If your dog is acting out, your first instinct could be to shout at them. Surely showing your anger will help them learn that they’re in the wrong? But animal experts are warning that yelling is the worst thing you can do if you’re trying to train your dog. Yelling and shouting at your pet could actually make their behaviour worse. Dr. Lyane Haywood, co-founder of Vet UK, also says hugs should be given out sparingly if you want to raise a well-behaved pooch.
‘When it comes to dog training, it should be seen as a two way street, involving a certain amount of give and take from both you and the animal,’ explains Dr. Haywood. ‘What it’s not is a dictatorship. There’s almost never a time when screaming and yelling at your dog is acceptable. ‘Unless your dog is about to run into a busy road and come to serious harm, I wouldn’t ever use any form of harsh voice. ‘Instead, it’s about rewarding good behaviour, not punishing the bad.’ Dr. Haywood says it’s important for dog owners to remember that their pets aren’t human, so they’re not going to respond in the same way. A human knows what you mean if you shout or sound angry – a dog doesn’t. ‘
I often see dog owners in the park screaming at their dog for doing something wrong,’ Haywood tells us. ‘Or you might go to someone’s house and see the owner shouting at the dog for barking and making a fuss at the ringing doorbell. ‘But doing this is completely and utterly pointless. If you scream at your dog, your dog thinks, “Oooh, great, my human is really excited, too, I’ll make even more noise!” ‘It actually gets the dog more hyper-active. And it also sends out completely mixed messages.’ The experts are keen to reiterate that training a dog should be about positive conditioning. Reinforcing good behaviour is more effective than punishment could ever be.