The education of a dog is essential for a pleasant coexistence with humans and other pets that live in the home, as well as for it to relate properly with the environment, with other people and other animals on the street. In addition, it is necessary for the well-being of the dog, in order to keep it away from certain dangers.
Some of the basics your dog should learn include doing his business outside the home, coming to you when you call him, not biting anyone or anything other than his own toys, and understanding what “no” means, among others. And as a basic part of training a dog, his guardians must know how to scold him correctly.
Yelling at the dog is a bad idea, as is giving it too severe punishments, hitting it or scolding it at the wrong time. This will worsen your bond with the animal, make it feel insecure and stressed, giving rise to other behavioral problems. If you want to scold him properly and make his education effective, take note of the following tips.
Never scold him at the wrong time. That is, do not scold him when you get home if you find a mess caused by your pet, because he will not understand the reason for your reprimand and will believe that you are angry with him for no reason, generating confusion and stress and even causing him to I'm afraid of you for getting angry suddenly. What you should do is scold him when you catch him doing something wrong in the moment so that he knows that this is the reason for your scolding, otherwise it will be of no use.
Also, avoid raising the tone of your voice or giving him a lecture that he won't understand. Opt for a resounding “no,” in a firm tone, but without shouting. You can accompany the word with a gesture such as pointing your finger or moving him away from what he is doing, but without pushing him abruptly or hurting him. As much as possible, do not use his name to scold him, as he will associate it with something negative and will not respond when you call him.
You will have to be patient and be very constant, repeating the “no” whenever you see him doing something wrong, until he internalizes the lesson. In this sense, it will be helpful to accompany scolding with teaching an appropriate alternative to their bad action. For example, if you catch him chewing your shoes, take them off and give him one of his toys.
You should also not resort to punishments such as putting a leash and tying him up or locking him in a dark room. This will only make him associate the leash with something bad and not even want to see it when it's time to go outside, as well as make him feel afraid.
The best thing to train a dog is to adopt positive reinforcement. That is, reward him when he does something well so that he repeats that action instead of misbehaving. You can do this with words of encouragement, gestures of affection, or giving him a candy.
