Having dogs is fun. But they can really behave brat and stubborn sometimes. Therefore, you have to be aware of the right methods and techniques to know how to discipline your dog?  Whether you have just bought or adopted a new dog or a puppy or either you are having one from years. It can still be a very tricky process. There are several methods to discipline your dog properly and efficiently. First, you need to understand the difference between punishing and making them disciplined:

Difference between discipline and punishment:

No matter how cute your dog is, he needs to learn proper behavior. And trust me your dog will thank you for that. Now there are several techniques to punish which may include spanking, hitting or any kind of physical harm. But remember there is 2 types of punishments: “Constructive and destructive punishment “. 

Constructive punishment leads to discipline while destructive punishments lead to more stubborn behavior and it will only intensify the situation. If done properly, punishment does not necessarily have to be negative. Constructive punishment trains your dog towards different conditions and explains what is allowed and what is not allowed.

Methods of constructive punishment:

1. Punishment should not be of more than 5 seconds or else your dog will get confused. And cannot learn for what behavior he is being punished.
2. The punishment should be of the right intensity. If the punishment is too weak your dog will get used to those punishments and there will be no betterment in its behavior. Also if the punishment is too strong it can cause physical harm to your pet. Punishment should be of moderate intensity and it should correct the behavior after one or two punishments.
3. Your dog should not be able to identify the person punishing him. Otherwise, he will develop a memory of him and misbehaves in the presence of that person. Therefore it is recommended to use traps e.g. booby trap or other techniques to punish.
4. Be vigilant because sometimes punishments used for aggressive behaviors can be dangerous. For example, if the dog feels uncomfortable with your daughter and growls at her and you may try it stop him by yelling at him. It may temporarily solve the problem in your presence but chances of getting will be higher even without a warning.

How do dogs learn?

Dogs learn through following:

1. They remember those behaviors that get them good results or rewards.
2. They also remember those behaviors that get them bad results and they usually sop those behaviors

Based on former learning there are two ways to discipline your dog either by “reward-based system” and “physical punishment techniques”. But as we had discussed physical behaviors are not effective than what should we do? Do you want to know about How to convince your parents to get a dog?

Why not hitting be used to discipline a dog?

Let me tell you why hitting is bad:

1. Your dog can learn the wrong lessons and may take little spanking as a fun game and eventually jumping, growling will be developed as its permanent habits.
2. They can develop a wrong image of humans as he sees his owner in a bad repute so he will always behave weirdly in the gatherings of human 
3. Your dogs can get damage to very sensitive parts like his nose muscles and ears etc.

Praise their positive behavior:

As humans, we also like to get attention and to be praised when we do good things. The same goes for animals as well. Rewarding your pet for their good behavior leads to consistent good behavior which can be very helpful for you to discipline your dog. You can do it by the following:

1. Give them rewards
2. Cuddle with them and show warmth 
3. Verbally praise them

Aggression towards food:

Food aggression is basically a feeling of fear that someone will steal your food. Therefore, your dog becomes very aggressive and eating while eating. There are 3 stages of food aggression:

1. Mild: the dog may growl or show his teeth
2. Moderate: the dog may jump or snap
3. Extreme: the dog bites

There is a certain form of behavior when dogs display this aggression. Their body language will tell you. For example, they may hover over the food, the whites of their eyes may become visible, their ears will get stiff and their tail will be lowered.

How to tackle food aggression?

1. Be consistent in giving meals. Dogs have a very good internal clock and if they do not get food on their roper timings they can show anxiety and fear.
2. Must work for food. Train your dog that he will get food only f he does something good. For example, feed him after the walk and never before. So it may consider as a hunt for food
3. Don’t leave the bowl. If you immediately get aside after giving it a bowl of food. That’s what the dog actually wants. He just wants food and he will get it and he will think he wins by jumping at it. Therefore you have to train your dog that letting you stay is winning rather than just getting food. This can be done by several methods like hand-feeding, trade tossing, and trade-up.

What to do if not physical punishment?

The answer lies in the proper learning and management of resources. When you own a dog you are basically controlling his life pattern. So you have to train him that you are his in charge now and not him.

For example, if your dog gets excited and jumps when you deliver him his food and you don’t want that behavior. You can restrict his food for some time so he will learn that jumping leads to no food.

Similarly, you can make it behave in the presence of people. If he growls at people other than people of home. You can punish him with a “no human” punishment. So he will learn that growling at others will result in no time with my owner as well.

But dogs react and bite as their safety then what?

Most people justify physical punishments by saying that their dog growl and bite as a reaction and as a result they have to hit or spank them. You have to realize that “they are not humans and we are not dogs”. Learn to control them in a decent way possible because as humans we have the ability to build logic and can observe every behavior to a broader level. Dogs in their natural habitat live in packs you just have to learn to be the leader of the pack by managing the resources.

Distract and correct technique:

This method is also very helpful to discipline your dog. In this, you distract your dog when he is doing something wrong like chewing something other than his toys and potty around the floor and immediately directs him towards the good behavior e.g. giving his own toys to chew and potty in the required area.

Question and answers

How to discipline a dog that attacks another dog?

If a dog feels uncomfortable towards a certain kind of breed of dog you should remove him from the scene as soon as possible. And slowly you can train them by following the techniques mentioned above to modify his behavior.

How to discipline a dog for fighting?

Be consistent. Don’t panic and yell at them. Sort out the reasons for fighting and train them to master it so they can professionally be used for fighting.

How to discipline a dog for marking?

Spaying for the female dog and neutering for the male dog. Both are the process of removing reproductive organs to stop urine marking at the floor.

How to discipline a dog after fighting?

Obedience training is beneficial in this regard. Once you see your dogfighting you can analyze his personality and train them alone first and then with the other dogs to stop fighting.

How to discipline an aggressive dog?

Aggression towards food or anything else can be stopped by training them that you are the controller and by behaving like the Alfa dog (leader) of the pack.

How to discipline a dog with food aggression?

By managing the resources and maintain the timings of their internal clock. Food aggression can be reduced to a much greater extent.

How to discipline a dog for stealing food?

You can use a “NO” mark whenever your dog tries to steal food or you can also time zone them as a punishment.

How to discipline a dog for going in the house?

Teach them several times to go from one way only soo that they use only that certain path for going in the home.

How to discipline a gundog?

Charging a clicker is a technique used for several years and is considered to be the most beneficial. But one cannot master it overnight. For this, you have to train your dog in an empty room with no distractions and click and treat until your dog has lost interest and repeat until it masters it.

How to discipline a jealous dog?

Do not give too much attention to one pet than the other. Try to record the signs and cause of jealousy and try to avoid them.

How to discipline your dog?

Disciplining your dog is not an easy task, it is quite complex. You have to first understand the psychic behavior of your dogs. As they are not humans so they won’t get you why are you yelling at them and sort of other things.

For example, if your dog barks at other people when they come home and you yell at him because of if. So, the dog will take it as that outsiders are bad and not barking. So, you have to communicate your message wisely to your canine friend. So here are few ways with which you can discipline your dog:

1. Distract them using a loud voice. For example yelling or slapping at the table will startle them and get them to be focused.
2. Do the scruff-shake. Grab the skin under their ear and shake it whenever they are doing something bad.
3. Place your pop or dog aside and lean over them, this will make sure that they believe you are dominant over them.
4. Isolate them. Dogs and puppies are very social animals and they won’t love it when you do not give them any attention.