She stops whatever it is she's doing. It's quite funny.

I started it when she was a wee pup and only had to really use the sprayer a few times. She hated it so much that just the sight of the spray bottle makes her stop, drop her tail end down and scamper away, usually right to her cage. Her safe haven.

I have used it in the past when there was trouble at the dog park with Zoey getting pinned by another dog, but it was so shocking to both of them that it was upsetting to me. I had one of those "sports" bottles full of water and sprayed it....it worked but the dogs were so stunned you would have thought I used a tazer on them....

I was always nervous about trying that on Cain when he is behaving badly cause I thought it would piss him off enough to try to bite me (and he has done that before....gotten mad to the point he snaps at me).

realy snaps him out of what ever he does and not suposed to do ....... for example if he play fights with jackie and gets to ruff i spray him..... calling or pushing him does just not work when he is into his thing !

and since it doesnt hurt him i think its ok to use ; also works when he has a barking frenzy

jackie on the other hand is not impressed at all.... she will try to snap the water out of the air and drink it

huggs and sloppy kisses

jenny and bruce

somehow or another, I got it. It was explained to me in such simple terms that I think the person explaining it might have thought she was wasting her time, but she was patient.

Lynn King CPDT

I use it for a quick refresher at shows. Spray the head for a quick cool down and then a few squirts in the mouth for hydration. It's a nice treat.

Never as punishment!

on my kids! My girls are very close and they NEVER fight, ever, excpet for one time they got in a huge brawl right in the kitchen. It was so unreal to see them fighting, and they wouldn't listen to me, so I took the kitchen sprayer and squirted them both. End of fight.
My dogs, never. I want to make sure my dogs listen to me because I'm the boss, not because they are annoyed by water. And no I dont' think it hurts them in any way, but not the way I want it with my dogs.

Cathy
when she first came home

no matter how many times I read that and listened to lectures on it, I still can't keep it straight!


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

i think i love you lynn! haha! thats exactly how i feel!

created when using aversives/punishment. For example, lets say we have a dog that likes to hump children-pretty common-kids are small, play on the floor and they are easy targets. To stop the behavior we use a squirt bottle. Dog humps child, we squirt the dog in the face, takes 3- 4 occurences and the dog learns to run when he sees the bottle. Now, has the dog learned that humping is bad or has he learn that the presence of the child is bad or neither, just the squirt bottle is bad. I've learned that if there is even the slightest possibility that what I am using in training might teach a fear or aggressive association towards a person or another dog, I won't use it.

Lynn King CPDT

water should mean fun especially for a breed that can over heat so easily.

in his pool or with the sprinkler. It breaks my heart to think of him associating that with anything but FUN.

first because it's just not the way I learned to work with my dogs and 2 I use a spray bottle to cool them down in the summer, so I want them to like it.

Sherryl, Onslow and Buttercup

I use the bottle - think what your hairdresser uses to wet a child's hair before cutting it - on both my bullie and the cat. Regardless of what may be punishment or not, I am not going to step in the middle of the cat slashing the dog and a gentle squirt sends them both in the opposite direction. You would have thought after a year of pain (from getting scratched) that Bella the bulldog would leave the cat (and his full set of claws) alone, but she thinks he only wants to play. And no amount of treat or positive reinforcement will drag her away. I think it is much more humane than letting her continue to get swatted in the nose.

My trainer also does recommend the "can with rocks inside" distraction technique, but I can't handle it. Maybe I need a new can, but the noise is like fingernails on a chalk board to my ears. It does distract them from whateer they are doing and immediately back to you so that you can continue to teach them.

haha all good things of course

nm

Lynn King CPDT

Well said!

totally agree!

one of the 4 quadrants of learning theory. Sad that people are so quick to use aversives/punishment simply because they get quicker results. I think when a dog doesn't "listen" to us it's because we haven't taken or don't want to take the time to teach them what we expect. Personally, I prefer to try to be a person that my dog thinks is worth listening to.

Lynn King CPDT

Well, I do understand what your saying, and I agree and respect the fact that not everybody does or agrees with everything everybody else does. With that said, I wouldn't squirt my child for not listening either, ever. Sometimes I may want to (as he can be a complete terror) but I surely wouldn't.

If my dog doesn't listen to my verbal commands, i tap him on the shoulder, just as i would do to my fiance, or friend, or a stranger i was trying to get attention from. Not a hit, not a jab, nothing hurtful or anything that may cause any sort of fear. And if the then doesn't listen still...I'd remove him from the situation calmly until his energy level was lower and then quite possibly take him back to what it was that he was doing, and correct the behavior before it got to the point where they got into that different state of mind.

=)

there are many ways to raise children and train dogs and we won't always agree, as professional do not always agree.

Every dog is different and I found the spray bottle to be an effective way to stop bad behavior when commands were not effective during puppyhood. Much like a child, dogs can sometimes be a different state of mind when acting out. After verbal correction (usually more than once), a quick spray would bring Mia back to reality. She would kind of be like, "oh yeah, I know I should listen"...but it is far from spanking. In that repect, there is no comparison in my opinion. A little squirt of water is no where near the magnitude of a phyiscal slap.

i don't think its abusive. i just think its a much less affective way of getting your point across (although they may take more effort and self awareness of your energy and boy language). Much like spanking a child...sure, they'll stop the bad behavior (temporarily anyway...but there are better ways of getting them to act appropriately.

She listens to me always. I don't have to raise my voice or carry a bottle. She's not rebellious at all. I basically only had to use it when she was in puppyhood....and not for long at all. She has always been a fast learner, I guess.

I will say the ONLY thing that I have ever had to show her the squirt bottle in the past year is when she is obsessed with licking her paws.

Now, I agree with being the leader of your pack and taking control and, at this point, I only have to "shh or tsk".

The spray bottle may not be a technique that everyone should use, especially if they over abuse the "power" and squirt for everything. When I did use it, I would warn her, usually more than once and then a quick squirt if she chose not to obey.

What do you do if she doesn't listen and you don't have the bottle? If you are out and about do you always have to bring a spray bottle or can with you to get her to listen?

I never had to spray or shake anything at him, ever. I honestly wouldn't want too anyway. But that's just me.
A vocal correction has always been enough (Ssssssh).

because there is no one in my home whom my dogs respect more than myself. If anything, she knows there are repercussions to her actions if she chooses to not listen. I don't have to raise my voice at all and the behavior is stopped. It is a rare occasion that she may look at me and "test" me, but in those instances, she need only to see the sprayer and she knows to stop.

In my opinion, this is not an abusive way to change bad behavior and we should always reward good behavior.

with your statement, I found that the initial puppy training with the spray bottle was extremely helpful.

I think it should only be used in exteme cases and after verbal correction is given and not followed. At this point, I only have to tell Mia to "stop..." licking paws, etc. and she immediately listens. It is only on rare occasions where she might need to see the spray bottle. At this point, her behavior never warrants the "squirt". If she sees the bottle, she knows I mean business and she stops. But, as with a child, once in a blue moon she will test me(but, again, only to the extent that she needs to see the bottle, if that makes sense).

I think that you should gain leadership by respect, and being calm and in charge, it may change the behavior...he may stop doing whatever hes doing when he see's the bottle. but he wont respect you as a leader. He'll fear the spray bottle, and if anything make him trust you less. You want to strengthen the bond not weaken it.

not what you are doing to scare him. Become the leader of your pack. You don't need a spray bottle for that.

huggs and sloppy kisses

jenny and bruce

huggs and sloppy kisses

jenny and bruce