Columbia Gorge Veterinary Clinic
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Many people still think that physical punishment is an integral part of puppy training. They are always surprised and appreciative to learn that they do not have to hit their pet or rub its nose in "number one" to solve training problems.

A puppy will train faster, grow up with fewer behavior problems and bond better with its owner if the majority of the training is oriented toward positive reinforcement rather than punishment. Not many people know this.

For example, when house-training the pup, it is much easier to train it to eliminate in one area of the yard, using positive reinforcement, than to teach it not to eliminate in hundreds of areas in the house, using punishment.

 

BASIC PRINCIPLES

1. Don't take good behaviors for granted. People should actively look for desired behaviors and reward them. All too often, the training consists of waiting until the pup does something wrong and then punishing it.

2. Set the puppy up to succeed. Don't ask for more than the pup can give. If you call a young pup to come when he is barking at a squirrel, you've asked him to do an almost Herculean task. It's even worse to call the pup over and over again, because you have not only set him up to fail several times in a row, but you have taught him to ignore you. Most puppy behaviors are predictable. The owner must think ahead and take precautions, including a judicious amount of supervision and confinement, in order to prevent the puppy from failing.

3. Be consistent. It's only fair that the puppy knows what to expect in the way of rewards or reprimands in all similar situations.

4. Maintain a minimum reward/punishment ratio of 5:1. For every time the owner scolds the puppy, five correct behaviors must be rewarded. Relying mainly on reprimands to shape behavior doesn't work any better with puppies than it does with people.

 

HOUSETRAINING

The whole approach to housetraining can be reduced to two main concerns.

First, teach the pup where to eliminate. Second, use close supervision or confinement to reduce the opportunity to eliminate inside. Then, maintain the praise, confinement and supervision until the habit of only going outdoors is firmly established.

To accomplish this, someone must accompany the puppy every time it goes out. Guide it to the same area each time and enthusiastically praise elimination. If the person also associates a command such as "Hurry up" or "Do your thing" with the act of eliminating, these words will eventually become a cue for the initiation of elimination, just as the clanking of milk pails becomes a cue for milk letdown in dairy cattle.

Accomplishing the second part of the plan usually requires more forethought and ingenuity. Until the puppy has completed three to four consecutive weeks without eliminating in the house, it must either be under 100 percent supervision or confined to a safe room or crate.

Crate confinement should be limited to nighttime, when the puppy sleeps, and for periods of confinement less than four hours during the day.

A leash can be a very helpful tool for housetraining. Keeping the pup on a leash will help it learn how to communicate to the person that it has to eliminate. After the puppy has been scolded for eliminating in the person's presence, it will try to sneak away from the person in the house when it has to eliminate.

If it is on a leash near the person, it will be in a conflict situation (wants to void, but doesn't want to get scolded). This generally results in anxious behaviors (ie. fidgeting and vocalizing). The alert person will recognize this and take the pup outdoors where it will eliminate and be praised.

After a few repetitions, it will learn that if it goes to the person and repeats these behaviors, it will be rewarded by being allowed to go outside and void. This is safer than depending on the pup to scratch at the back door.

If the person can't hear the scratching, the pup may either eliminate by the door or scratch until the door is damaged.

 

FEEDING

Controlling the pup's feeding times is also important. As soon as possible, get the pup on a rigid, twice daily feeding schedule. This will help confine most of the elimination to two periods during the day. An obedience command should be requested each time before the pup gets its food. This helps promote the owner's leadership position by reminding the pup that they control an important resource.

Puppies are more likely to take a person for granted when food or attention is given "ad lib". Pups that are taught to say please ("sit," "down" or "shake") before they get what they want are pleasant to be around just like children who are taught to be polite.

 

CHEWING

Prevention of chewing problems is approached the same way as housetraining.

First, promote the desired behavior. It's much easier to teach the puppy to chew a limited number of objects than NOT to chew thousands of objects around the house.

Encourage proper chewing by frequently playing with the toys, scenting the toys with a small smear of food, wedging small pieces of food into crevices of rubber toys and by teaching fetch. Every time the pup puts its mouth on a toy, give it loads of praise.

During the puppy's first year, keep everything out of reach. If it can't be put up, make it taste bad. A small amount of cayenne pepper mixed with water or oil is a very effective deterrent.

Should you catch him in the act of chewing, give a firm, startling "No" and then offer a chew toy. Follow with praise when the pup mouths it.

As for punishment, NO puppy should ever be struck with a hand or anything in the hand. THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON EVERY PUPPY SHOULD LEARN IS THAT THE HAND IS HIS FRIEND. He will have hands reaching for him thousands of times throughout his life. We do not want any anxiety associated with hand movement that might result in biting.

The best way to show the puppy that a behavior is not acceptable is to give a loud, startling, verbal reprimand every time it occurs. The reprimand should only be given during the undesired behavior and should stop as soon as the behavior stops.

It is also helpful to follow the reprimand with encouragement and praise of the desired, opposite behavior. If the owner cannot muster enough volume to effect a satisfactory correction, more volume can be added by simultaneously giving an abrupt shake with a can containing six to eight nickels.

Eventually, the power of the shake can will generalize to the verbal command and the can will no longer be needed.

 

JUMPING

Jumping up on people is the most common problem of unruliness exhibited by puppies. It can be a very easy problem to correct if all family members are consistent in handling it.

First, teach the pup to greet people by sitting. A helpful exercise is to hold a piece of dibble at nose level and call the puppy. When he gets to the food, slowly raise it over his head and ask him to sit. Praise and reward a correct response. Back up several feet and repeat. This teaches the pup to come when called, sit on command and, best of all, to sit when it comes up to someone.

The best correction for the jumper is a firm "No," followed by a blast from a shake can. This will bring it back down to earth. Wait three to five seconds and quietly praise the pup for having its paws on the ground.

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