavioral problems in dogs: Separation anxiety. You can easily tell if your dog has separation anxiety, as it is manifested when you arrive home and find everything broken and chewed up, with the dog incessantly barking, etc. We recommend using a Kong to treat separation anxiety, as dogs find this toy calming and entertaining.
Fears, phobias and other negative or strange behaviors should be examined by a professional. Telling off a dog that suffers from behavioral problems will make it feel even more stressed and nervous, which will make the problem that you already have even worse.
If you see your dog has drooping ears, its tail between its legs or it tries to run away, it's because you're making it have a bad time and that it is scared. Stop telling it off at once; your dog can't understand why you punish it, since the bad deed has been done too long ago to link it with the scolding.
Never forget that hitting a dog is animal abuse. Go to the specialist if you detect a health or behavior-related problem, and try to understand your pet through positivity and comfort. If you don't understand the need to empathize with your dog and build trust with it on a daily basis, it's better not to have a dog at all.
What should you do when your dog behaves badly?
If your dog regularly behaves badly you should commit to taking it to a specialist such as an ethologist, which is a vet that specializes in canine behavior. By knowing about the dog's habits and how it is looked after, and by observing its behavior, an ethologist will be able to offer you a diagnosis and guidelines to follow in order to improve its bad behavior.
Check the five freedoms of animal welfare, as they can be a quick guide to work out if you are caring for your dog properly or not. For example, a lack of walks can lead to nervousness and destructive habits. Meanwhile, a dog that lives outdoors or spends too much time alone can feel abandoned, and consequently start exhibiting repetitive destructive behaviors in order to somehow get your attention.
When you catch your dog behaving badly, you should try to turn it around and redirect their behavior into a more pleasing one. For example, if your dog bites all your furniture you should quickly bring it a toy or chew toy, and praise it when it bites it. If your dog urinates in the house, don't tell it off. Instead, when you think it is going to urinate again try and prevent the event by quickly taking it outside. There you should effusively congratulate it so that it remembers where it should be doing it.
As you can see, we recommend basing all dog training on positive reinforcement. This method is used by dog trainers and ethologists around the world, since it doesn't worsen behavioral problems and offers the great advantage of helping the dog understand better. Additionally, it creates an association between good behavior and being rewarded, which will help you to improve everything that you need to.
Being constantly obedient, patient, respectful and sincerely affectionate towards the animal - while using positive reinforcement - will help you improve your relationship with your dog, therefore allowing you to appropriately work on any problems that may arise without resorting to telling it off.
How are you going to train your dog? In your opinion, is it bad to tell dogs off? Comment and share your opinion with other users so that they can hear all points of view.
If you want to read similar articles to Is it Bad to Tell Dogs Off?, we recommend you visit our Behavioral problems category.
