General Care and Nursing - Correcting bad habits

This can be a time of great destructiveness. If you permit it to be. A normal puppy is playful and curious, his jaw strength is rapidly increasing, his gums and teeth are becoming less sensitive and he is eager to try them on to everything. Add to this the fact that a puppy does not know right from wrong, and you have on your hands an animal capable of doing considerable damage.
Every dog can develop bad habits. The important thing is not to punish him for these but, instead, to teach the dog what he may and may not do.

Dogs learn commands and corrective words the same way children learn to count or to recite the alphabet: by repeating and repeating until they are fixed in the memory. Some dogs learn more quickly than other, but every dog can eventually learn basic commands and the meaning of the word “No” .

Approval and disapproval are demonstrated by tone of voice. The higher-pitched, encouraging “ Good Dog” or “okay” ! and other words of praise mean approval. A dog’s name is always spoken with affection and enthusiasm, too, never unkindly or in conjunction with discipline. The lower-pitched, definite “No!” signifies correction. “No!” is the only negative word you should say to your dog. All corrective actions may be firm, but kind: firm because you don’t greater security when controlled: kind because you don’t want to destroy his confidence. Dogs thrive or praise and stop, surprised, when scolded.

Suppose you find your dog blissfully gnawing away on the table leg. Fetch one of his toys quickly, may be rawhide bone. Pull him away from the table with a quick jerk of his collar as you scold “No!” your tone of voice will let him know exactly how displeased you are. Offer him his bone. Praise him as he takes it. Then watch him. If he returns to the table, order “ No”1 again, and confine him to his crate and leave him alone. Sooner or later, he will understand that he may chew certain things but not others.

Much of the difficulty in teaching this lesson is caused by temptations that you unconsciously leave in the dog’s path : sometimes you make it difficult for the dog by not using common sense. Take the case of the table leg again. When you are at home, you scold him for chewing it. But if you go out and don’t confine the puppy while you are gone, you’re giving him carte blanche to chew the leg to his heart’s content. No one is around to follow through with corrections, consequently that lesson is lost.

Once you insist that the puppy leave something alone, see that he obeys, or remove the tempting object from his reach. If you give him an old shoe to play with, don’t blame him when he noses into the closet and drags out a new pair. This is your fault, not his.

Praise your puppy lavishly when he does something right, and correct him immediately when he misbehaves. To make the correction effective, he should be caught in the act. Actions and consequences are interrelated to a dog, and he does not understand discipline for a misdeed that occurred in the past. Remember : when you catch your dog misbehaving, voice your displeasure immediately with a firm “No!” Never hit your dog or slap him with a folded newspaper. You will only frighten him and make him resent you.