Dog trainer shares the 1 thing you ‘should never say to a puppy’

Just like toddlers, puppies are curious creators that want to explore everything as well as testing their boudaries with you as their owners.

While it’s not uncommon to find puppies chewing on shoes, stealing clothing items, or pooping inside your house, it’s imporant to quickly acknowledge these behaviours to prevent them from happening again.

Most people’s first reaction would be to shout ‘no’ to your pup when you see them doing something naughty, one dog trainer has now revealed that this actually isn’t the best method for getting puppies to stop their behaviour, even if it might stop it momentarily.

Puppy training specialist Kim Paciotti from the Empowered Puppy Program has explained the reasons why you should think twice before telling your puppy no when they’re doing something wrong.

Taking to Instagram, where she has over 314,000 followers, Kim went on to share the best way to get your dog to stop their bad behaviour and replace it with a better alternative.

Kim argued that instead of saying no to stop a bad behaviour, puppies actually learn faster if you show them what to do instead.

“Here’s what most people don’t understand about saying ‘NO’ to puppies: it creates what trainers call ‘learned helplessness’,” she wrote in the caption of the post.

She explained that when you constantly tell a puppy what not to do without ever showing them what to do instead, they stop trying. Telling them no might stop the bad behaviour momentarily, but they will soon repeat the same thing if you don’t show them what to do instead.

For example, if you find your puppy chewing on one of your shoes, you shouting no might make them stop for a moment, but they will soon learn that they can only do it if they don’t get caught, as they don’t know any alternatives.

Instead, if you should speak to the dog with a calm tone to stop the behaviour without creating fear. Then immedietly direct their behaviour to something else, such as an appropriate chew toy, and then praise them when they take it.

“Puppies NEED to try things, make mistakes, and learn from them. When every mistake is met with punishment instead of redirection, you’re not building a confident decision-maker you’re building a fearful one,” Kim explained.

Research has shown that punish-based training, such as verbal corrections, is less effective when training a puppy compared to teaching alternative behaviours. While it can be difficult to think of alternatives in the spur of the moment, Kim went on to share some suitable options for the most common behaviour mistakes that puppies usually make.

Instead of jumping up on people, you can teach them to sit for greetings. If they tend to bark at the door, teach them to go to their bed when the doorbell rings. If they’re pulling on the lead when you’re out on a walk, simply reward them when they’re walking besides you.

Kim ended by saying you should think about the behaviour you want your dog to do instead, and then teach and reward that behaviour, instead of focusing on them doing something they shouldn’t do.

“Your job: Make the right choice obvious and rewarding,” she said.