What is it about a cute face that somehow diminishes a wrongful act?
Thanks to this post seen on Humans for Dogs my mom discovered a pretty simple list of effective ways to discipline us when we’re not at our best. These are taken from the Book How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With by Clarice Rutherford and David Neil.
Seven ways to discipline your dog:
Distract. Make a loud noise to distract your puppy from whatever they are doing. A loud yell, a slap on the table or shake a jar with a few pennies in it. This should startle him and focus his attention on you.
Scruff-Shake. Grab the fur under his ear on his neck and shake – a “brief but brisk shake”. This works best if you catch them in the act and the scruff-shake is a surprise.
Put-Down. Push the puppy over (quickly but gently) either on to his side or onto his back and lean over him. This reinforces that you are dominant.
Isolation. Say no and then ignore your puppy. Puppies are very social and they won’t like it that you aren’t paying attention to them.
Time-Out. Put the puppy outside for a few minutes and then try the same situation again. Or you can stop playing or interacting with the puppy for a few minutes, if you were part of the situation.
Squirt Bottles. Say “off” or “no” and squirt your dog at the same time. Water guns make this fun for you. Unfortunately many dogs (and cats) find this a fun game as well. Rutherford and Neil suggest using vinegar then, one part vinegar to six parts water.
Sit Command. Right after saying no, say sit. This gives your dog something else to do other than the bad thing. I’ve also found it effective to just say sit. Usually when they sit they can no longer do whatever it is you didn’t like.
My mom has used quite a few of these techniques with me in the past. She likes the idea of adding vinegar to the squirt bottle solution because I love water! It becomes a game when she squirts me to distract me from whatever I’m doing. My Nana uses a rolled-up magazine and slaps it against something to make a loud noise to distract her dog Ginger. Nana says that works wonders for her.
Do you have any other suggestions?