Shiba Shake

Dog Tips, Care & Training

Dog Discipline – Should We Beat or Hit a Dog as Punishment?

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Spanking, beating, and hitting a dog, is sometimes used as a form of dog discipline or dog punishment.

After all, biting a dog’s ear worked for Cuba Gooding Jr. in the movie Snow Dogs. Therefore, will such pain based techniques work for us too? To answer this question, we must consider how dogs learn.

Dogs learn through conditioning.

  • They repeat behaviors that get them good results, and
  • They stop behaviors that get them bad results.

Based on this, there are two schools of thought for stopping problem dog behaviors – reward obedience training and aversive obedience training.

Shiba Inu and Siberian Husky lying next to each other. They are best friends.
Dog Discipline – Is It Bad to Beat or Hit a Dog?

Is It Bad to Beat or Hit a Dog?

Spanking, beating, and hitting a dog are all aversive techniques. Pain is delivered to sensitive areas of the dog, such as his ear or muzzle, when he performs a bad behavior.

The argument for this type of dog discipline, is that the pain will discourage a dog from repeating undesirable actions. Every time our dog does something bad, he gets an unpleasant result (pain), which will hopefully dampen his resolve to perform the same behavior.

However, the problem with aversive training, is that it is risky, too personal, and there is no good way to redirect the punishment.

Our dog knows that the pain originates from us, and is not a natural result of his actions.

As a consequence, our dog may end up learning the wrong lessons, including:

  • Hitting, slapping, and biting is a fun game that my owner plays with me. Let me try playing it with him, and with others. A dog may arrive at this conclusion, when the pain is not delivered with enough force. Too much force, however, may result in fear aggression.
  • A person’s hand or face coming toward me, is a bad thing. I should run away from people, or bite the hand or face that is a threat to me.
  • My owner, or a person coming toward me, means pain. I should stay away from people, or keep them away by growling and biting.

If we do not deliver the pain with good timing, with the proper force, and in exactly the right circumstance, our dog may get confused as to why he is getting punished. He may become fearful and stressed, because he is unsure how he can stop the pain from recurring.

As a result, spanking, beating, and hitting a dog may lead to even more behavioral issues, including fear aggression as well as submissive urination.

For these reasons, using physical techniques to punish a dog, is not very good dog kung fu.

Do your own research and don't just blindly follow whatever a dog trainer tells you.
Resource based dog discipline results in a stronger bond and a happier relationship.

If Not Beating or Hitting a Dog, Then What?!

If beating or hitting a dog does not work, then how can we teach our dogs right from wrong?

How can we get our dogs to behave and not engage in destructive behaviors?

The answer lies in the other school of dog discipline, namely reward based techniques. Some positive based authors that I like include Patricia McConnell, Karen Pryor, and Suzanne Clothier. Contrary to what some may say, reward based methods does not just involve “giving food to our dog”. Rather, it allows us to gain pack leadership through the proper control of resources.

Siberian Husky Shania doing a sit, and licking the hand that feeds her. Reward training.
Reward methods result in a dog licking our hand rather than running away from it.

Siberian Husky licking/kissing girl on chin and doing chin nibbles.
Reward methods result in a dog licking our face rather than biting it.

We may not realize this, but we already control all of our dog’s resources. For example, we decide when he gets to walk, when he gets to eat, what and how much he gets to eat, when he gets to play, what toys he gets to play with, when he has to go to sleep, what he can chew on, and much more. All we need to do, is teach our dog this fact –

He is NOT in control, WE are.

For example, if my dog jumps on me and bites my hand during feeding time, I tell him that this behavior is unacceptable, by using a no-mark. Then I ignore him, and he does not get his food, until he has calmed down. In this way, he learns that –

  • Waiting calmly for his food in a down position = Get food quickly,
  • Jumping and biting = Food preparation stops.

If he continues with his bad behavior, I say Time-out, and I remove him to a time-out area. This teaches him that if he cannot behave around people, then he does not get to be with people.

We respond to all other bad behaviors in a similar way – by restricting our dog’s access to his most desired resources, and only giving him rewards when he has earned them through good behavior.

Different dog behavioral issues will involve different tactics, but the overall strategy is one of resource control and proper management.

Dog training - Man doing focus exercises during a play break.
Reward based dog discipline is safer because there is little danger for our dog to become fearful, aggressive, or stressed.

But Dogs Hit, Bite, and Physically Correct Each Other …

A common argument used to justify physical corrections, is that our dogs do that to each other, therefore, it must be natural and right.

It is true that dogs will sometimes hit and bite each other as a warning, or to correct behavior. Dogs also hit and bite during play. They are able to do this, because they have very good control of the placement and force of their bites.

However, dogs are not humans and *we* are not dogs. We do not have the same physical strengths or control as our dog. We do not have sharp teeth or claws, we cannot run very fast, and our jaws are not very strong.

This is why it is a very bad idea to physically challenge stray or loose dogs. Logic dictates that we do not wrestle, hit, or physically engage with unknown dogs, that may be aggressive. Similarly, we should not slap, beat, or hit our own dog either. Rather than do a bad job at pretending to be a dog, we should play to our human strengths.

As a human,

  • We can open and close doors.
  • We can drive to the store and buy food, toys, and other good stuff.
  • We can open sealed bags, cans, bottles, and more.
  • We can reason, build, and develop long-term plans.

In essence, our human abilities give us control of *all* the things that our dog needs or desires. This makes us into natural leaders, because by controlling the pack’s resources, we control the pack.

Girl training three dogs using rewards (group shot).
By controlling the pack’s resources, we control the pack.

Finally, when a dog physically corrects another dog, the other dog may decide to fight back.

A puppy may allow an adult dog to correct him initially, but when he grows up, he may learn to respond in-kind with aggression. For this reason and more, I do not allow my dogs to physically correct or bully each other. As pack leader, I set the rules, and I enforce them through the control of resources. If there are any conflicts, my dogs will alert me. I will then do my best to resolve the conflict in a fair and consistent way, which does not involve any hitting, biting, or puncture wounds.

Just because a dog may sometimes hit and bite other dogs, does not mean that hitting and biting is good, effective, or even particularly humane. The assumption or assertion that physical punishment is better because our dogs do it, is a logical fallacy. In fact, there are many things that dogs do to each other and to other animals, that we need to manage, redirect, and retrain. This includes –

  • A dog’s drive to hunt neighborhood cats,
  • A dog’s instinct to guard resources (with aggression if necessary),
  • A dog’s inclination to bully a weaker dog,
  • A dog’s impulse to fight-back, and more.
Husky Lara play-fighting with Shiba Inu Sephy (close-up).
Just because dogs hit and bite each other, does not mean that *we* should do the same, in play or otherwise.

Does Beating or Hitting a Dog Work?

Pain based techniques may stop problem behaviors in the short term, but it is not the most effective type of dog discipline.

There are many difficulties and risks that may cause our dog’s behavior to degrade, rather than improve. Using it to stop one problem behavior, may inadvertently cause five other bad dog behaviors to crop up. In addition, the effect of beating or hitting a dog may degrade over time, as our dog gets habituated to the pain.

In contrast, reward based methods are safer because there is little danger of our dog becoming fearful, aggressive, or stressed. We are not delivering any pain to him, but simply withholding the rewards that he has failed to earn.

  • Reward based discipline encourages our dog to figure out how he can get in our good books, because that is the quickest way to get what he wants most.
  • Aversive dog discipline, on the other hand, encourages a dog to avoid us because there may be pain involved.

Ultimately, resource based training allows us to forge a stronger bond with our dog, and makes him into a responsible canine, who works for what he wants.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

~~ [Mahatma Gandhi]

Girl in blue petting and showing affection to Siberian Husky puppy (Shania), with Shiba Inu in the background.
Ultimately, reward training allows us to forge a stronger bond with our dog, and makes him into a responsible canine, who works for what he wants.

Comments

  1. I have an 8 pound Yorkie and he is about a year and a half. I got him from the shelter and i believe he was abused. He’s extremely intelligent and learns commands well but he won’t stop pooping in the house. I will literally take him out and walk him for 20-30 mins and he’ll wait to get in the house to use it. Lately however, I’ve been teaching him the word “potty” and he seems to understand that The only problem is that his pooping schedule is odd. He normally wants to go at 1 or 2 am when I’m obviously asleep. How do I change up his time? I’ve been trying to feed him earlier in the day in hopes of making him go at a reasonable time.

    Reply

    • I set up a fixed routine for my dogs which also helps to keep their potty schedule more constant. They are more likely to do their business after physical activity, so I make sure to exercise them well earlier in the day, and have calm time before going to bed. I always let them out for a potty before sleep time.

      Here is more on how I potty trained my dogs.

    • Maybe you could get a pee pad and make him go on that, then put the pad on fake grass , then he knows to poop on ‘grass’, then move that to outside and praise him every time he goes potty on the pads/fake grass. He is probably trying to hide his poop from you because he knows you are sleeping. He is scared of getting in trouble. Reward him peeing outside too. Reward all of the attempts at going potty outside.

    • I give my a dog a treat after he poops outside, right when he does his business. It keeps him from eating his poo and he will go a small amount just to get his treat…. He quit pooping in the house, plus for months I took him out to walk quite often, now he comes to me when he has to go out.

    • we use a crate. place him there him before you go to bed, and take him out first thing in the morning to go “potty” He instinctively, will not want to poop in his own crate/area where he sleeps, and he will feel safe there. Then reward him when he goes outside. he will learn a pattern from it over time. We have a shitzhu, small dog, very intelligent, very emotional, hates when you are upset with him, loves to please you. We have also had success using a squirt bottle for the un-necessary barking. works like a charm. We have at times, had to flip him upside down on his back and hold for a moment when he is being aggressive to show him we are the pack leader, and not him. The crate worked like a charm to teach him a poop schedule. However, you have to wake up at the same time on the weekends to be successful. LOL! to them, Saturday is no different than a Tuesday.

  2. hi, my dog always runs out the gate when ever one of us leave and then he comes back 4 hours later even though i take it out 3 times a day! i have tired hitting it and i have tried putting it in the conservatory all night displine room. but it seems too not care about it

    Reply

    • This article from the ASPCA has a pretty good list of techniques on how to teach our dog to come when called.

      I also teach my dogs door manners.
      http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-escape-why-dogs-run-away#door-manners

      With dog training, it is important to time our reward or punishment as close to the target behavior as possible. If we punish a dog when he comes home, he will not know what he is being punished for because the escaping behavior happened a long time ago. Or worse, he may think that he is being punished for coming home.

      Here is a bit more on how dogs learn.

  3. Hi, thank you for our advice! I have a question, i have a 4 month old shiba inu who is adorable and brings us a lot of joy, however we have one main issue with him:

    When we give him his chewing bone (made of bull skin) and we try and take it back he becomes like a little devil. He screems aggressively, bites really hard and barks. As soon as we manage to get it he calms down all of a sudden so it’s really from one second to the other. He also becomes like this when he vomits as he wants to eat it so if you approach him he goes crazy! Other than that you can put you hand in his bowl while he eats no problem.

    He bit us a couple of times and quite hard so I was wondering if you had any advice on how to stop this behaviour.

    Thank you,
    Hara

    Reply

    • Here is a bit more on why dogs get aggressive over food and toys.

      I also do bite inhibition training with my dogs to teach them to control the force of their bites when interacting with people.

      When my Shiba Inu was young, I put a drag lead on him so that I could more easily control him, and keep him away from stuff he is not supposed to eat, e.g. vomit. I only use a drag lead with a flat collar (*not* an aversive collar) and only when I am around to supervise.

      However, dog behavior is very context dependent. For aggression issues, getting help from a professional trainer may be best.

  4. Hi. I have a blue healer mix. And lately he’s been very aggressive towards my other animals and he really doesn’t like my boyfriend because he will randomly snap at him. Idk wat to do?? I wud never hit him but how do I get him to stop????

    Reply

  5. Hello. i have a 2 yr old pit that a friend gave me. and she has been chewing all our furniture andpeeing and pooping on the floor for a yr we smack her but put hot sauce on our furniture and she goes outside for least 4 – 5 hours a day and plays out her energy . Idk Wat else to do

    Reply

    • Here are some things that helped me potty train my dog.

      Supervision and consistency were both very important while potty training my dog. I set up a consistent routine for my dog, so that his potty routine also becomes more consistent. I make sure to always take him out when he wakes up, and after any rigorous activity. Other times, I supervise him well so that if I see any potty signals, e.g. going to corners, circling, I can take him out right away and reward him very well for doing the right thing.

  6. Hi.
    I need help…i have a 4 month old pit bull retriever mix..she constantly bites and her previous owner played rough with her..so she thinks its ok to bite and rough house..shes a good dog..but I want to know what I can do stop her from bitting me..
    Thankyou

    Reply

  7. Hello,it was nice to see a picture of your husky pop up when i logged into your site,I need help with something and would love to hear back from you.I have a two and a half year old Siberian Husky named Chi,we had an incident where one of the feral cats in our street was in our backyard and was confronted by our Dog,my partner and i went out to try to save the cat and our dog got hold of it as was intent on killing it,my partner was trying to restrain my dog and he was bitten by her several times,i would say because of the nature of the situation and also he was hurting her in an attempt to free the cat,he is saying that she should be put down and that she is a risk to my Children,she protects the Children and anyone that belongs to our Family,she has in the past 2 months also caught 2 possums that have entered our garden,she is being territorial from what i can see,the feral cats,many of them jump our fence and come and eat her food,scratch her and threaten her,i have had animals all my life and i think this is what you can expect from a Dog,anything that comes into our garden would be very lucky to get back out again,please give me your opinion,i also was bitten several times by the cat in an attempt to save it,but it ended tragically. . .Kind Regards Katrina.

    Reply

    • Hello Katrina,

      Siberian Huskies usually have high prey drive.

      Prey drive is the instinctive inclination of a carnivore to pursue and capture prey, chiefly used to describe habits in dog training.
      ~~[ Wikipedia ]

      Dogs chase prey based on instinct. Some dog breeds have higher prey drive than others, and some dogs within a breed may also have higher or lower prey drive.

      A bit more on Siberian Huskies and cats.

      Both my Sibes have high prey drive. They also like digging for earth critters in our backyard, so we have a relatively large area where they can dig. We trained them not to dig in the landscaped area. We also trained them to “Leave-It” and to “Drop” objects willingly. If something unusual is happening in the backyard, I can usually hear it, and then the key is to interrupt my dogs early, before they totally switch over to instinct.

      When a dog is already in a highly excited state, and we try to physically restrain him, he may redirect that energy onto us. This is why people get bitten when they try to stop a dog fight. Here is a bit more on redirected aggression and other types of dog aggression.

      Here is a UPenn study with the following results –

      ā€œOur study demonstrated that many confrontational training methods, whether staring down dogs, striking them or intimidating them with physical manipulation does little to correct improper behavior and can elicit aggressive responses.ā€
      ~~[ Penn News ]

  8. i have a 5month old belgian malinois,she playfully bites my hand when i try to pet her, fix her collar and when my hand gets too close to her face. how do i make her stop??

    Reply

  9. I have a 2 year old beagle that I inherited from my parents. He chews everything, eats cat poo out of my kittens litter box and if the cabinet door where the trash is kept is left open her gets in the trash. My kids love him, so I really want to train him so they can keep him. Any hints?

    Reply

    • Some things that help with my dogs –
      1. I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program. This motivates them to follow house rules and do work for me because it is the best way to getting food and everything else that they want.

      2. I walk them every day (1 hour or more) and redirect their energy into positive and structured activities. The more energy they spend on structured activity, the less energy they have to come up with their own unstructured activities.

      3. I set up a fixed schedule and a consistent set of rules. In this way, my dogs know exactly what I expect from them, and what they can expect from me in return.

      4. I dog-proof my house. Beagles and other scent hounds are bred to seek out smelly things like thrown away food and cat poop. What works best with my dogs is to set them up for success and remove all these tempting ‘treats’ until I know they are well trained.

      Here is a bit more on-

      How I trained my puppy.
      How dogs learn.

  10. Hi there,

    I have a 7 year old female golden retriever who is a fantastic dog, except when she gets on my couch! We made the mistake by allowing them on the couch but we recently moved and purchased a new couch and are now trying to keep her off the couch. She is a very smart dog which puzzles me as to why she keeps doing something we NOW don’t want her to do. We know this is a confusing time for her with the move and new rules but she knows she is not supposed to be on the couch. When we leave she gets on it, when we are sleeping she gets on it. I know she is on it because I see her hair and feel the warm spot where she was laying. It’s even getting to the point where she will hear my alarm going off and get off the couch because she knows I am getting up. I don’t know what to do. I am getting so so angry about this. She has her own dog bed and she does lay on it but she prefers the couch. I am not a believer in spanking or hitting an animal but she is getting me so frustrated I find myself wanting to. She absolutely hates lemons so i thought maybe squirting lemon juice in her mouth would be some form of pubishment…..i dont know.

    Any advice you can give would be so much appreciated!!!

    Thank you!!!!

    Reply

    • Yeah, my Husky puppy Lara also likes sleeping on the couch. I think it is because we spend a lot of time on the couch, and it smells a lot like us.

      With my Husky Shania, the key to couch training is supervision and consistency. I have to be there every time she tries to get on the couch. I no-mark and then body-block her away. If she gets on the couch, I carry her down right away. Then, I tell her what to do instead, e.g. do a Down by the foot of the couch. If she does this, I reward her very well for it, with attention, food, and a scratch session.

      In this way, she never gets rewarded for being on the couch, but she *does* get rewarded very well for lying down next to the couch. During Shania’s training, if I am not able to supervise, I put her in an enclosure so that she cannot get onto the couch on her own.

      Dogs are very clever and they are very good at observing us. They will quickly figure out, for example, that they can get on the couch when we are not around or are too busy to supervise. Once they get on the couch, they get rewarded by being able to sleep on a nice surface that smells like their people. This will encourage them to keep repeating the behavior.

      With my dogs, I find that the best way to stop an undesirable behavior is through consistency –
      1) make sure they never get rewarded for the bad behavior,
      2) tell them what to do instead, and then
      3) reward them really well for the good behavior.

      This will motivate them to repeat the “good” behavior instead of the undesirable one.

  11. I had a male Beagle and I tried the rub nose in pee or poop with spank and he still didnt learn. I hated like heck to do that to him but nothing seem to work with regard to going in the house. He was good about going to crate when bedtime but could not learn that he should go out to do his business. and he chewed up all kinda stuff, I whipped him for chewing up some computer cords and other things that pissed me off. Tried spankin him for that and same result. finally I just gave up and kept him outside. I am seeking proven methods fo r house training a dog without negative reenforcement. I hate spanking but dont know proven method for trainng other than spank. (thats how I saw my dad do it) I wanna do it differently for my next dog. I’m looking at a boxer mix at the local shelter. beautiful brindle female.

    Reply

    • While training my dogs, I have observed that timing is extremely important. In particular, we want the reward or punishment to occur as close to the “target behavior” as possible. This is why with potty training, supervision is key. We need to be there while our dog is making his mistake. If we are there, we can interrupt, take him outside, and teach him the behavior that we want.

      As you have observed, punishing a dog after the fact will not have the intended effect because the dog does not understand which behavior he is being punished for, and he does not know what he is supposed to do instead.

      Here is more on what I do to potty train my dogs.

      Here is a bit more on how dogs learn and how I trained my Huskies.

  12. Hi,

    My dog is a 2 year old yorkie poo that is OUT OF CONTROL. I will start from the beginning….He bites and rips his hair out, he doesn’t like his own food and will go a whole day without eating, I don’t know why!! And when he doesn’t eat, he throws up this yellow/green YUCKY stuff. He eats up carpet and hair (gross, I know), He’ll eat anything thats not edible really, he has had a weird interest in underwear, socks, clothes in general. He even ate a razor once!!!! He also snaps and bites!!! Just today, I dropped a peice of pizza and he went for it! He got it and when I tried to take it and tell him to get in his bed, he showed me his teeth and snapped at me! He also whins A LOT when put in his crate. He annoys other dogs, by humping them and licking them in their ear holes (weird, I know). All the dogs in the neighborhood hate him. I have had this dog since he was 8 weeks old and I don’t know what to do! My fiance and I have tried to train him since the beginning, but my fiance was taking the aversive training method and I could not do it. I also did not do the reward training. This was my first dog adn I really didn’t know what ot do. My fiance was the only one training him with aversive training. Is it too late? My fiance and I are debating getting rid of him but honestly I LOVE HIM TO DEATH. I want to fix this problem, what can I do?

    Also, he is not neutered. Should I try and get this done?

    Thanks!!!

    Reply

    • It sounds like your dog has a food allergy that makes him itchy, hence chewing on himself and avoiding the food that makes him feel sick. Food allergies cause dogs to be malnourished and have a compromised immune system, but that’s probably why he’s going for non-edibles, because he’s probably hungry. Try switching to science diet. It will take a few weeks to see improvement. As far as the humping, getting him fixed may alter that behavior, but BECAUSE he’s humping, you really ought to get him fixed to prevent forcing someone else to deal with a litter of puppies in the future. Hope this helps.

    • Re Food and Allergies:
      I would consult the vet about this, especially if he is throwing up. Food allergies can also cause itching and scratching.

      Re Training and House Rules:
      Some things that helped with my dogs for training and following house rules-
      1. Consistency.
      I found that it was very important that I stay consistent while training them. Everybody uses the same techniques, I set up a fixed and consistent routine, I set up a consistent set of communication commands and signals, and also establish a consistent set of rules. Otherwise, the dog may get confused and may not understand what we want him to do.

      2. Timing & Execution.
      Timing is also very important in dog training. I make sure to time my reward stimulus so that it is as close as possible to the target behavior. I found that incorrect timing can actually worsen behaviors. This is something that a professional trainer was able to help me with – both timing and proper execution of the training techniques.

      3. Calm Energy.
      Sephy was a highly excitable and reactive dog. The best way I found to deal with his excited energy, is to be very calm myself. If I get angry, stressed, or frustrated, he would pick up on my energy and become even more reactive. He was able to listen and respond better when I am calm and have a consistent plan of action.

      4. Exercise.
      Daily walks and obedience training sessions also helped to redirect Sephy’s excited energy into more structured activity. I also make all my dogs work for all of their food and resources. In particular, I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program.

      Here is a bit more on what I did for training Sephy-
      How to be pack leader to a reactive dog.
      Basic dog obedience training.
      Creating a structured environment for a puppy.

      Here are some of my experiences with food aggression and food guarding.

      Re Neutering
      Here is an article from the ASPCA about some of the benefits of neutering a dog.
      http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter/spay-neuter-top-ten.aspx

    • lol yeah I had a Dalmation that ate GRAVEL! out of the drive way lmao no idea what that was about lol. And he did that for a long time. I was like wth is he eating those gravel for.???!!?!?

  13. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!! I have a miniature keeshond who is about to turn 2 in a few weeks. We bought him in 01/11 he has not been neutered yet either but soon plan on to. However, ever since we had him he caused chaos:( He has calmed down alot on bad habits but he still pees and poops in the house. When we leave and he is not outside in the backyard we leave him in the kitchen with a gate up. However, by the time we get home he escapes from the gate and he consistently pees on my couch and poops in my 4 yr. old daughter’s bedroom constantly. The minute we walk in and see him out we already know what we are walking into so I grab him up, rub his nose in it, yell, and spank his butt!!! I have been doing this forever and it does not seem to work and I feel that this is not the best solution because it is not working and I do not want him to fear me and bite me- he has tried before:( I really want to try something else because I am at the end of my ropes with him and do not want to break my daughters heart by getting rid of him. We have become so attached to this potty devil………PLEASE HELP ANYONE!!!!!

    Reply

  14. Hi! I have a blue heeler and I’m curretnly having three problems with her. The first is that she is uncontrollable around food, she eats anything and everything that we leave out, even if its on the table or counter. Shes been disciplined (saying NO, showing her the empty plate or pizza box, and a light slap on the snout) but she continues to do so, not only is this bad behavior (and I hate physically reprimanding her) but its dangerous for her health (she got into rat bait once at a friends house and had to be rushed to the hospital, shes fine now thankfully) She’ll eat herself sick and I can’t stop it– any suggestions, please! The second is she has become a bit of an escape artist and is strating to run away, I’m worried maybe I’m not excersicing her enough? Also when I find her she doesnt always return when I call her, she look at me and keeps sniffing and then finally, after multiple shouts and whistles runs up to me happily– I never discipline her for returning to me though because I don’t want her to think that returning is bad- how can I teach her running away is bad? The third is that she shows more respect to my significant other- whenever he is around if he yells at her to not do something she immediatly stops, but when I do it she doesnt? I can’t find any significant ways we treat her differently so I dont understand why, could this simply be because he is male and therefore has a sterner deeper voice? Thanks for any and all advice/ comments! I’m going to try the time out technique for the food thing for sure, maybe it will work for running away too?

    Reply

    • Re Coming when called:
      This article from the ASPCA has a great list of all the recall techniques and how to train a dog to come when called. You are absolutely right in not punishing the dog when she returns. That would only make her not want to return. *Do not* use timeouts to punish a dog when she returns.

      Dogs run away because there are interesting things on the other side to explore and smell. The way to make dogs come back, is to make them a better offer. Consistent daily exercise will also help. A dog that gets daily on-leash walks and exercise, will have less of a need to explore on her own.

      Herding dogs and many other working dogs are very intelligent and high energy. What has worked well for my dogs, is to redirect their energy into positive structured activity. For example, I make them work for all of their food, we do obedience sessions, play sessions, and daily walks.

      Re Opportunistic eating:
      Most dogs love food and are opportunistic eaters. When a dog jumps up a table or counter and finds food, they will learn to repeat this behavior because it has a very positive outcome – they find food at the end of the rainbow.

      I have found that they best way to stop this behavior is to make sure that my dogs never get rewarded for it. I make sure to put all food away when I am not there to supervise. If they try doing it when I am around, then I put them on a brief timeout. If they are calm and follow house rules, I reward them well. We often only pay our dogs attention when they do something ‘wrong’. But I find that it is even more important to reward them for doing something ‘right’, even if it is just lying around and not doing anything at all. šŸ˜€

      In this way, they learn that –
      1. Jumping on counters = Never get anything and will lose freedom to roam the house.
      2. Being calm and following house rules = Get attention, food rewards, and continued freedom to roam the house.

      Re Respect and being pack leader:
      I had a lot of difficulties with my Shiba Inu in the beginning. After many difficult months, I learned that Sephy and indeed many other dogs are very good at observing us and sensing our inner energy. I could speak in a stern voice and it would not matter if internally, I was feeling fearful or uncertain. I learned that being very calm and confident is very important with Sephy. When I am not calm, he will pick up on my inner energy, get stressed, and behave even more badly.

      Here is more on my experiences with Sephy and pack leadership.

  15. Hi I have a pack of 8 dogs at home, I have 2 full grown males and 1 youngster, and the rest are females. The one female is at the moment very dominant and is attacking with no reason, she grabs the one dog that is irritating her and then obviously the whole pack likes to join in. Now I have already seperated them in two groups I have the older ones in the house with me and the younger ones outside. She also has it in for her sister so that one I also keep close with the elder ones (14.13yrs). We have recently moved to a farm house and the garden is pretty large and for me very difficult to get a hold of them to pull them apart. When we do get them we give them a spanking and divide them up in the rooms so that they all can cool down. However when I am alone and I cannot get to them I tend to grab a stick just to get them to let go and then move them. What can I do to make them stop and listen to me in such circumstances as a neighbor came today and said I was mishandling them. We love all our dogs to bit and tonight will be sitting around the tv with them lying all over my lap and getting loving attention. Please help! Regards Liesje

    Reply

    • I think separating them into manageable groups is a good idea.

      Dogs usually have conflicts over resources, e.g. space, attention, food, etc. They may also show aggression in response to what they perceive as a threat.

      What has helped with my dogs is to teach them clear rules of interaction with each other. For example, I do not allow humping, and there is also no stealing. When the older dogs want to rest, I stop my younger Sibe from bothering them. She is young and has the infinite energy of youth. šŸ˜€

      What has worked well is for me is to stop and redirect conflict behaviors before they escalate into aggression. When they are working on food, I body block them away if they get too close. Often, I also redirect them into doing something else. As soon as I notice one dog about to mount (e.g. lay paws on another one’s back), I stop her right away, and give an alternate command. If she continues with her humping, then play stops and she goes on a brief timeout.

      In this way, she learns the following-
      1. Humping or not following rules = play stops and lose freedom.
      2. Her people will handle conflicts in a fair and consistent way. There is no need for her to use aggression.
      3. Her people will protect her space, and belongings. She does not need to protect them herself with aggression.

      For in-training dogs, I often use a drag lead (only with a regular flat collar). This allows me to take them to timeout without resorting to chasing games, which only rewards the dog for her bad behaviors. I try to always stay calm, and I manage the situation and environment so that I am always in control. I only use the drag-lead under supervision because it may catch on furniture, bushes, etc, which may cause harm to the dog.

      In addition to stopping conflict behaviors before they escalate, I also try to teach my dogs that cooperation and being calm together will get them the most rewards. Dogs often see each other as competitors for limited resources, which can ultimately lead to fights. Instead, I do group obedience sessions so they get used to working with me and focusing on me, when they are together. I reward them well for working together. In this way, they learn that cooperation (not conflict) gets them the most resources.

      Here are more things that I do to keep the peace at home with my dogs.

      Given that there are so many dogs involved, a professional trainer can also be helpful. A professional can observe the dogs’ body language, identify trigger events (what events cause the aggression), and come up with a safe plan for redirecting and retraining aggressive behaviors. In cases of aggression, we always want to take special precautions to make sure that everyone is safe, both human and canine.

  16. I use a Halti. today i did not and she displayed protective behaviour toward a man standing near me by going up to him and growling. I smacked her bum immediately as I feared she would bite and has bitten before. I feel bad now. I will have to stick with using the Halti for good control and not smack…..
    She also decides to go her route on walks by pulling her way, if I refuse she wil simply lay down in opposition to me.
    Any other comments?

    Reply

    • My Shiba will do that sometimes. He goes into a Down position and does not want to get up. I usually lift him up by his chest so that he is in a sitting position, then I just move along at a faster clip. I only do this with a regular collar or harness.

      Sometimes, I scrape my shoes on the concrete sidewalk. Sephy doesn’t like that sound so that also helps to get him moving. Playing the Find-It game and making the walk interesting with foot-work exercises also helps. I switch things around to make the walk fun for the both of us.

      I used the head halti briefly with one of my Sibes. During that time, I also put on a harness or regular collar. I used the halti to prevent pulling, but I used the harness to get Shania up and/or to move along. Here is a bit more on my experiences with using the head-halti.

  17. Hi, I recently acquired a one year old Border Collie. The only dogs I have experience with are pugs and schnauzers so I am not sure how to discipline her. I have a feeling that this “Spanking slapping hitting” method isn’t the best so I feel bad for training my dogs this way. I want to discipline my new dog correctly and without using slapping or physical discipline, and I am hoping to change with my other dogs too. I have problems with my collie constantly running off and she will not come back. She doesn’t listen well in general and I would like to know how I could fix this? (Take note that she is an outside dog…)

    Reply

  18. Hi, I have a 7 year old female Jack Russell (not spayed)who is not consistently aggressive and is a very loving dog toward my family. We got a shihzu (female, not spayed) 2 years ago and randomly the Jack Russell would unexpectedly attack the shihzu, even drawing blood once. It was never predictable and time wise there was never any regularity to it. She still does it maybe once a year. My stepdaughter moved in with us and brought a corgi puppy with her (male, 8 weeks old). My Jack Russell just attacked the puppy for the second time- randomly and with what I could see no provocation. She actually bit thru the poor puppy’s lip. The Jack Russell is my baby and always has been- I am extremely careful about showing any of the other dogs any attention or affection when she is around. What do I do? I can’t put my Jack down I love her too much. Any help or direction you could give me would be much appreciated. Thank you!

    Reply

    • I got a new Sibe puppy last year (Lara), and my Shiba Inu also did not get along with her in the beginning. The thing with puppies is that they want to play with everyone and everything and they do not have an “off-switch”. šŸ˜€

      Lara did not do anything overt to provoke aggression, but she would keep going into Shiba’s space, poke her nose where it was not wanted, and sometimes try to engage play when the other dogs only want to rest.

      Some things that help my dogs get along at home-
      1. A fixed routine and schedule for puppy. In this way she is not always up and about.
      2. Close supervision and management of puppy. I make sure that when my other dogs do not want to be bothered, puppy leaves them alone.
      3. Many play breaks. During play, things can get over-excited and then it becomes something else. I usually have many obedience breaks where the dogs come over to me, do some simple commands, get rewarded really well, and then they can go back to playing. I also have strict play rules.
      4. Group obedience training sessions. I make them all work together for me, and reward them very well when they are calm and working cooperatively.

      Once my Shiba saw that the puppy is a positive thing, that actually results in a positive impact on his life (more good play, more rewards, etc.) he started warming up to her. Here is more of what I do with my dogs at home-
      http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog

      With my Shiba, desensitization exercises were also useful in redirecting his reactivity toward other dogs-
      http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize

  19. Hi, I have a year and a half dog, mixed breed. Looks like some whip-it, maybe a little German Shepard, and rottweiler. I find that when we put a little treat in her bowl she likes to growl when you get close. I’ve been trying to train her by taking it away and constantly playing with it so that she gets the picture it’s not okay to do that. But today she bit me, not enough to break skin, but enough to piss me off and react in a bad manner and strike her back in a dominant force. I took her food away and walked downstairs where she tried to suck up knowing full on that she knew what she did was wrong. I want to know how to go about this situation. I don’t like to hit her, there are I’m sure other options. Thank you for your time in advance.

    Reply

    • Hello Kurt,

      When Sephy (my Shiba Inu) was young, he would try to eat almost everything that we saw on our walks. Of course, I diligently took all of those things away from him. However, after some time of this, he started to growl whenever I approached him. This is because he has learned to associate “me approaching him” with losing his valued possessions. Every time I reached for him, he loses what he finds. Therefore, he has learned to try and keep me away, so that his stuff doesn’t keep getting taken away.

      What has worked well with Sephy and all of my dogs is to instead condition them to associate people with positive events and as the “source” of stuff, which is what we are. We control all of our dogs resources, so we just need to teach them this fact in a productive way.

      By letting them “have” something first, and then taking it away, we make it into a negative event. However, by only rewarding them after they have done something good, it becomes a positive event.

      For example, I don’t give my dogs any of their food in a bowl. Instead, I use all of their daily food rations as rewards for “working” for me throughout the day. They get food for doing commands, for staying calm when there are visitors, for following house rules, for walking without pulling, etc. This is sometimes also referred to as the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) program.

      I also do several training exercises with them to prevent food aggression, including exchanging objects and teaching them the Leave-It command. Here is a bit more on what I do to prevent food guarding.

  20. I Have A 5 Going On Six Weeks Year Old Pitbull he will not go to the bathroom outside but as soon as I bring him in he goes on the floor and not even on his training pads I tryed whipping him often when he do not listen to a command but I see it’s making him fearful to come around and he run a hide as well as he will ignore me when I call him and I would go have to pick him up and take him where I wanted him to follow me. So what would you think would be the perfect training for him to understand and start to learn? Thank You

    Reply

  21. I have a dilemma. My female, lab mix is developing aggressive behavior, especially regarding her crate. My boyfriend was very harsh with her when we first got her at only 5 weeks. I thought she was naturally skittish and spooked easily. The more I read the more I figure his “training” is what has molded her. To say things have been tense in our house is an understatement. I hope that is enough background. I need to know what to do to ease her fears and I hope to reverse any damage done to her. She is in training classes, starts intermediate classes soon. Please help

    Reply

  22. I stumbled upon your website by accident and it just so happens that I could use some help in your area of expertise. This is a wonderful website BTW. Thank you for taking the time to help so many dogs and their owners co-habitate more peacefully šŸ™‚

    My Satchel, a Shepherd/Lab mixed pup, is just over 6 months old and I am training her to be a Mobility Dog. She is my first puppy, but somehow with a lot of love and a lot of treats, I have managed to train her to do many things. She is wonderful.

    Now the problem…. I CANNOT get her to approach a person (known or unknown) or another dog CALMLY (or politely at least). What do you recommend?

    Reply

    • I have found desensitization exercises to be a good, controlled way to train my dogs to be more calm with other dogs and people. It has been helpful with my dog’s fear issues, and also for controlling excitement.

      A big problem with people greetings is that *we* often reward a dog for the wrong behaviors. There are many people who will give eye-contact to an already excited dog, or call to him. This rewards the excited behavior with attention, which encourages more of that behavior during the next meeting.

      Training a dog to be calm with people, will likely also require some control and limitation over the people he is allowed to meet.

  23. Hi I just bout a little 8 week old Pomeranian pup and im having trouble training her to go to the toilet on her pad. Whats the best technique to use to get her to go to the pad to do the toilet ?

    Reply

  24. i have a 3 month old husky i dont know what to do i jus got him 4 days ago and everything me and my husband call his name he will not come into 5mins later he know how to sit and everything but only wanna do it when he feels like it he jus wont listen all the time

    Reply

  25. Hello there!(:
    I have two dogs, a 1 year old female maltese and a 4 month old male herding dog. The problem is that when I take them out to the bathroom they will leave if I leave them out more then 5 minutes. The male won’t leave if I take him out by himself but if I take out both then they go out far into the alley. How can I stop them from doing this everytime?

    Reply

    • With my Shiba, I did not have a backyard during his puppyhood days, so I would take him out on-leash. Then, I can mark the behavior and reward him when he is done. Another possibility is to train a good recall.

  26. SO i have a 5 month old labrador/terrier mix named Loui – so far his potty training is good with the training pads.. when it comes to urination he is EXCELLENT he does it on the pad n if no pad hell cry for us to let him out… but occasionally when he gets left alone or FEELS like it he will “do his business” (#2) under the bed ! (or on it!) This causes daily clean up and t does get annoying and frustrating. He climbs on the bed on his own while I am not there which is another issue He will not Learn. He has a habit of licking NON-STOP everything he gets his mouth on to the point of leaving massive puddles behind from the licking. When disciplining him I say No.. DOES NOT WORK.. Hit with a newspaper, or sandal LIGHTLY on his butt and STILL doesn’t learn, I Give him treats, and it worsend the situaution as he listens MORE when there is a treat in my hand.. What am i doing wrong because I am to the point of taking him back to the shelter but I really dont want them to put him down or anything…PLEASE HELP !

    Reply

    • It sounds like the licking and pooping may be the result of stress. When under extreme stress, dogs may sometimes perform displacement behaviors (e.g. excessive licking) in order to cope with the stress. People do similar things – we pace, we pull at our hair, etc. Dogs chew, lick, and poop.

      To reduce stress for my dogs, I give them a consistent routine, a consistent set of rules, and a consistent way of training. I follow the NILIF program and use resources to motivate them, redirect their energy, and help them build confidence.

      Here is more on-
      Dog separation anxiety.
      Dog anxiety and stress.
      How dogs learn.

  27. sometimes there is no recourse but to hit. my gfs’ roommates’ dog jumps up on me (with poopy paws)and mouthes any flesh she can get. Her owner refuses crate training and leaves the dog on the patio of the apartment virtually all day til the evening. So when she rusehs to jump on me she gets hit with a metal yardstick. The owner doesnt know how to raise a dog and she spoils the crap out of it. So Iam in a no win situation b/c my gf cant move out for at least another year.

    Reply

    • As you say, this is first and foremost a people issue. As such, the solution also lies with the people involved.

      The dog does not know how to meet people, because she has not been taught to do so in a consistent way. Hitting her will likely teach her to fear people, and this may ultimately result in fear aggression.

  28. Hi! Great post on how to rightly discipline a misbehaving dog! I am already doing everything that you have specified (time-out zones for me are ‘go to bed’ and a strong NO as well as looking directly into the dogs eyes disapprovingly!) My questions are, is the dog able to relate what the punishment is for? (I do it immediately after mine does something undesirable) AND how long should these time-out zones last to drive home the point that the dog misbehaved and this behavior is unacceptable since I am the pack leader. Having said that, we have an adorable small one that is pretty much in tune with us. Thanks in advance for the reply! šŸ™‚

    Reply

    • I usually start with very short timeouts (1 minute or less). If the dog continues with the behavior after he comes out of timeout, then he goes back in for a slightly longer period.

      I only reserve timeouts for serious offenses, e.g. biting on people when they already know that it is against the rules. I do not give timeouts to puppies who are still learning the rules. In fact, Shania has never been to timeout, and Lara has only been for a handful of times. Sephy is more of a regular, but even he, only goes about 10 times or less per year.

      I also do not use timeouts right away. First, I no-mark (ack-ack) to let my dog know that it is an undesirable behavior. Then, I give him an alternative command. This lets him know what *to do* instead. My Sibes are usually very happy to follow my lead at this point.

      Here is what I do for timeouts with my dogs-
      http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout

      As for being pack leader, following the NILIF program works best for me.

  29. I have 3 dogs all different in their own way. I have a small chihuaha who is just always frightened but plays a lot with my pitbull. My dogs never get out if the gate is open but lately the small one keeps getting out through the smallest hole possible. I have spanked him and assertive no. I have left him on timeout and even have poured water on him . Even though it seems like he learned his lesson he continues to do it. I don’t know what else to do with him , i show all my dogs equal love & reward them for being well disciplined. I have gotten frustrated to the point that i have wanted to kick him out since he keeps getting out. Its a very small hole & even tho i have covered it up he still finds a way , Do you have any advice on what can help me or what i can do ?

    Reply

    • Hello Jose,

      One thing I have observed with my dogs is that they usually do not generalize a “rule” across different objects and environments. For example, like you, I teach them all door manners so that they do not bolt out doors or gates. However, my Sibe puppy recently dug under the fence while chasing after a gopher. We now place concrete slabs all along our fence line to prevent digging and it has worked out well.

      In terms of “correcting” the behavior, I have observed that it is necessary to catch them in the act so that they can associate the consequence with the behavior. Any corrections after the fact have no effect on my dogs.

      Here is more on my experiences with dog escapes.

  30. Hello,

    First off I want to say thank you for such a wonderful site!

    I need some advice on how to get my 9 month old male chihuahua to listen to me! I have tried everything I have read on the internet like putting him in a time-out spot when he does something wrong or won’t listen to me. I have also tried lightly tapping him with a rolled up newspaper and I have also tried the ignore technique along with lots of other things…nothing works!

    When he sees my neighbors across the road he automatically starts barking and runs across the road to them stands 5 feet away and just keeps barking. No matter how many times I call his name, clap my hands or whistle for him to come he just keeps going won’t even turn back to look at me! I always have to go across the road and get him because he will never ever come back on his own when I call him to come. I talked to my neighbors and asked them to be friendly with him and that does not work either. He just wants to do what he wants to do and that’s it! He also chases people riding bikes and large trucks that make alot of noise ans runs into the woods barking at birds and what not. Nothing I say or do will change his course of action when hes doing something I don’t want him to do. The only time he listens is when hes not doing anything at all, I can call his name and say come and he comes right over wagging his tale, happy as can be.

    People say to train him to do tricks to make him act better….how can I train him when he won’t listen to me at all? This is the most hard headed dog I have ever owned and I have owned about 7 dogs because I LOVE dogs! All my other dogs have learnt tricks and listen on command. I only have 2 dogs now, the one I’m talking about and another small dog that he gets along with very well.

    I love my chihuahua with a passon like hes my own child. This is my first dog of this kind of breed and I have been told that chihuahua’s are naturally hard headed but I can’t and won’t give up. Please, can somebody help me with how to teach my chihuahua at least to stop doing what hes doing and come/listen to me? I live in the backwoods country so there’s not much traffic at all but I don’t like even taking any chances at all of him being hurt. I don’t want to tie him up to a chain either! He deserves freedom!

    Thanks so much in advance!

    Reply

    • Hello Daniel,

      Sounds like your dog has a pretty high prey drive, which can account for why he likes chasing moving things. Dogs with high prey drive will be harder to train to have good recall because their instinct will usually take over and they will be off like a shot.

      Some things that have helped with my Sibes –
      1. Desensitization exercises on trigger objects and events, e.g. people, bicycles, and people on skateboards.
      http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog#people

      2. I start small and take little steps. To train recall, I first start in my fully enclosed backyard where it is quiet and there are few distractions. Then I invite a friend over and do training with my friend there, ignoring the dog. At this point, I may use a long-line.

      As my dog gets more comfortable with each situation, I slowly increase the challenge. Here is a good article from the ASPCA on a wide variety of recall training methods-
      http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/84/Teaching-Your-Dog-to-Come-When-Called-.aspx

  31. Here’s my problem with the whole “rewards” based modification. The dog knows it’s inappropriate behavior. When my dog does not greet me at the door, I know he has defecated inappropriately in the house. So, simply not giving him a treat doesn’t enforce the rules of the house – but neither does beating him or yelling at him (which I never did). He already knows he is bad. And when he does go outside, I make a parade out of it and he is rewarded. HE KNOWS NOT TO GO IN THE HOUSE. And thus the problem with my dog. If I am home, he can hold it easily 8-10 hours. If I go to work, max is 5 hours. But this also doesn’t point to separation anxiety. He would display that much earlier than 5 hours (and yes I have stood outside my house – once for 45 minutes and no whining/barking). He doesn’t chew or scratch either. Bugsy has one foot out the door. I love him, he’s very gentile and smart, but I love my 11 year old son on another level and won’t have him sitting on a urine-soaked couch because we can’t correct this dog’s behavior. I am considering a crate or diapers, but he’s 3 1/2. I’m willing to forge ahead, but he’s getting to be on a very “short leash”. I need to be able to know I can go to work for 8 hours and come home to a responsible dog or else I won’t have a job and he won’t be living with me anyway.

    Reply

    • Some common reasons why dogs potty in the house-
      1. They do not know they are not supposed to go in the house.
      Dogs may sometimes look sheepish when we get home and are greeted with a potty mistake. However, they hang their head down, lick, or offer other sheepish gestures because they sense our frustration and anger. Therefore, they use appeasement gestures to try and calm us down. They don’t really know what in particular has made us angry, but simply that we are so.

      It is very difficult to get the smell of urine out of some couches because it soaks deep inside. A dog can probably still smell it even if we cannot, which would encourage him to continue using it as a potty spot.

      2. Stress and anxiety.
      Not all dogs bark and scratch when they are anxious. One of my Sibes gets really quiet when she is anxious and goes to hide in the corner. My other Sibe paces when she is stressed. My Shiba will usually make noise, but when he is extremely stressed, for example at the vet, he may just shut down, become really quiet, and hope the door will magically open so he can leave.

      3. Physical issue.
      Some dogs may have urinary tract infection or some other physical issue that makes it difficult for them to control their bladder.

      http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths

    • Crate your dog my pup can go all night in his crate with out weeing or pooping she goes out early on the morning and is rewarded with treat.
      We do have the odd weeing but not much she is getting better but yes they know when they have done wrong so crsteing is good

  32. My friend used to strike his dog when it fouled the kitchen floor. It never learnt not to, and when I suggested he should use voice commands my friend told me I was wrong. When I showed him, and his wife (after he hit the dog again)their dog training book said not to’even raise your hand’ they said I was wrong and the book meant new born puppies. I showed it didn’t but they were quite rude and said the book MEANT puppied but forgot to print it!! I think they had more issues than their dog! Sadly, their dog was left behind a barrier and, poorly trained, it tried to jump the barrier and injured itself. It died the next day.

    Reply

  33. it really depends on the dog i should say… the rest of my dogs can understand a “STOP IT!” except for this one single dog that feels he is alpha which i really hate when he growls over food, over being near his space etc that often can cause fights and the sad thing is, the four other dogs don’t fight back to give him his own dose of medicine… so i feel that i have to interfere when it gets really worse… i have 5 dogs and the 4 other dogs get together well… but the fifth, hardly… sometimes hitting a dog is necessary but doesn’t mean you have to do it always… they’re like people in some ways, some says scolding your kid should be in a conversational manner and some understands and do not repeat it, but some kids needs to be slapped to learn their lesson…

    Reply

    • i really hate when he growls over food

      That sounds like a food aggression issue. This often happens when a dog makes the wrong association between people and resources. What works best with my dogs is to teach them that people are the source of resources, rather than the source of negative things.

      My Shiba Inu is a stubborn, dominant, and difficult dog to train. I started with aversive techniques, mostly collar corrections, but that only made him more aggressive. There are many studies that show that hitting and other pain based techniques are risky and can worsen a dog’s behavior especially in the long-term. Here is one.

      After I stopped using pain based aversive techniques and switched to controlling my dog’s resources, things improved significantly with my Shiba Inu.

  34. I read your article with great interest and I would like to quote it in my term paper on animal abuse. I’d like to bring in the negative effects of the aversive obedience training as an example of how poor education on dog training may lead to unconscious active cruelty toward dogs.
    The only problem with that quote is, I’d need a name for the Blog’s owner, and it has to be a real name. Could you tell me by email so I can put your quote into the paper?
    Thanks,
    Stefan

    Reply

  35. My 4 year old Yorkie is new to us 6 months ago. Over this time we have discovered she must have been previously beaten by a male. She has a bad habit at biting my husband and only him when she has done something bad and sometimes even if she hasn’t. It seems like she does this out of fear or aggression. He has tried to approach her more carefully but he is a big guy and I think that really intimidates her. His approach to discipline is to hit her when she has been bad and then he sends her to her bed. I grab her muzzle tightly and say bad girl. I have had absolutely no issues with myself or anyone else but him getting bitten by her. Recently she has even started to yelp or poop and pee when he scares her or makes her nervous. My husband says if it doesn’t stop then he will be getting rid of her because he won’t put up with it. I on the other hand want to find what the problem is and fix it, because other than this problem she is the perfect dog for us. Please help I don’t know what else to do. Michelle

    Reply

    • Dear Michelle,

      In terms of fear aggression, what has worked best with my dogs is to help them re-associate the fearful stimulus to something positive. For example, my Husky Shania, was fearful of the garbage truck. It is big and makes a lot of noise. Therefore, I slowly desensitized her to it. Here is a bit more on dealing with fearful dogs.

      This section deals with people desensitization. Based on what I have read, we can also appear less intimidating to our dogs by bending down so that we are not looming over them. Also no eye-contact, especially stares, which can also be intimidating.

      As described in the article above, using physical force has a high risk of making a dog even more fearful, causing submissive urination, and possibly worsening the fear aggression.

      Here is a bit more on dog obedience training.

  36. Our new dog buster is a three year old mastiff cross ridgeback and has bad anxiety when i leave.whenever i leave my partner and son can still be here but my parnter said he goes into a panic when i leave but watches my partner leave every morning and when we are home and all out back he has to keep finding me to stay calm if i’m not out there and walk out he’s sttaight to my side which is not a bad thing but need to stop him jumping fence or partner said he has to go for his own safety and we are trying by making fence bigger between front and back yard but it’s already 6 foot high. PLZ HELP I DON’T WANNA LOSE HIM OR HAVE TO GIVE HIM UP. any advice welcome.

    Reply

  37. Hey guys,

    i just wanted to ask you what to do with my Shiba inu( 6 months old), i am new at this. He can be good sometimes, and obey, but sometimes he does some really bad things, like, biting us when we try to take some trash out of his mouth. And yea, when he sees us when we get home from work, he jusmps on us, all happy and stuff, but he always opens his mouth like he wants to bite us. TNX in advance. šŸ™‚

    Reply

  38. Thank you do much for your read. Wonderful explanations.

    About 6 months ago I received a call about a disposed older dog who needed a foster sitter for only a few days, being in a rescue before I didn’t have a problem helping a soul in need. A month later, Bentley was recovering and learning commands. I found out the hard way Bentley has dog aggression, after getting myself in the middle of the dog-argument, I wound up with a very nasty few bites from Bentley. After the incident I knew he could not be adopted to anyone and have since taken the role of full time mom. He is a great white mountain dog mix and very set minded. Since the incident I’ve done lead pack walks, crate training, he does average “tricks” and does well with moderated behavioral training such as food handeling techniques.

    Bentley is 110 lbs now, 56 lbs more than he weighed after the first incident only 6 months ago. (he was very malnourished) My main concern is that Bentley will growl as a warning when he is being forced into doing something he does not want to do. The three times this has happened it has been because he is being forced into moving out of a place he wants to “investigate”. I know that large mountainous dogs sometimes need to think it is their idea to move into the direction of what the human wants, so in this respect, I try to calm him and tell him he is ok, reassuring “come, come, good dog”. It had worked and myself along with the other people around are ok. However, to be honest I’m terrified.

    Today Bentley had a walk with a neighbor who given interest in becoming his full time dog walker while I am at school. On his third walk with the neighbor, Jack, who Bentley has seen and greeted several times; bit him on his hand while Jack was holding a muffin. Bentley not only took the muffin out of Jack’s hand, but lept up in order to reach it. In doing so Bentley bit into my neighbors hand… Twice! And then laid down on the concrete to eat the entire muffin. Jack is not mad, and wants to continue to walk Bentley. As much help it would be for me I am worried. Not only that but I am shocked. Bentley has never shown this type of aggression before now and I belive he knows what a hand is, due to my intense food handeling techniques and treat retrieval methods.

    I do not know how to show that his aggression is not wanted. Especially when he ends up getting his “reward” when he is being forceful. If you are still replying to these posts any information would be helpful. If you have questions, I am able to fill you in on his last six months only; since he is my “rescued old man.” Thank you for your time!

    Reply

    • Hello Daz,

      Big Kudos to you for helping out a dog in need.

      In cases such as this, it is probably best to get in touch with a good professional trainer and do some private training sessions.

      While training my Shiba Inu, who is also a very stubborn dog, I found that fear is really the enemy. Once I started fearing him and getting stressed, his behavior got worse, which made me more afraid, and so on. Here are some of the things that helped with my Shiba –
      http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog

      He is a small dog though (31-35 lbs), so I didn’t have to deal with the size and power of a larger dog.

      In aggression cases, especially with large dogs, it can sometimes help to use management equipment such as a muzzle (I use a basket muzzle which is less constraining and still allows the dog to pant). In this way, our own fear is lessened during the training process, which will help our dog achieve success. It also prevents the dog from being rewarded for his aggression, which as you say, would only reinforce the aggressive behavior.

      It is probably best to consult with a professional trainer who can observe Bentley in real-time, and identify what things trigger his aggression. Sometimes, physical issues, such as joint pain can also trigger aggression.

      Hugs to Bentley. Let us know how it goes.

  39. My retriever/cocker spaniel is very protective over me. If anyone gets to close to me or hugs me, he starts to bark. How do I stop this over protectiveness?
    Also, he jumps and bites my hand (playfully, not hard) and when I stand up to say “no”, he nips the bottom of my pants. What do I do and how do I stop this?

    Reply

    • In terms of biting, this is what I do to stop my dogs from biting me-
      http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training

      With over protectiveness, I usually no-mark (Ack-ack) my puppy when she does this. This communicates to her that it is an undesirable behavior. Then, I ask her for an alternative command, e.g. Down. If she complies, she gets attention and affection.

      If she ignores the command, then I withdraw my attention and turn away from her. Sometimes, if she is too pushy, I will body block her away from me and not allow her to come near me for a certain duration.

      If she escalates her behavior and starts to bite me or others, she goes to time-out.

  40. We have had dogs all our entire lives, and all generations of our family, has never hit, spanked, or beaten a dog. Even once!
    Reward training is the way to go, and we did it before it even had a name.
    A puppy who is biting can be discouraged by the human being chewed upon, by squeeling loud. It reminds the pup that she is playing too rough.
    A dog doing something wrong can be discouraged by turning your back on her.
    I could go on forever here with advice, but there are training books better than I could ever say. And written by gentle people who train dogs.
    It is different for adult dogs who have been adopted from bad situations, that takes a different kind of ‘tough love’.
    But if you want a gentle and loving dog, dont hit them. Same goes for little children, hitting them only makes it worse. Pour love and gentleness onto your kids and pets, and you will be rewarded.

    Reply

  41. Hi,
    I have a girl Akita Rylie and a boy Husky Maverick, similar to you, they are great dogs but the Husky will not stop pulling and making it very hard to walk them both, apart from the obvious any other ideas?
    We have a dog scooter but cant run them on hot days.
    Thanks Sian x

    Reply

    • Yeah, I walk each Husky separately. When out together, they both want to be lead dog. šŸ˜€

      To properly walk them both, I would have to be a lot more strict, and give them a lot less freedom. Even then, it would be difficult to manage things if they spot a deer, and their prey-drive goes into high gear.

      Hugs to Rylie and Maverick! Love those names.

  42. We have a 11 month old yellow lab. She’s a very sweet dog, and I don’t think that she has an aggressive bone in her body. When I walk her with a body harness, she’s always sniffing at things, wrapping the chord around things, and basically stalling. So I have to frequently tug the chord and/or say “Come on!” Is this acceptable? She seems to love going for walks, and she doesn’t seem offended by this.

    I’m not the owner of this dog, people in my extended family are. I get the feeling that our blonde labrador has no clue as to why she’s sometimes corporately disciplined with a slap to her side/face area or a whip with her leash. But I’m not exactly sure. She understands the traditions/customs of many of our institutions (i.e. night time, going out to urinate, certain games, going for walks) and therefore, she probably has an idea as to why she’s being hit.

    Our dog is a good dog. I just want her to not do certain behaviors, like destroy things with her mouth, or slow down our run by always losing her focus and sniffs at everything.

    Please give me advice.

    Reply

    • In terms of chewing, what has worked well for my dogs is to teach them what are acceptable things to chew on and what are not. When they chew on something they shouldn’t, I just calmly non-mark them (Ack-ack), and redirect them onto a chew toy. If they redirect on the chew toy, then I praise them very well and reward them with attention and sometimes treats. If they do not, then I just body block them away from the non-chew area, and get them to do some obedience commands. Afterward, I give them something acceptable to chew on.

      Bite inhibition training is also very helpful. Being a Lab, she should pick up bite inhibition quickly.

      As for sniffing, most dogs love to sniff. They are built for it. I use a 6 foot leash to walk my dogs and not a flexi-leash. You get more control by using 6 foot leash. Here are some of my experiences on leash training my dogs.
      http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog

      One of my neighbors also loves to run. She tells me that she walks her dogs separately, and only runs on her own.

  44. The dog would have to realized that the pain it feels when the owner bites is the same as when he or she bites. The dog would have to have sympathy for causing the owner this pain. This is expecting the dog to have a perception of other people’s feelings outside of itself. It’s just too much to expect from a dog. It’s just not how their brains work.

    Purposefully causing pain to dog or human as punishment hardly ever works. I myself do not believe in punishment at all. Maybe not in dogs, but in humans punishing one behavior with something like grounding and time-out, while it may lead to better behavior for the moment, only causes the child to become frustrated and confused.

    The only time I really ‘hit’ Lupin was during potty training. Just a little tap hard enough to get his attention. It wasn’t to hurt or punish, but just to interrupt him from taking a pee or poo in my floor long enough for me to get him outside. Poor Lupie was just 6 weeks old with a tiny bladder when we got him, but as soon as he developed the muscles to control himself (at about four months old) he never had another accident in the house.

    Reply

    • Hey Alex,

      Good to see you! I just got a Sibe puppy so I am being reminded of the challenges of potty training. The rain is definitely not helping.

      Puppy is fun, small, and fiercely energetic! I guess I forgot how much work it is to care for a new puppy. On the bright side, it gives me a lot of new material to write about and cute puppy pictures to go along with it. šŸ˜€

      How is Lupin? Give him a big hug from me and some big sloppy kisses from Sephy, Shania, and puppy Lara.

    • Your pack is growing! Sephy must feel outnumbered by all the girl Huskies! I think the key to potty training is to be there for the first few months. We had Lupin chained to us until he was potty trained, so that no accident, or accident-to-be, went unnoticed. It’s also a bad idea to just let the dog go out into the yard without you, because then they might relate -person there = bad to go, person absent = alright to go. You probably know this stuff yourself, though!

    • Yeah, I think 3 furry ones is my limit. šŸ˜€

      Your potty training tips are right on. During the first couple of days I would sometimes take a quick bathroom break when puppy was sleeping – WRONG! Puppy decided that that was a good time for her to take a bathroom break as well.

      Now I do what you say and keep puppy chained to me at all times. Can’t even leave her for 1 second or she will be up to something. šŸ˜€

    • The only downside I found with keeping Lupin with me at all time was that he developed separation anxiety. He just didn’t know what to do without me there. I remember the first night he was upgraded from the cat carrier in my room to the actual dog kennel in the living room. (He could barely fit into the cat carrier by then) I knew he could hold his bladder through the night, but he cried for quite some time anyway, and maybe some nights after. I learned the hard way that it is not the best thing to try and quiet him when he was whining, because then he learned that whining got me to come out and (perhaps) open the cage. We just had to ignore him until he stopped.

      Now we have his kennel in storage, and he hopefully sits at the door whenever we leave just in case we decide he can come.

      I don’t think I could have asked for a better dog.

      It seems like it’s easier to raise a pup with other dogs around, because puppies learn how to behave from other dogs probably more so than humans. I know my old dog Ursa, as the story goes, never had an accident in the house because she followed her mama’s lead.

    • It seems like itā€™s easier to raise a pup with other dogs around, because puppies learn how to behave from other dogs probably more so than humans.

      That is true in some respects. For example puppy Lara learned from the other dogs that she needs to Sit and calmly wait before she gets any food. She didn’t seem to get the potty thing tho, so that I really had to supervise.

      Also, when there are multiple dogs, additional steps must be taken in terms of introducing puppy to the other dogs, making sure that play does not get too rough, making sure that they don’t compete for resources, etc. So there are additional issues to deal with in a multi-dog household.

  45. My fiance and I use the aversive dog discipline to house train all our previous dogs. It eventually works after they associate peeing in the house with pain. We recently got a 6 month old pup and have been using this technique. But afterwards I was concerned about her submissive behavior. We not only got our new dog as a companion, but as our protector too. After reading your input, which was very useful, I’ve decided to use a different way of discipline, so that she won’t be so submissive. Thank you so much for all the information and actually having an understanding and answers about different techniques to discipline a dog instead of just judging those who use different techniques. Other websites that I have read don’t give real answers, they just tell you not to hit your dog, then make you seem like a bad person for doing so. I guess I and a lot of other people associate discipline of a dog to discipline of some of our parents, cuz when I was young and did something wrong it would be my ass. Your input has helped me have a better understanding of how to discipline my dog and still have a loving relationship too. Thanks again.

    Reply

    • Hi Sam,
      Thanks for your comment. Yeah I started out using aversive methods as well. After about 5-6 months, it wasn’t working out well for either me or my dog so I started looking around for something else. At that time, I definitely got hit by a lot of judgement from people of both sides. The aversive people were telling me I was doing it all wrong and the reward people were telling me shame shame for using aversive methods – LOL. I guess everybody thinks they are dog experts when it comes to someone else’s dog.

      I guess I and a lot of other people associate discipline of a dog to discipline of some of our parents, cuz when I was young and did something wrong it would be my ass.

      Yeah my mom did aversive discipline and my dad did reward discipline so I actually got to see both in action. Reward discipline worked a lot better on me as well šŸ˜€

      I am glad you found the article to be helpful. Give us all updates on your puppy when you can.

  46. I do require my Shiba to do something before being rewarded. However she is chewing carpet, television chords, computer wires, the couch. Pretty much anything but her toys. I don’t wanna hit her and the ack ack is not working. I have gotten a water bottle and occasionally spray her in the face. That only works for the time being, by the time the mist dries she is right back to what she was doing only mere seconds ago. The spray stuff is unbearable for me. It gets on my hands and I can taste it on my lips and it becomes hard for me to breathe. She is not a bad puppy just curious. What am I doing wrong. I am with her all day. We walk to expel energy, I play with her toys with her but the carpet seems to be the most interesting thing on her agenda. Please Help!

    Reply

    • Hello Mahogany,

      Two things that helped with my Shiba during his early puppy chewing –
      1. Redirection – I would non-mark him (ack-ack or No) for doing the action, and then get him to do something else, usually some obedience commands and then reward him for it by letting him work on some interactive food toy.

      2. Time-outs – As you have noted, Shibas can be extremely stubborn, so sometimes, he would just want to keep going back to the curtains or whatever. When he tries again, I will body block him away from the area, and get him to go his mat and work on his toy. If he does not comply, I put him on a short time-out (few minutes) in the extremely boring (make sure there is nothing in there to chew) laundry room.

      If he goes back to chewing again as soon as he comes out, then I put him back into time-out for a slightly longer period of time and so on.

      In this way he learns that
      Chewing on carpet = don’t get to be in the carpet area.
      Not chewing on carpet and doing what you want = fun interactive food toys.

    • Ahhhhh, Marcus has the exact same problem as Mahogany’s Shiba! He’s all up on the carpet corners, box corners, chair legs, table legs, and the occasional electrical cord. And this is all happening while toy after toy is after to him. I have been trying the non-mark (I use ah-ah from watching Victoria! But it doesn’t sound as stern as a firm no. Do you use both since you have described them both here? Do you have a preference?), but it only works sometimes because he is caught off guard and surprised. I’m not sure if he’s caught on that it means no-no behavior yet (is there a way to make sure he knows that? I’m kind of worries he’s associating it with good things since I usually have to lure him away with a treat. Also, I find it hard to follow up with a positive thing for him to do immediately afterward since he’s right onto the next thing that would warrant an ah-ah. Tips?). But your time-out idea sounds phenomenal.

      Update: I’ve tried the time-out when he was incessantly chewing on the table even after trying ah-ah, drop, body block. It got him good for a bit but then he chewed again. After 2-3 time-outs, he went suuuuuuper hyper and dashed around the house, and he is also avoiding the path to the bathroom I used to time-out him. But that bathroom is next to the door, so I have to reach way over to get the main door open before he’ll head down that path. Did you go through this stage with your dogs and is there a way to make it so that he calms down but doesn’t resent it? Please do let me know if I made a mistake somewhere in handling the situation!

    • Do you use both since you have described them both here? Do you have a preference?

      For a non-mark I usually use Ack-ack because it is more unique than No. I say “no” a bunch during normal conversation, and that may be confusing to the dogs. By using a unique word, the dogs know that every time I say Ack-ack, if they do not stop, then there is always a consequence for their actions.

      Iā€™m not sure if heā€™s caught on that it means no-no behavior yet (is there a way to make sure he knows that?

      Consistency, I have found, is very important in dog training. Every time I non-mark, I always follow through with an action if the pups do not listen and do not stop. I usually respond in the same way for the same behavior. In this way, they learn that if they dig holes in the yard, they lose their backyard privileges and have to come into the house. If they bite each other too hard, play stops and they have to do obedience commands, etc. Also, I make sure to start small and then slowly escalate the consequence only if the dog escalates his behavior.

      Iā€™m kind of worries heā€™s associating it with good things since I usually have to lure him away with a treat.

      In general, we want to only a reward a good behavior. As you say, if we reward undesirable behaviors then the dog will keep repeating that behavior.

      When Sephy bites on furniture, I non-mark him and give him an alternate command (that he knows very well), e.g. Go to Your Mat. If he complies with that command, then I reward him for doing what I asked. Often, I would treat him, and also play with him so he learns that following what I say is very rewarding.

      If he does not comply then I slowly take away his freedoms. First I body block him away, then I do an obedience session with him. If he ignores me and goes back to biting then I take him to time-out.

      In this way he learns that if he follows what I say then he gets some really great rewards. If he continues doing undesirable stuff then he loses his freedom and his access to people.

      After 2-3 time-outs, he went suuuuuuper hyper and dashed around the house

      Try slowly increasing the time he stays in time-out. Also, I always ask my dogs to do some simple obedience commands before they come out of time-out. Then when they come out, I hold onto their drag lead for a bit, so they only have limited freedom for a while.

      In general, I have found that it is better to be more strict and have more rules in the beginning. Then the rules can later be relaxed as the puppy matures.

      Did you go through this stage with your dogs and is there a way to make it so that he calms down but doesnā€™t resent it?

      Yeah, mostly with my Shiba Inu. He was a very stubborn dog, even as a puppy. We had some difficult times – but it got better. šŸ˜€

      In terms of resentment, that is a very good question. I think that is why I usually try to set my dogs up for success. In this way, I can reward them and they are less likely to do something that is undesirable to me. However, there will be times when puppy does something that is against the house rules.

      Puppy is not going to enjoy losing his freedom or having to follow strict house rules – but this is necessary for safety, health, and happiness of the entire family/pack. In any stable and healthy relationship, there has to be give and take. Puppy must learn that he can’t just take, sometimes, he must give as well.

      Here are some of the things that helped with my Shiba Inu –
      http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog

    • Thank you so much for providing such thorough and helpful answers to my ten thousand questions, same for the answers you provided for my comments on your other posts as well! It definitely gives me much more determination and hope to get advice from someone who went through the same troubles as opposed to just how-to-do-this articles online that makes everything sound like they are easy! šŸ™‚

  47. I disgree with this article. I am not critizing your article but hitting and slapping any animals I believe it makes them more aggressive. I can see if your in a situation where a dog attacks you but still there are other ways then violence. Always carry maze or a squirt bottle with with water mix with pepper or another solution but hitting, spanking, beating a dog, it is humane and violent behaviour in mankind.

    Reply

    • Hello Starbug, I am actually very much against hitting and slapping dogs. If that does not come through in the article – please let me know which sections are unclear.
      Thanks!

  48. So in your original scenario, if you are standing there talking to your neighbor and your dog gets fixated on one of his cats, what is the most appropriate course of action? From my experience, the easiest course of action to prevent the situation from escalating further is to simply walk away, but then you have to break up your conversation with the neighbor which is bad for you because the dog has prevented you from interacting with someone. Also, that doesn’t teach him to stop fixating on things.

    I’m not trying to criticize your article, I agree that hitting out of anger is counterproductive, but what would you do in that situation? Using the reward based training method, I would guess that you had taught the dog some command before hand like, “leave it” or whatever. But from my experience with my persistent high energy dog, when his mind is in that state, he doesn’t respond to commands. You can snap him out of it by stomping your feet or snapping your fingers, but he goes right back into it. I’ve tried body blocking but that makes him more persistent.

    From my understanding, you have to snap him out of it before he goes into that state of mind, but it seems to keep him out of that mindset, you have to be every bit as persistent as he is. Sometimes that’s impractical when we’re trying to have a conversation with someone.

    Reply

    • Hi Nicco,

      No I don’t think it is criticism at all – it is a very good question and I always enjoy your comments šŸ™‚

      I think that the best thing to do is to slowly desensitize my dog to cats. To do it right, I would have to get help from someone who has a very sedate cat. Have the cat stay with his owner a far distance away from my dog, and then slowly move my dog towards the cat. I would stop every one or two steps, get my dog’s attention, and if he gives it to me, I will treat him and move on.

      Once I get to a point where my dog is too excited/obsessed/engaged to pay me any attention, I move back and redo the exercise. Then I will just stop at my dog’s `reactive’ boundary and just let him get comfortable with the idea of cat. I will do obedience commands with him from time to time and treat him accordingly.

      If I keep doing this several times every day for perhaps a few months, my dog will get desensitized to the cat, and no longer get excited over it. After all, it has become routineĀ  – we go look at the cat,Ā my dogĀ sits nicely, and we have a good time doing obedience commands. OnceĀ it becomes routine,Ā I can start decreasing the distance,Ā introducing other cats, and letting the cat move.

      As you see, doing this properly will take a fair amount of time and resources.

      Currently what I do with my dog is to stop as soon as I see a random cat andĀ try and getĀ my dog’sĀ attention. If heĀ does not give it to me, I move back and keep moving back until he is paying attention to me again. When that happens I let him stop and look at the cat as long as he is willing to give me his attention when I ask for it. Sometimes I will let him sit there for a good long while. After a bit my dog usually relaxes, the catĀ at that point has fallen asleep, so we just sit there and enjoy theĀ weather.

      When I need to go home,Ā I just move my dog along.

      Now this scenario is not as good as the first scenario because I am not in control of the random cat. Sometimes theĀ cat will start getting frisky, and that will get myĀ dog going again. When that happens I move away from the cat until my dog isĀ willing to be calm again. There are also some cats that will move towards me and my dog. I will usually remove my dog totally away from these kamikaze cats and try my best to avoid them in the future.

      In this way,Ā my dog is hopefully learning that if he stays calm he gets to look at the cat but if heĀ gets too excited then he has to move away. Ā 

      My Shiba Inu is actually a lot more calm around cats because my previous neighbors had cats and we used to sit on our lawn and just hang out with the neighbor’s cats. My Siberian has never had this experience so now I am trying to do it with the random cats we see while walking. I think we are making some progress.

      When it comes to something that is so instinctual – there really are no quick fixes. Using physical force will often make the situation worse because then the dog is making very negative associations with cats. In addition, a physical correction may amp up the dog even more and get him into a frenzy. This happened to me before as well.

  49. Great hub, Shiba!Ā  I really like how you explain the possible conclusions the dog can come to from getting his ear bitten – namely, thinking you’re cool with playing his kind of games on his kind of level.Ā  There is definitely a great potential danger there if he thinks his teeth can be used on a soft squishy human as a game!

    I work with horses, and I’ve come across people who bite their horses as a punishment for the same reason – to “communicate at the horse’sĀ level”.Ā  First of all, YUCKĀ to a mouthful of hair, but second – how does biting nowhere near as hard as a horse can teach your horse not to bite you?Ā  And, getting your face that close to an angry horse is justĀ begging to get retaliated against, especially when your eyes are up against the horse so you can’t see what’s coming.Ā  I’ve found that horses respond much better to body language and well-timed treats than they do to any physical punishment.

    We need to use our “human” smarts to prevent disagreements from getting physical in the first place (oh, to how many other aspects of the world could we apply this?).

    Reply

    • Wow – that’s really amazing that people do it to horses! Yeah I think that there are very many similarities between training dogs and horses. Even the whole dog whispering thing first came from horses. Btw, I really enjoyed your hubs on horses.
      I really wonder where this "ear technique" came from. I was on Yahoo! Answers, and saw a bunch of people suggest to others that they do this, so I wanted to write something to try and convince them not to.
      Definitely agree with you on the human smarts. Many interesting hubs there waiting to be written šŸ™‚

    • Anti hitting solution

      “We need to use our ā€œhumanā€ smarts to prevent disagreements from getting physical in the first place (oh, to how many other aspects of the world could we apply this?).”

      Oh I totally emphatically agree!!! Well said indeed

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