Suzi
Posted : 6/7/2006 5:37:54 PM
When I was at the dog run, a guy was telling me how these small dogs always barks and stuff. I looked at him like, sure....blah.... [

] JJ isn't much of a barker, though she would sometimes bark at dogs at the dog run or when she felt like any of the family member is talking in a loud tone. (hehe) But this is what worked for me, what worked in training her......
Good Girl : In every thing she does right, I learn that making a big deal of it works. She would ignore treats but she loves the attention given. So treats wouldn't work on her half the time. I would give her kisses, hugs, dance around, nice tasty treats, tell her how good she is and yes I would even host a doggie party to show her that she did something good and mama's happy. (haha) Clearly JJ know's the difference and she would choose to be a good girl rather then a bad girl.
Bad Girl : I give her the eye contact, avoiding to blink as much as possible. Stare into her eyes, look super serious and upset. I would stay still, go down to her level and just look at her for a minute or two, or sometimes even 10 minute. I then would tell her it's not acceptable, mama's not happy what whatever word like no, ?? and etc. Of course I got her to sit down first and just get her attention. She then give me this sad puppy look, soften up and make this whimper noise. [

] Sometimes I tell her to sit, stay after staring at her and telling her I'm not happy. It's like telling a kid to sit on a naughty chair for misbehaving. [&:] I need to make my point across to her, she got it and then she know when mama looks unhappy, nobody is happy.
I'm not quite sure if stuffing treats in the pups mouth until the dog leaves is sending a good message to the pup. I wouldn't do that because I think that giving treats when doing wrong is telling the pup it's doing something right. I only reward JJ if she does something good. Bad behavior don't deserve any yummie goodies. [

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This is only my experence, and I know every pup is different. [&:]