The Number One Mistake People Make when Correcting Bad Behavior in a Dog

Dogs are a joy to have around as a family pet, as long as they behave themselves. At times, training a new puppy can be challenging and seem utterly impossible to accomplish. However, with enough patience and proper training techniques, your dog will behave with no problems. Barking incessantly can become a huge problem, especially if you have very close neighbors. Barking is a problem that can be corrected. So what is the number one mistake that pet owners make when trying to correct a bad behavior? Correcting the behavior after it has been done.

Say for example, your dog urinates on the carpeting while you are away. When you come home you find the soiled area and immediately begin to scold your pet for what he/she has done. So why is this wrong to do? Well, from the time your pet urinated on the floor to the time that you found it, your pet will have long forgotten that he/she urinated on the floor. So when you go to yell, they are not going to know what they are being yelled at for.

To correct this type of bad behavior, you need to correct it as it is happening or immediately thereafter. There are many methods for correcting bad behavior and your veterinarian will know some techniques for doing so. Barking can easily be controlled by use of an e-collar (electric collar) or citronella spray collar. There are also trainers that you can pay to help train your dog properly. The trainers will know of numerous techniques in order to be the most successful. What works best depends on your dogs response and type of mindset. Some dogs are much more difficult to train than others and others will learn from the very first moment that the e-collar is used.

Dogs may increasingly become smarter about the anti-barking devices though. That is why behavioral correction through commands is preferred. Some dogs will learn that when the collar goes on, that they should not bark. However, they know that when the collar comes off, they can continue to bark. The same goes with the citronella collar. Some dogs actually learn that after a certain amount of sprays, the collar runs out of citronella. You should correct the behavior when they are a puppy. This is because their brain is still in the development/maturing stage and is able to pick up more at this time. Remember, if you are having a difficult time training your dog, consult with your veterinarian about the matter, they should be able to guide you in the right direction.