Discipline, discipline, discipline!

Today I want to talk about disciplining your dog. I think alot of people have a difficult time disciplining their dog, possibly because they think that discipline is the same thing as punishment. It isn't the same thing at all. Discipline is important, because it sets boundaries for your dog. Your dog WANTS boundaries - he wants to know what's expected of him. You wouldn't want your dog to do whatever he wants, would you? An undisciplined dog doesn't understand that he can't do whatever he wants. So he jumps on people (or other dogs) when he greets them. He mouths people for attention. He doesn't listen when you give him commands. He gets on the furniture and doesn't want to get off the furniture, even when you ask. He pulls you around when you have him on leash.

An undisciplined dog in a daycare setting can actually be a little dangerous, not because the dog is aggressive, but because he can be out of control (because he doesn't understand that he's not supposed to do those things). For example, we have all been jumped on by dogs at the daycare. Being jumped on by an 8 lb dog, while irritating, is probably not going to do any real damage to an adult. However, being jumped on by a 70 lb dog CAN do real damage. We've received scratches, bruises and cuts from being jumped on. Generally the dog isn't trying to do damage - he's not being mean, he might just be excited, and maybe he wants to show us that he wants attention. Regardless of the reason, jumping is inappropriate behavior. Another example is mouthing. We are also mouthed alot at the daycare, usually for attention, or because we're pulling a dog off of another dog when we think they're playing too rough, or one of the dogs seems overwhelmed. When I use the term mouthed, I'm referring to a dog putting his teeth on, for example, an arm or a hand. Usually, dogs don't bite down when they're mouthing - they're either trying to get rid of an irritant (i.e., us, because we're trying to tell him what to do) or they're grabbing whatever's closest for attention (i.e., an arm). Again, a chihuahua doesn't have a very large mouth, so being mouthed by a chihuahua might not be a big deal. But being mouthed by a boxer can hurt. But it doesn't matter - mouthing, like jumping, is never appropriate behavior.

What's important when you discipline your dog? First, you need to figure out the trigger - what causes the dog to do the behavior you're trying to change. Next you have to change it. It kind of depends on the problem (and the trigger), but you need to discipline the problem, so the dog understands that it's inappropriate behavior. If your dog jumps on you for attention, remove yourself (so there's no hope of attention, whether it's positive - hugging the dog when he jumps on you, or negative - knocking him away from you). You can turn around and cross your arms and ignore the dog. When he realizes that he's not getting any attention at all, he'll probably stop jumping. For mouthing, as puppies, we're always told that, as soon as a puppy puts his teeth on you, make a loud sound (I always said "Ouch!") then put an appropriate toy in the puppy's mouth. You can do something similar with an adult dog. Make a loud noise (to distract the dog) and then provide something else for the dog to chew on. The last thing you have to do when you're trying to get rid of an unwanted behavior (and this is the most important) is to be CONSISTENT. This means that EVERY TIME your dog jumps, you discipline him. EVERY TIME your dog mouths, you discipline. It's important that the discipline is done in the same way every time. Otherwise, the dog will never learn.

We can do some of this training at the daycare, but what we can't do is be consistent, because we're not with the dog every day. The owners are. It is the owners' responsibility to own a well-behaved dog - otherwise, your dog might hurt someone (without meaning to). It certainly makes our jobs easier too, if we can better control a dog, or at least know that we won't be injured by a dog's overexuberance.

Taking a training class can do wonders for an undisciplined dog - even if your dog already knows obedience commands, such as Sit, Stay, or Wait, training does so much more than that. It re-establishes you as the person in charge. So please make sure you have a well-disciplined dog BEFORE you bring it into a social setting. We will all thank you for it!