April 29, 2011
Is whipping a good way to train my dog?
Full Question:
I have read a lot of your articles and I want to ask your advice because you seem to follow your tried and true methods, not what is popular at the moment. We have an 11 week old Lab puppy that we have had since she was 6 weeks old. From the time we got her, we have worked with her to teach her proper manners. She understood house breaking within the first couple of days and is quick to catch on to almost anything we try to teach her. Most of the things you suggest in your articles, we have always done. She is not allowed in any bedroom, etc. She has a horrible mouthing problem that we have not been able to control, but she does not appear to have an aggressive personality. She will allow you to turn her on her back, touch her paws, take her food, and so forth. But lately she seems to becoming more aggressive and I am afraid we may be causing the problem. I have used treats and praise as a method of training, which she responds to fairly well. I usually work with her 2-3 times a day.My husband on the other hand is a firm believer in whipping her if she misbehaves and if she bites him, he will knock her across the room. Needless to say, she does not bite him often; however, she will rarely go anywhere near him and it does not stop her from mouthing our children or me. Like I said, she has always responded well to treats and praise, but lately at times she refuses to obey and she will try to take the treat out of my hand if I do not give it to her. If she refuses to obey a command, like sit, I have started trying to restrain her until she sits, which turns into a horrible fight. She will twist, claw, and bite to try to get free. I try to hold her until she relents. Most of the time she will not relent and I usually end up just locking her up with nothing but bites and scratches for my trouble.
Is she too young to try to force into submission? What should I do if she refuses to obey a command? Is whipping her the right answer or is that causing her to be more aggressive? I have read anything that I can find on this subject, but everything I've read just tells me not to allow this type of behavior, not how to stop it. We do not want an attack dog; we just want a friendly addition into our family. I have ordered your training video and hope it will give me some insight into the proper way to train my puppy without worrying that she may one day take her aggression out on our children.
Thank you,
Linda Duhon
Ed's Answer:
Well the first thing you need to do is whip your husband the next time he whips the dog and then ask him how he liked it!
You can tell him that he needs to either learn how to train a dog or find a new home for this puppy because he is going to screw it up if he continues. Whipping a dog is stupid, dumb, ignorant and foolish. There is no nice way to put it.
You are expecting too much from this pup at too young of an age. You need to learn how to train a dog and you need to get a dog crate and use it. I can't teach you how to train a dog through an email.
I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site.
You can tell him that he needs to either learn how to train a dog or find a new home for this puppy because he is going to screw it up if he continues. Whipping a dog is stupid, dumb, ignorant and foolish. There is no nice way to put it.
You are expecting too much from this pup at too young of an age. You need to learn how to train a dog and you need to get a dog crate and use it. I can't teach you how to train a dog through an email.
I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the tape on my web site.
Ed's Answer:
Four years after adding this email to my dumb and dumber section I was surprised to get a nice email from Linda. In it she indicated that she in fact did go ahead and purchase my DVD Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Basic Dog Obedience She wanted me to know that her family used this information in training their dog and they now have a normal happy well trained dog.
Because she was so nice in the email I offered to remove this email from Dumb and Dumber. All she had to do was say the word.
She wrote back and said I should leave it because it may help others. She just wanted everyone to know that her husband doesn't beat her and she doesn't beat him :-)
Here is what she said:
"But maybe you could just add that I did email you several years later to let you know you were right, we were wrong and every single problem that we had was our fault-not the dog's. Once we bought your tapes and followed your instructions, we realized the puppy was magnificent. Smart dog-dumb handler!
Thanks again for everything.
Linda Duhon
Because she was so nice in the email I offered to remove this email from Dumb and Dumber. All she had to do was say the word.
She wrote back and said I should leave it because it may help others. She just wanted everyone to know that her husband doesn't beat her and she doesn't beat him :-)
Here is what she said:
"But maybe you could just add that I did email you several years later to let you know you were right, we were wrong and every single problem that we had was our fault-not the dog's. Once we bought your tapes and followed your instructions, we realized the puppy was magnificent. Smart dog-dumb handler!
Thanks again for everything.
Linda Duhon
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