Have you ever come home to the terrible stench of the potty mess your dog made? Were you tempted to lead them over the the scene of the crime and give them a finger pointing pep talk on why they were a very bad dog? Did you later realize that all this seems to do is make your dog feel guilty and not know why? You're not alone!
Every dog owner is guilty of punishing their dog in attempts to teach them a lesson about behavior. So why is it that so few behaviors seem to change, even when the dog "knows better"? I'm glad you asked! Dogs are in the moment. They associate a reward or a consequence both with their behavior and their state of mind at the moment of that reward or consequence.
Even though it can be aggravating to find messes your dog made minutes or hours after the event, remember that your dog is living in the moment, and they have moved on from that event. Punishment is when the consequence for the behavior done comes after the fact, and often includes "time out" or "taking away privileges" as we are taught from our parents.
Discipline is different, though, because it happens as a direct response to the unwanted behavior. So when we discipline our dogs, we need to remember that timing is everything. If they receive a consequence for an unwanted behavior even ten seconds after the behavior happened, they don't associate it with that behavior.
It's important to understand that dogs respond to discipline even when we don't know we're disciplining them. If they find a certain behavior uncomfortable or displeasing, they won't continue it because they want to experience good things. This is often why dogs develop behavior issues to begin with, because they aren't clearly being directed by a leader that certain behaviors are wanted and other behaviors are not wanted.
Dogs need discipline everyday. Just like they need exercise, and just like they need affection. In fact, I teach that EDA everyday will keep the bad behaviors away. EDA stands for: exercise, discipline, affection. Your dog needs exercise, discipline and affection, in that order. I'm going to say it again because I don't think you understand yet: your dog needs daily exercise, discipline and then affection in that order.
So after you have been on a long, exhausting and healthy walk with your dog, you can implement the discipline part, right? The great thing about discipline is that dogs need it 24/7. They respond to the calm and assertive rule setter setting the rules. So remember that you can actually create rules and boundaries for the walking time, and this is actually better for the dog. You can't simply delegate a chunk of time to be for discipline everyday like you can for exercise.
Think of setting household rules as a lifestyle in your relationship with your dog. Clearly let them know what the "do's" and "do not's" of your household are. This way, once they have been exercised and reminded of those rules, they are best primed to receive your love as a reward for channeling their energy in a healthy way and for following the boundaries you have set.
