Getting Angry at the Dog Doesn't Stop the Behavior

Have you ever felt frustrated at your dog because you're already mad at them but they still don't understand you are? Have you felt that screaming at them was worthless and that it only made matters worse?

Well, most of the time, this is the case. Most dogs don't have a vocabulary which is probably why when you call their name and say bad, they still keep wagging their tail or do that thing that you want them to stop doing.

When we our angry or we scream at them, there's a 90% chance that dogs will perceive this as excitement. And excitement is used mostly to give positive reinforcement.

Here are some things I do and tips I use when correcting my dog's behavior

1. If you prefer saying "No", make sure you say it in a low voiced growl. If you see dogs interact with each other where one wants something from the other while the other doesn't want anything of it, you'll hear a growl ( and a baring of teeth- this isn't necessary for humans). The other dog will eventually get the picture that his actions aren't wanted.

2. Use the noise maker. Some vets and behaviorists have always encouraged people to use noise makes or "shakers" to deter a dog from doing something inappropriate such as nipping, biting or even peeing where they aren't supposed to do so. Noise makers are made from pebbles placed in a clean empty soda can. The trick here is to shake it while they're doing it, not when they're done.

3. Ignore response. This is one of the tricks used to deter a jumping dog. The human will turn the head on the side and have their arms folded so as to deprive the dog of the attention he wants.

4. Not giving attention or comfort as it implies rewarding a behavior.

So one more thing we should always put in mind, no one trick or technique is applicable to all the dogs in the world. Even Cesar Millan needs to observe his patients before he creates a strategy to correct behavioral issues. I hope this helps.

 

I kind of disagree. If I'm mad and yell at my dogs they know I am not happy and you can tell this by the way they react. I think people don't give dogs enough credit they know exactly what kind of mood you are in. They can also sense when something is wrong. They know when they have displeased you and when they have done something right.

 

The dogs I used to have and our recent dog can also feel or understand if I am angry. I could also easily notice if they are scared or looks guilty because they had done something wrong.
I could also observe that a puppy is less likely to understand easily if your angry and saying "bad dog".

 

I've not mentioned body language even though this greatly attributes to how a dog perceives us.

You have a point. Most dogs are extremely attuned to their owners. They know when we are sad, happy, mad or even depressed. Still, yelling doesn't necessarily work on all dogs, especially puppies who've been newly introduced to a family as zararina said. The question is if our verbal cues or voiced-out reaction alone prevents them from repeating such an act or behavior.

I recall this Youtube video of a dog that knew she had been guilty of what she did. I could not embed it so here's the link to LeeLoo's video.

 

Another good long-distance and non-violent means of expressing displeasure, in addition to the noisemaker, is a spray bottle filled with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. A squirt of two of the vinegar in response to excessive barking usually breaks the behavior. Even better, the dog associates the spray bottle with the vinegar stream--the owner is not considered part of the punishment in the dog's mind.

 

These are some good tips.. I've been finding my pup is less likely to jump if I ignore her or don't award her with my attention.. then again sometimes she'll jump on me anyway and ruin my clothes so it's a lose lose situation lol

 

I think dogs respond better to the tone than the actual words being spoken. For example, when I call Candy in a sharp tone, she knows that something is not right. She would immediately stop whatever she was doing, to await further instructions, so to say.

 

I agree with Victor--words aren't entirely necessary when training dogs. Dogs don't speak our languages, so they need to be taught what we want before we give it a label. If I don't like what my dogs are doing, I give them a variety of verbal corrections, depending on the severity of the situation. I say, "uh oh," if they've done something mild, "no sir" or "no ma'am" if it's a bit more serious, and for serious infractions I use a loud "ah!" sound. Dogs only apply labels to anything we train them to do if we give them those labels and use them consistently.

 

Slightly off-topic.

Has anyone ever trained chicken to respond to commands in English? Where I used to live, the people call chicken to come by saying "Kruu kruu", sounding somewhat like a pigeon cooing. I taught my chickens to come with the words "Come, come". It's just a matter of conditioned reflex.

 

I use most of those techniques except for the noise maker I will have to make one of those and use them. I get very frustrated at my dog but I try not to yell. Depriving them of attention when they are doing undesirable behavior seems to work for my dog also.

 

Come to think of it, our dogs are, more or less, like small children. They may just be misbehaving to get attention. So if we don't dance to their tune, so to say, they might learn that misbehavior won't get them any attention and perhaps they will give up on it.

 

How about giving us a summary of those training articles so that we can have some idea what they are about? Myself, I am not too good at clicking on links, especially those which say something like clickersolutions.

 

Sorry about that - some spam slipped through the net. I've deleted it now though

 

I have to agree completely! I once saw this man yelling insanely at his dog, and the dog was so afraid with his tail between his legs and just peed. Without being rude, I told the man to use soft voice and he did. The dog responded and did what his owner told him to do!

I couldn't take it when I see someone yelled out of their mind at their dog! I got scare so I am sure the dog got scare too.

 

I agree too. Yelling at dogs is pointless, it either scares them or confuses them. They often don't know why we're angry. Also, aggression causes aggression.
I don't yell at Homer

 

We have 3 dogs - Tisoy, Barbie and Pipoy. The first 2 heed my warning and when they are incessantly barking, I would slap the floor with my slipper and that's a good enough warning for them. But Pipoy, the hyperactive pug gets angry when I show my anger. It's as if he will bite me so we place him in the cage all the time. He is a vicious dog that has a bad temper. And since we had him under training for 3 months and he remains the same so we just accepted him with his abnormality.

 

Am sorry but praise is better! Yelling nastily will cause fear

 

Using crates for punishment is wrong

 

Crating dogs for punishment doesn't work and it isn't very ethical. I would quit putting the Pug in the cage, you are going to make the problem worse.

 

Screaming is emotional abuse period. Best get training vids YouTube etc