Content
- Scolding the dog under certain circumstances is a serious mistake.
- How should we act in the face of bad behavior?
Dogs don't always behave well, however, scolding a dog is not an effective solution to stop engaging in behavior that we don't like. This is because most behavior problems are directly related to deficiencies in basic care.
Does your dog have inappropriate behaviors? Don't know how to act when you ignore him? Don't know what to do when something breaks? All these situations are more common than you think and many people are going through the same.
Continue reading this article by Animal Expert and find out if it's bad to reprimand dogs and how we should act when they misbehave.
Scolding the dog under certain circumstances is a serious mistake.
Understanding a dog's natural behavior and communication isn't always easy, especially if our best friend has done something and we're mad at him. However, your expressions, sounds and the position you adopt can reveal a lot about what we should do:
For example, if a dog growls he's warning us and telling us to leave him alone, that he's sick and doesn't want us to continue with what we're doing. In these cases scolding and scolding the dog can be counterproductive since we are saying that growling is bad and that it should go straight to the bite. Find out why your dog growls before scolding him. Something similar happens when they bare their teeth and close their eyes, the meaning is very similar to growling: don't upset me!
Another circumstance in which we should never reprimand a dog is when we warn one of the behavior problems usual in dogs. Separation anxiety (we arrived home and found everything broken and bitten, the dog barking incessantly, etc.) the fears and phobias and other behaviors that are not positive and normal should be evaluated by a professional. Scolding a dog that has behavioral problems will create stress and nervousness, thus making the problem it already had worse.
If you watch your dog with its ears down, its tail between its legs or trying to sniff it's a sign that it's having a hard time and that is afraid of you. Do not continue with this technique.
Also, we should not forget that hitting a dog is considered animal abuse. You should treat your child as you would your own child: calling on specialists if you see any problem related to your health or behavior and trying to understand it through positivity and comfort. If you are not considering eliminating punishment from your daily life, it is better that you do not have such a noble animal as the dog at your side.
How should we act in the face of bad behavior?
If your dog regularly misbehaves you should plan a visit to a specialist such as an ethologist: a veterinarian specializing in canine behavior. Through observation of their behavior and basic knowledge of the dog's habits and care, the ethologist will be able to offer him a diagnosis and some guidelines to follow in the face of negative behavior.
Reviewing the 5 freedoms of animal welfare can be a small guide when it comes to knowing whether or not you are complying with the essential care for your dog. For example, the lack of walks can lead to nervousness and destructive behaviors, while a dog that lives on the street or spends too much time alone can feel abandoned and therefore can start to generate repetitive and destructive behaviors to get our attention from some way.
When we surprise our dog with a behavior that is not ideal, we should try to turn around and redirect his behavior to something that pleases us. For example, if our dog bites all our furniture, we should quickly approach him with a toy and congratulate him when he bites. If the dog urinates at home, don't scold him: he should predict when he's going to urinate next time and anticipate events by walking quickly down the street. Then you should enthusiastically congratulate so that you remember where to do it.
As you can see, we are basing all dog education on positive reinforcement. Why? It is the method used by canine trainers and ethologists all over the world, since it does not provide the degradation of behavior problems and has a great advantage: it helps the dog to understand better. Furthermore, it improves your relationship and generates a premise of good behavior = reward, which will help us improve all the aspects we want to work with.
The constant practice of obedience, patience, positive reinforcement, respect and sincere affection towards the animal will help to achieve a better relationship and therefore to work appropriately on any problems that may arise. without the use of punishment.
