Just joking.
Although for many of us it is tempting at times when it is one of those days when you just seem to be shouting at the dogs and the fun of pet ownership has all but disappeared.
When a dog behaves badly i have found over the years that there is one main thing I can do to calm things down.
Exercise!
Whenever we have not had chance to give our dogs plent of exercise for whatever reasons the doggie naughtiness gene seems to kick in pretty rapidly! This seems especially true if the dogs are normally used to a lot of exercise which ours are. The pent up energy and frustration seems to manifest itself pretty quickly.
If your dog is behaving badly and it does not normally do so then take it for a big walk and I am sure it will calm down some.
If nothing else it will probably release a bit of the stress you are feeling.
So far we have been lucky in so much as none of our girls have been exceptionally naughty dogs. Faye the mad definitely has her moments but overall they are all pretty well behaved.
I know for many this will be annoying to read if you have a dog that just won’t behave. Many people who really need to get their dogs on a fast track to behaving well swear by clicker training. This is something I have never tried but it is supposed to be one of the best training methods there is. Karen Pryor Clickertraining is the main leader in this particular market and there seems to be a legion of followers who swear by it. It is a very gentle and relaxed way of animal training.
Wikipedia has a detailed explanation of this method and it seems to be very highly regarded.
Clicker training seems to function in the following manner
- It is a quick way of reinforcing behaviour
- The sound is associated with good behaviour and a reward
- The clicker is quicker than actually having to verbally reinforce good behaviour (good boy) etc.
- Timing and speed of using the clicker is crucial to affirm the behaviour the instant it happens
- Clicker training can be very quickly learnt especially by dogs
Thankfully our dogs seem to be fairly well adjusted but a clicker training course may well be what you need if your dog continues to behave badly.