FirstYorkie - Yes - but please - when I say pat on the butt - I'm talking about the way you would walk over and pat your friend on the shoulder.
I am by nature a very patient, liberal - non-loud person. So when I say, "No no" in a stern voice -----it is me saying "No no" in a stern voice (not my sister, who would wake the whole town up!!) I don't even raise my voice. It's just the tone (like your stern "No") that changes. And, I'm not a strict person. I have always been told that I am the opposite ---to a fault.
I agree with you about praise - it is my favorite thing to do also. I love praising my dog..... and he gets a lot of it.
A couple of examples that I quoted in my post were ways I have seen other people successfully train their dogs. They were not cruel or mean to their dogs by any means. They were just guys with pups that weighed about 30 pounds more than ours do. And, my brother-in-law lives on a busy road - he had to give his pup a crash course on behaving - or it might have gotten loose, ran out into the street, and have been hurt or killed. This guy is a gentle soul by nature (he won't watch Bambi - it makes him cry) and now he has a well-trained, happy, playful year-old pup.
Can't say that I disagree with you at all. I think praise is the best way in the world to instill good behavior. But when my puppy pees on the carpet right in front of me - I just can't come up with anything nice to say to him right then. So, he gets a little pat on the butt, hears a stern "no no" and is taken to his puppy pad. He knows I don't like that.
Yesterday - he was going to pee on the carpet - looked up and saw me - quit peeing before he started and ran as fast as he could go into my office and pee'd behind a chair before I could even get there. I said, "You nitwit - you're driving me crazy!" Gave him his usual pat on the butt, and he ran back to the other room to play with my other dog like nothing had happened.
See - he is definitely learning that it is naughty to pee on the carpet (at least in front of me!)
Again - thanks for your reply.
Carol Jean |