How do you do it?!

Amberld

How does everybody correct (rather than using the term punish) when their dogs have an accident?

I don't punish (I call a word for what it is..."correct" is just a sugar coat in my opinion!) for housetraining errors. After all, it's my fault, not the dog's. The most I will do is interrupt and get the pup outside to finish eliminating and reward for that. And to learn for next time not to wait so long - and to supervise more!

Amberld

Or if they do not come when called?

I don't tend to call a dog that I don't think will come back to me. If I have any reason to suspect the dog will not respond, I will either go get the dog, or put the dog on a leash beforehand to prevent the dog from getting too far away. I work rather to reward the dog for coming back to me each time, and teach it often, use it often, and reward it often.

What I do, is teach the behaviours I want to fluency. I use management to prevent behaviours I don't want until alternative behaviours are taught, I teach alternative behaviours to those I don't want, and then I use those alternative behaviours to set new habits and routines, in turn eliminating the behaviours I didn't want. I use very few punishments

An accident is just that.  No correction, no punishment, no scolding for something that was an accident.

I don't call my dogs unless I know they will come to me.  And I don't leave them in a situation where they have an option until they are very well trained.

The best way to handle training is to find yourself a professional, positive based trainer. 

What Kim said.

1.  I don't correct accidents.  If they happen, I might say "uh oh" (but in a happy, sing-song voice) and immediately set the puppy outside.  I clean the mess and that is that.

2.  First and foremost the dog must have a reason to come to you and be conditioned that way.  I don't ever call a dog if I don't think he will come or am not prepared to reinforce the command.  If I have any doubt the dog may not come, I either don't call him, or I keep him on a long line so I can reel him in.  Another handy thing is training the dog to down at a distance.  My number one command is down/platz.  In many cases, recalling a dog can actually be dangerous (if it might cross a street to get to you, or run past an aggressive dog).  For my dogs, learning to down means learning to do it at ANY time in ANY position, even if that's 50 yards away from me.  Then I can at least walk safely to my dog and get him.

Amberld

How does everybody correct (rather than using the term punish) when their dogs have an accident?

Correct, punish, it's all really the same thing. I never punish dogs for eliminating in the house. It's detrimental. If my dog was having an accident, I would scold myself for not paying attention, not taking him out frequently enough, and not properly motivating him via positive reinforcement that going outside is the best option. I would make sure the dog was properly supervised from then on, and would up my reinforcement for pottying outside.

Amberld

Or if they do not come when called?

I would not. I would only call my dog to come if I knew he would listen, and would not let him off-leash in an area that was not secure if I did not think he would listen to the come cue.

Amberld

OR any other scenario people may have...

I do not punish or correct my dogs, at least not purposefully. Obviously, some things in life for a dog will be aversive. I might drop a pan on the floor accidentally, or step on a toe, but I do not purpoesefully correct my dog for a failure on my part to train him properly. Punishment has some unpleasant consequences, including slowing down all learning, suppressing behavior, and hey, it's plain unpleasant. I don't like making my dog experience unpleasant things. Also, there is the chance dogs associate it with the wrong stimulus (example, us), among other things.

If he is having problems listening to a cue, or is behaving inappropriately, I back up and re-think my training. I may have expected too much too soon, I may have placed him in an environment he was not comfortable in, I may not have properly trained the cue, etc., I would then back up my expectations and work through the issue. If my cue was not trained correctly, I will fix that. If he is not comfortable in the environment, I would work on getting him comfortable. If I expected too much from him, I would back up my expectations and slowly work back up to where he was not succeeding.

I do what everyone else has done. Long lines for come, etc. Mine still panic a bit at a down from a distance (sigh) but we're working hard. I agree that they need to learn down from a distance. It can save their lives.

Here's a cheesy thing I did once for a good come. (I have two dogs.) I took one juicy piece of meat outside and called them and did the hand signal, hoping against hope that they'd come (because I agree with Kim--to call them when you aren't sure they'll come is just asking for trouble on your end). Well, they stared and they thought I very well could have a treat but the one who got there the fastest got the treat. I was sure that was a bad move but my female is worse about coming when called then my male. I immediately went in and got two and tried it again and she hit that porch so fast. They both came right in and guess what? They've done it since.

I don't think that is really the right way to do a more consistent recall. What a gamble.

 I try very hard not to!

The one time I've done it with my current dogs I followed the Eight Rules in the other thread going at the moment in this forum.

I don't know if I punish potty accidents, since I never took the data to say so. I however interrupt them. If  a puppy is pretty young, I'll leave a leash attached, or if it's a puppy small enough, I will interrupt, usually by making a noise, and cart him right out the door. If I completely miss it though, the punishment is all on me for failure to watch closely, take him out soon enough, and recognize his signs. I suppose because I find it unpleasant to clean it up, and I did effectively learn to watch better, take out at the right times, etc., I was effectively punished.

For a dog that won't come when I call him, and I generally won't let him go if I think he won't come back, I usually go get him. The only times Luke has not come back so far, he was eating deer poo (I think). I walked up into his way, stepped on the poop (don't worry, it was frozen), called his name again, and put my fist out for him to touch.  As soon as he sat, I moved off it and let him snack again.

Kim_MacMillan

Amberld

How does everybody correct (rather than using the term punish) when their dogs have an accident?

I don't punish (I call a word for what it is..."correct" is just a sugar coat in my opinion!) for housetraining errors. After all, it's my fault, not the dog's. The most I will do is interrupt and get the pup outside to finish eliminating and reward for that. And to learn for next time not to wait so long - and to supervise more!

That's exactly how I feel about it.  For adult dogs, too, it's my fault, not the dog's.  I either didn't catch a signal, left the dog for too long, wasn't cognizant of something that could upset their digestion.  Or, sometimes you're unaware of scary things that might trigger a dog to relieve itself when you're not home (a storm, construction workers banging on the house. ugh!)  But none of that is the dog's fault.

Kim_MacMillan

Amberld

Or if they do not come when called?

I don't tend to call a dog that I don't think will come back to me. If I have any reason to suspect the dog will not respond, I will either go get the dog, or put the dog on a leash beforehand to prevent the dog from getting too far away. I work rather to reward the dog for coming back to me each time, and teach it often, use it often, and reward it often.

Ditto, emphasis added.  Sometimes a circumstance may arise when a well-trained dog you would expect to turn on a dime for a recall doesn't.  You assess the situation, return to training and reinforcing as necessary, but in the moment the dog doesn't get a correction.  Either they knew better than me for some reason (bear in the woods, for instance), or I failed to maintain communication with the dog - maybe assuming the dog "knows" before it really does, maybe neglecting to maintain the working relationship for one reason or another (new move, additional pets/kids, recovery from an illness.)