February 7, 2011
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Punishing Your Dog
Back when I was a kid, my parents taught us how to punish our dog if she pooped where she was not supposed to poop.
We were supposed to stick her face up to her poop. And then we were supposed to swat her side a few times. I mentioned this one time and people said it was wrong to stick her face in her poop. One person mentioned it is wrong to slap a dog’s side because it could injure her back legs.
Is it wrong to swat a dog and stick her nose in her own poop?
Comments (42)
it’s more wrong to let a dog shit on my nice carpet haha but seriously what are you supposed to do? calmly explain to them that they’re supposed to shit outside?
I find you have to catch them in the action. I don’t think it’s wrong to stick their nose in it, but it’s not effective.
Nope. Some people think it is wrong to swat a kid’s butt too. And that is why so many adults have such a hard time dealing with the realities of life.
@ItIsAllGravy - Agreed.
Unless it’s in the act, they probably won’t make the connection. A little swat isn’t bad. As long as you aren’t seriously injuring the animal, I think it’s ok. Look at the Dog Whisperer lol.
I think there might be something to that theory because I’ve heard from other people that’s what you’re supposed to do to train them!
@mtngirlsouth - amen to that! haha
I don’t see the point in sticking their face in the poop. It doesn’t teach them to not poop in the house… it only shows them that you’re a weirdo sticking their face in shit. Also, did you ever kiss your dog on the nose? Gross.
Agree with @ItIsAllGravy. You really gotta catch them in the act. Reprimanding them then is very effective (usually). But coming from a pet background, sticking it’s face in poop really isn’t effective. Considering I work with dogs, I should not say it’s okay to “swat” a dog, but I won’t deny it does the trick. I usually hit the butt though, not the sides. Should only be one swat though and never too hard. But tone of voice will also tend to do the trick as well.
probably- dogs are pretty intelligent. would you stick your kids nose in poop?
@anth0nyc - No, but I wouldn’t have problem sticking other people’s kid’s nose in poop.
Toward the poo yes, not IN the poo. Yes I did it with my dog and it worked. Don’t know what else or why else I’d change it. She’s still my best friend and hasn’t hated me for it I don’t think. But now I’m reminded that she’s about to die, and now I am the sadness Q_Q
I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong, but it’s definitely not the most effecting way of training. When it comes to training, I will always being that positive reinforcement is better than ritual punishment.
Nate has shoved her face in it once. She never shit in the house again.
Given that I’ve seen dogs stick their noses in their own poop of their own free will, I doubt whether that’s actually effective. Might depend on the breed of dog.
This is why I do not have a dog! It doesn’t sound the least bit pleasant to me.I prefer a kitty with a litter box. Put them in there once or twice and they know what to do. Same with fish. Well, not the litter box part… but you never ever ever have to swat a fish.
Only wrong if you want to prolong housetraining? Make your dog scared to shit in front of you, or if you do it after the fact (even just a few minutes after the fact) they have no idea why you’re mad, so you’re just scaring a dog for no reason. Ignore accidents when they’re little. Once they’re older, and know better, then yes, it’s not bad to punish a dog for going in the house – if it’s intentional, and not due to you making them hold it/illness/fear/etc. which would be crazy rare.
But what do I know? Just worked at a shelter for years where all those dogs who got their faces shoved in shit and piss came back for not being trainable, because they were too afraid to go in front of their owners and ended up holding it until it was too late or hiding (in the house, usually!) to go when no one was looking.
Really, it’s just lazy fucking pet ownership. There are much better, more efficient, less assholey ways to housetrain a dog, and it’s not like they’re some big secret.
@nurseynursey - I’ve had to swat quite a few fish in my time. They KNOW I hate it when they use the bathroom in the water.
I think this only works if you do it immediately straight after the dog poop. I remembered seeing somewhere that if you only do so at a later timing the dog won’t be able to understand why you stick their face to a pile of poop or why you swat them.
@radicalsounds - I agree. Some of these people shouldn’t own dogs.
Funny that you put this post up today…grrrr…
A light swat is acceptable. But not to actually cause pain, only to let the dog know they have done something wrong. In addition, it is wrong to swat a puppy. A puppy is not aware of what they should do and shouldn’t do.
No rubbing a dog’s face in his or her excrement. Ever.
It’s not effective. First you should feed your dog 2 meals a day instead of letting them have constant acces to food. This way they have regular bowel movements (not to mention that you can also watch their food intake better and know if they’re sick and lose their appetite right away). They will generally have to poop the previous meal a few minutes after they’ve been fed.
If they do poop in the house you have to catch them in the act (which is why they should always be crated or under direct supervision until they’re house-trained) and then frantically carry them outside before they can finish. When they go outside and finish breath a sigh of relief and praise them.
At least according to my uncle, who’s a a professional dog trainer and basically the Dog Whisperer.
I spanked my dogs when they misbehaved. And i rubbed their nose in their pee. They are well trained, healthy, awesome dogs.
Most dogs end up in the pound and shelters with behavioral problems because people do not take the time to teach and train them.
The dog won’t understand what they did wrong. It’s the owner’s responsibility to walk the dog and whenever they go outside, to reward them. (Pet them, tell them “good dog”, treat, whatever..)
If you’re going to discipline a dog, it must be done immediately. I don’t believe in hitting dogs, so I say to correct their behavior by making a sharp noise and take them outside. If they pooped on the carpet 10 minutes ago and you’re yelling at them for it, they won’t understand or connect the punishment to the action.
If a puppy goes on the carpet, it’s your fault. Puppies need supervision at all times and if they go, it means you weren’t keeping an eye on them like you’re supposed to.
Putting their nose in anything makes no difference. All they know is that the mess is bad. You have to catch them in the act for any kind of training to take hold. Shock collars work great for misbehaving but even then I never use the shock setting, I use the beeper lol.
i used to do that to my dog. he learned quickly.
hmm… I think yes. stern voices and treats for being good are better.
Yes. Especially because there are more effective ways of dealing with misbehavior than punishment, like conditioning and actually training your dog to do his business in an appropriate place.
To stick the nose of a dog in it’s own excrement is such an unintelligent thing to do. Also it is so unhygienic! It is too obvious to even explain.
And for the people asking “What am I -supposed- to do?”, look up B.F. Skinner and Pavlov.
I was taught that that would just make them afraid to poop in general and especially in front of you. This would lead to more accidents, or accidents that they hide from you.
I agree, I just don’t consider people “dead” to me. Doesn’t matter how much I may dislike them. I’d rather not waste my time feeling that much dislike or hatred towards them. It’s not worth it. If I don’t like someone I just don’t bother with them.
wow, really? I guess a lot of people still do that…. I have a chihuahua, they’re known for being hard to potty train. I got her when she was 9wks old and she was completely puppy pad trained in 2-3 days. After every feeding I would put her on her puppy pad and tell her to potty. I am not going to say it wasn’t irritating….I had to put her back on it constantly until she done her business. She got the hint fast. Dogs are not stupid or incapable of comprehending so why treat them as if they are?
That is ridiculous to shove their face in their own mess. I mean really, COME ON. Is that how you potty trained your kids? Did you shove their face in that pull up cuz they decided that was the best place to take a shit. Geez people.
It doesn’t work.
@korean_biyatch - Well at least you didn’t eat him. I’m semi-proud.
If you don’t catch them in the act of pooping, chances are that they don’t remember what you are punishing them for which doesn’t do any good. Positive reinforcement works better for dogs. An owner should take the dog out frequently and praise them when they poop where they’re supposed to.
Never been a doglover so I have no clue how to train/discipline them. Plus, I got kids so I don’t need a dog to add onto my responsibilities.
I have heard that sticking their nose in it is not very effective, but I’ve never tried that method myself so I don’t know for sure. That’s just what I’ve heard.
no.yes
It’s completely ineffective and mean. What’s the point of doing it when the only thing it accomplishes is terrifying an innocent creature? Really.
Yes. Luckily my dog came to me potty trained. It was the only thing she came to me with though. As far as sticking the dogs face in her poop. And swatting her. They won’t work because negative reinforcement does not work for many things and pottying inside is one of them. It’s one of those things you have to congratulate for outside and give treats for. As far as hitting a dog. You should only ever hit a dogs butt. And by hit I mean flat palm, so they can feel it, but not cry.
Things I’ve had to use negative reinforcement for for my dog are bad habits she’s brought with her from her previous family. Like begging. And it only required a raised voice and food grabbing. And many others because my dog has huge dominance issues.
The only things I’ve ever “hit” her for are situations where she put either of us in danger. The time she tried to pull me out in front of a dump truck. The time she pulled out of her collar and took off and I caught up to her. The time she tried to eat a moving car. The time she tried to eat a kitten. Okay I’ll stop now…
My dog, and really all dogs that belong in a “animal friendly” environment will do more for an excited “good boy” and a pat than they will a treat. So when as a pup he had an accident we scolded him and put him outside. If you let your dog out frequently it will help. Momma wolves teach their pups early not to poop in the den. Since your house is their den, they prefer to do their business outside. We now tell him as we let him out to “go poop” and praise him when he does. So it is a game no less than “get the ball”…and when he does he gets praise. After that it is only a short time before he will ask out so he can get the praise. I have never heard a rapidly successful house training with the method you describe. (7 yrs dog grooming and kenneling)