• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Dog's Best Life

Dog's Best Life

The information you need to keep your dog happy, healthy, playful and loyal.

  • Top Stories
  • Blog
  • What We Do
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Raise a polite pooch

Posted October 29, 2017

 
Australian shepherd shakes hand with owner. Use patience, education and positive reinforcement to make sure your pup has good dog manners. Don't allow jumping, begging or mouthiness.
Use patience, education and positive reinforcement to make sure your pup has good dog manners. Don’t allow jumping, begging or mouthiness.

By Catherine Bono

Teaching your dog manners is important, whether you are bringing home a puppy or an adult dog.

Rude behaviors that owners often deal with include jumping up, begging at the table and mouthiness.

The answer to all of these issues lies in patience, education and positive reinforcement from you.

This means no raised voices and absolutely no punishment.

This can be challenging, but punishment leads to conflicted emotions in your pet, worse behavior, and, sometimes, aggression.

Jumping up

Having a dog that jumps on people is not only annoying, but it can also hurt and scare people.

Most dogs don’t jump up for aggressive reasons.

The usual reaction is to push the dog down or talk to him. Dogs think this is great! They jump up to say hello and then we touch them! You are reinforcing the bad behavior.

If your dog jumps up on you, ignore him. Turn away with your arms crossed and do not even make eye contact.

As a social animal, being ignored is not a dog’s favorite thing. As soon as the dog is sitting calmly, say, “Good dog!” and offer a treat.

Carrying treats in your pockets will make this easier for you. Soon your dog will learn that sitting calmly gets a better reaction than jumping.

Begging

Ignoring your pet is also useful at the dinner table. If your dog is begging, do not speak or look at him. Any food that accidentally falls to the ground will reinforce begging behavior.

If you can’t avoid this situation, the dog may have to go to a different area during mealtime. Be careful that this segregation doesn’t seem like punishment.

You can offer a toy or treat at mealtimes to keep him busy. Should you wish to offer table scraps to your pets, make sure you do not feed them in the same room as the dinner table.

Mouthiness

Mouthiness can be a challenging issue, but it is a common one, particularly with puppies. Be cautious with this problem, because puppy mouthiness can easily turn into unacceptable and dangerous behavior if it is reinforced.

One rule of thumb is to never play with a dog aggressively with just your hands. When these dogs become excited, they may nip at your hands when you are just petting them. In these situations, you have two options: quietly end the play session or redirect their attention to an appropriate toy.

Don’t mistakenly reinforce bad behavior

Dogs have a completely different language from people, which can contribute to misunderstandings and accidentally reinforce bad behavior.

Here’s an example: if you’re in a situation where your dog is acting extremely anxious, the instinct is to touch the dog gently and soothingly say, “It’s all right.”

This would be completely appropriate with a person. But a dog actually hears, “This situation is not all right, and you are completely correct to be so anxious.”

Dogs look to us for social cues. So, for instance, if you’re at the vet, and your dog is whining and staring at you, the best reaction is no eye contact, no words and certainly no touch until they demonstrate calmer behavior.

Create a happy place

Having a quiet area (such as a mat or a dog bed) where your dog can go to lie down and relax is very helpful. Teach the dog that this is their safe spot, by using tranquility exercises.

  • Bring your dog to the mat and encourage him to lie down. As soon as he lies down, give them a small tasty treat. The goal of these exercises is to teach the dog to relax on the mat in the face of any distraction.
  • Stand in front of your dog (while he’s on the mat) and watch him for a few seconds. Then give him a treat.
  • Take a step back from the mat and give a treat if he stays on the mat.
  • Take a step sideways, and give another treat.
  • Increase to two steps back from the mat, and so on. Don’t do this for any longer than 15 minutes a day, and intersperse the exercises with breaks.
  • Use other distractions, like picking up your keys, putting on your jacket, walking to the door, etc., to introduce a command, like “go to bed” or “relax”. You can use this as a default command in any situation where your dog’s rude behavior is getting out of hand, but always say the command softly
    and calmly. The mat is not a punishment or time-out area.

    Catherine Bono is an experienced marketer, who is passionate about dogs.  She created the crittersitca.com after an experience with his own dog, Kupo! She learned that doing proper research, and learning from others’ experiences can be just as important as taking a veterinarian’s advice.

 

 

Related Posts

  • dog training success
    10 rules for dog training success

    For dog training success, use positive reinforcement, punishment-free training. Reward…

  • Bernese mountain dog training
    All dog owners can benefit from training classes

    Dog owners benefit from training: Even experienced owners need help.…

  • Do not encourage jumping games, or tap your shoulder for your dog to jump up on you, until your dog is completely obedience trained and under control at all times.
    Dog training: 3 things every good dog should know

    Dog training should include three key things every dog should…

  • Do not encourage jumping games, or tap your shoulder for your dog to jump up on you, until your dog is completely obedience trained and under control at all times.
    Dog training: Always Be Consistent

    The ABC rule makes training easier for you and your…

Share this post:

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Reddit

Filed Under: Dog Training, Home Page Tagged With: Begging, Biting, Canine manners, Chewing, Dog begging, Dog manners, Dog training tips, Jumping

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Categories

  • Adoption
  • Dog Breeds
  • Dog Facts
  • Dog Fun
  • Dog Grooming
  • Dog Health
  • Dog Inspirations
  • Dog Training
  • Dog Travel
  • Holidays
  • Home Page
  • Puppies
  • Top Stories

Featured Posts

  • puppy 101

    Puppy training 101: 7 tips to start your dog off right

  • Small brown and white dog wears a mask. Dogs and coronavirus: Canines unlikely to catch or transmit the virus to people or other animals, World Small Animal Veterinary Association says.

    Coronavirus and dogs: Can canines get COVID-19?

  • Dogs and other pets on a video conference call. Dog home alone again? If you're preparing to go back to work, get your dog ready. To prevent separation anxiety, use training, treats, and a safe space.

    Ready to go back to work? Prepare your dog to be home alone

Tags

Ear infection Dog poop collie howling Maltese pekingese Canine diabetes Working dogs Outdoor activities German shepherd Dog cloning Dog safety Boxer Healthy weight Acupuncture Dogs eat grass Jack Russell terrier Jumping Canine manners Fourth of July Camping Dog hair New Year Vacation dog care Pit bull First-time dog owner labsky Petfinder.com GingerLead Dog temperament

Footer

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Blog
  • What We Do
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Recent Posts

  • 6 amazing vacation ideas for you and your dog in 2021
    Choose dog-friendly holiday spots perfect for those who like to spend their vacations without worrying about their beloved canine’s safety. […]
  • 8 pro tips that will make training your dog easier
    Make dog training easier by choosing a quiet spot and using the appropriate tools and treats. Be sure to socialize your dog. […]
  • Homemade dog treats: Create rewards with healthy ingredients
    By making homemade dog treats, you control the quality of the ingredients, and you can create treats you know your dog will love. […]
  • Secrets to staying sane while working from home with dogs
    Working from home with your dog: Set boundaries, entertain your dog, and train him to understand the new normal. […]

Get Our Newsletter

Get more news to help keep your dog healthy delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for DogsBestLife.com's monthly newsletter.

© Copyright 2021 Dog's Best Life online magazine · All Rights Reserved · Privacy
Get Our Free Monthly Newsletter

Get more news to help keep your dog healthy delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for DogsBestLife.com's monthly newsletter.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more