|Barked: Mon Jun 10, '13 1:29pm PST |
|So, your dog is about to do something you don't want it to do. It's about to dive under your feet and go for that potato chip you just dropped. You say "no" and you want your dog to do... what? What about when your dog is barking at another dog outside your front window. You say "no" and you want your dog to do... the same thing as when you said "no" about the potato chip? What if your dog darts out the front door without you? Another "no"? What does "no" mean this time?
We say "no" when we want our dogs to stop doing something. However, dogs don't understand the absense of a behaviour. It's an abstract concept. They think in positives. They work best when you're saying "do this instead" and you make that alternative reinforcing for them.
So, if a dog is in the kitchen and is thinking about diving for that potato chip, you can say "leave it". (Or, I would prefer you train your dog to maintain a position on a mat out of the way with a default leave it, but that's a bit more advanced.)
If the dog is barking at another dog, you can call your dog to you, you can cue it to be quiet, or you can send your dog to a mat.
If your dog goes to exit the front door without you, ask your dog to stay.
If you said "no" in these three examples, you would be asking your dog your dog three different things. And the cardinal rule of dog training is for each behaviour to have a specific cue. You want to be clear to be most effective, and "no" carries very little information to your dog. That clarity is achieved when you show your dog how to be right, not when you punish them for being wrong. How do they learn what you want if all you're ever saying is "no"?
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