The Pitfalls of Punishment: How Not to Fail Miserably

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Speaker 1: Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

00:29 — Kati Peppe introduces Diamond Canine Dog Training in Biddeford, Maine, specializing in off-leash obedience…

Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us for another episode of Off Leash and Unfiltered. I'm your host, Kati Peppe and I own Diamond Canine Dog training in Biddeford, Maine. We specialize in eco training for off leash obedience and behavior modifications, so helping people stop behaviors they don't like. Barking, jumping, getting into the trash and more serious things. Leash, reactivity, aggression, resource guarding. And we love working with nervous and fearful and anxious dogs as well. We also offer puppy programs, so that's who we are and what we do. And this podcast is just our way of sharing everything we see and do and learn every day with you guys.

Speaker 1: Everything we're doing with the dogs and with our clients. And our hope is you'll get something out of this that will help you with your own dog. So don't forget to hit subscribe to help support the podcast. Let's dive in.

Speaker 1: Alright, today we are talking about punishment, which I know is something we talk about a lot. And the reason we talk about it a lot is because that's just what we see people having the hardest time with day in and day out. The questions we're getting from people are related to how do they get their dog to stop doing these behaviors? They've tried everything. Um, they've been working on it for years and sometimes years, and they just don't seem to be able to get it done. Um, and also we see a lot of people that kind of have the right information, like they're on the right track, but they're making critical mistakes.

Speaker 1: And so this is just the stuff that we see people having the hardest time with, which makes sense because this is the stuff that you can't find out there. This is the stuff you can't find the information on the internet.

Speaker 1: Even if you go to trainers, you can't get the information from them. A lot of them don't know. A lot of them just won't tell you, um, because they're afraid it will hurt their image because you know, it feels mean. It looks mean, it sounds mean. All these things. Uh, and they need to uphold this image of being saintly or they're just afraid. They're afraid of the backlash, so they just don't tell you. Um, but there's just a lot of garbage out there. There's a lot of lies, there's a lot of ignorance, and you can't find this information.

Speaker 1: And so that's why we talk about it so, so much. Uh, and it's near and dear to my heart because, not because I am some kind of sociopath, but because I was the one struggling at one time and I remember those days and I remember crying myself to sleep because I couldn't find these answers and I didn't know what we were gonna do.

Speaker 1: And it was a dangerous situation. And so now that I know, I am determined that I'm going to share this information with everybody else. So the people who are looking for it, the people who want it, the people who are ready for this information have it. Um, yeah. So that's what we're doing today. We're gonna talk about that, but today's a little bit different because we're not just talking about how to punish behaviors. I mean we are, but we're talking about the common pitfalls, the common mistakes that people make and the reasons why if they're already trying to punish behaviors, why it's not working.

Speaker 1: Because that can be very, very frustrating when you finally feel like you get your hands on the right information and you implement it and it doesn't work. And then, you know, what comes outta that oftentimes is people saying, well, corrections don't work.

Speaker 1: Punishment doesn't work. It's like it does work, but you have to be doing it correctly. So I wanna talk today a little bit about those details and what are the pitfalls. So these are things we're discussing with our clients in our hands on lessons because we give everybody, we work with this information no matter who their dog is. If they're a a, a mostly good, happy go lucky dog, if they're a pushy, bratty dog with a lot of bad behaviors, if they're an aggressive dog, if they're just a puppy, it doesn't matter. Everybody gets this information from us because it is so, so critical if you want to end up with the best version of your dog, right?

Speaker 1: Everybody should know how to stop behaviors. So I wanna talk about what we're talking about in these lessons where we share the information on how to do that, but then we share the common pitfalls so that our clients can avoid them. And now you guys can avoid them too.

05:16 — The core sequence is to say “No” as behavior begins, then deliver a consequence.

Speaker 1: So if you've been listening for any length of time, you probably already know how to properly punish and inhibit a behavior. So the way we normally do that is we are going to say no at the moment that behavior occurs or is about to occur. So basically that means your dog is already started on the path to commit the crime. Like you know it's happening or it is about to happen, right? You've already seen the signs that it's coming. So for instance, if your dog jumps on people, that sequence might start with their ears standing up and them getting up and them starting to run over to the person.

Speaker 1: That would be fine, right? So even though the dog's not in the act of jumping, you know, because you know your dog and historically you know what their sequence is, you know that they have begun the sequence that is going to lead to jumping.

Speaker 1: That's a fine time to say no, but you could also say it as they're in the act of jumping after we mark the unwanted behavior with the word no, that's when we apply our correction, right? So if you've been listening to me, this isn't new information. Um, and this is pretty much standard across the board for every bad behavior. Yes, there might be some exceptions, um, but mostly those exceptions are going to be things where we are chipping away at deep rooted state of mind stuff. It's not gonna be simple behaviors like barking, getting into the trash, jumping on people.

Speaker 1: All of those behaviors really fall into this category and it's really usually fairly easy to stop these behaviors and stop them quickly. And I've had people just hang up the phone on me for saying that because it's, it's inflammatory to somebody who has been working on stopping behaviors for so long for me to tell them, this is something I can stop in a few seconds. <laugh>,

Speaker 1: That's not even an exaggeration, right? Not always. Sometimes we might have to do it a few times, but literally these aren't things you have to work on. Like these are things you can stop in a day. You don't have to work on them for weeks or months or god forbid years. But people are, um, and of course the reason they are is because they are committed to doing it in a positive manner and they're certain that with some patience and some consistency and lots of fun reward-based training, that eventually their dog will start making the right choices.

Speaker 1: But that's a philosophy that just isn't rooted in reality. Unfortunately that would be great, I would love that. But the reality is that will never erase a behavior from being natural to your dog. It just won't. So sure you can encourage, I'm gonna, I have to get the squeaker away from my pug because he's going to cause a problem here.

Speaker 2: Gimme that. Sorry buddy.

08:32 — Rewards build skills, but natural, rehearsed behaviors may require a negative consequence to stop.

Speaker 1: My squeaky toys are so loud. <laugh>. The reality is you can encourage your dog to do different behaviors and you can build some different behaviors through reward and through food. And that's fine. And I don't have any issue with that at all. We do that too, but you're avoiding having the conversation that tells your dog what you don't want them to do. And the only way you're going to successfully achieve that is to attach a negative consequence, like a truly negative consequence to that behavior. Otherwise you're just gonna get a mixed bag, most likely. Meaning sometimes your dog will do the behavior you like and that gets food and a reward and sometimes they won't.

Speaker 1: And a lot of times they'll probably do the behavior that you like and they'll get the reward and then they'll just go and default back to doing the other behavior that you don't like.

Speaker 1: Why? Because it comes naturally. So the other problem is everybody thinks that their dog is just eager to please. And that's just kind of a silly thing to think, um, I understand what people mean by it and I'm not trying to make anybody think that their dog is like a bad dog. That's not what I'm saying. But your dog, they just do what comes naturally, right? In that sense, even if you have a happy go lucky social dog and you have an an aggressive dog that's put holes in people, your dog is no different from that other dog in the sense that they're both just doing what comes to them naturally, right?

Speaker 1: And what that is, is different because of their genetics and possibly learning experiences, but they're both doing what comes naturally to them. Um, it just looks different because the dogs are different, right?

Speaker 1: But neither one of them are doing things with a motive like they wanna please you or they wanna upset you. Like that just isn't, that just isn't happening <laugh>. So we're giving them a little too much credit. Um, but so if, if you are trying to stop a simple behavior, we do tell people to mark that behavior with a no. And then after you say no, not at the same time after you say no, you will provide a high level negative consequence. So this has to be something that's very high, very meaningful to your dog, but something that does not cause harm, right?

Speaker 1: Not something that's dangerous, not something that can hurt them like cause injury, but just something overwhelmingly negative. So an e-collar is the easiest way to do that. The model we use is extremely reliable, consistent, and safe. Uh, it's just a very effective, efficient ways of providing a negative consequence.

Speaker 1: Um, but you could also use a bonker, which is a rolled up cotton towel. Uh, it won't hurt your dog, it's just a towel. Or you could also do a leash pop. If you wanted to have your dog drag a leash, you would want it to be attached to a prong collar so that when you do pop the leash, you can actually make an impact. <laugh>, he found another squeaker. Oh my god, I gotta go take that one away. Now I'm just collecting squeakers. Um, so that when you do deliver that leash pop, it actually is noticeable and meaningful, right?

Speaker 1: And it has to be a good firm snappy pop. So it's a little bit of a learning curve sometimes for folks. Um, it's a bit of an art to deliver a good leash pop, but those are kind of some common options. And there are some other things you can do too, but those are our favorite.

Speaker 1: Those, those means of correction tend to be very doable, um, and very effective. And if done properly, they will stick long-term. So we find like noise makers and spray bottles, even if they work in the moment, they don't tend to create long-term change, uh, for a lot of dogs. But that's just our experience. Every dog is different. Um, there certainly are some dogs that might just absolutely positively despise water or a certain sound so much that it sticks forever. So you have to do what works for your dog. But again, you wanna do something safe that isn't going to cause any harm, but yet something that is overwhelmingly negative and you don't wanna do that at the same time you say No, that's a very common mistake.

Speaker 1: So that's number one on my list. Oh, I gotta go get that squeaker, <laugh>, hey, find something else to play with.

13:05 — Saying “No” simultaneously with a correction prevents the dog from connecting the word to…

Speaker 1: My goodness, <laugh>. So you don't wanna correct your dog at the same time as saying no. The reason that's important is because we want these two things to become connected. And so if you do them at the same time simultaneously, they do not become connected. So the way your dog forms associations are sequentially. So it's important that the no comes first and then the, the correction comes afterwards. So you could even get into the habit to make sure you do that 'cause it's very unnatural. You could get into the habit of saying no and then actually counting to two or three before you provide the correction, which is going to lead me into problem number two.

Speaker 1: This is the mistake that we see people do, um, very frequently. So you say no, you wait a few seconds, but now your dog stops doing the bad behavior right after you say no and you wait a couple seconds.

Speaker 1: Now the dog's not barking anymore or they've gotten down off the person they were jumping on, they've gotten out of the trash, they've stopped digging the hole, whatever it is they were doing, they've stopped doing it. Well, I'm happy to tell you it makes zero difference. So that's us being a human and overthinking it and over evaluating, over analyzing what's happening and what's going to happen and what we should do. And you know, it's funny because for people we worry so much about confusing the dog, but then it's almost like we go out of our way to do it <laugh>.

Speaker 1: So if you, if you are hesitant or you fail to supply a consequence just because your dog has stopped doing the thing, you are the one now confusing the dog, right? Because now the consequences have changed and there aren't any, the consequences are now variable, which is very, very bad for a behavior that you wanna knock out.

Speaker 1: It's super, super important to be consistent and you don't have to rush. So I'm here to tell you, it is perfectly fine if you say no when the behavior is happening or about to happen. It doesn't matter so much when you apply the sequence. So even if your dog snaps into shape when you say the word no, even if they're out in the kitchen doing dishes, folding laundry, polishing your shoes, <laugh>, it does not matter. You still supply the consequence because you have already told them that you're going to. And then you either make good on that.

Speaker 1: You either follow through and cement that connection or you teach them that you're actually just kidding. Your no doesn't mean anything. There really won't be a consequence for committing that crime. There is no middle ground, there is no other way to see it. There is no other way to do it. There either is a consequence or there isn't a consequence. You can't have it both ways.

16:31 — Consistent consequences matter more than speed because variable responses make behavior harder to eliminate.

Speaker 1: And every time you let it slide because the dog snaps into shape, because you said no, you make it harder to eliminate the behavior because you're presenting your dog with a pattern that says punishment isn't consistent in this scenario. Correction is not consistent when you do this behavior because no is not a correction, it's just a noise. It's a marker. It tells your dog the correction is going to come. And then if you don't do it, what are we even doing? Right? So once you do the crime, you gotta do the time and the delay doesn't matter.

Speaker 1: Yes, there is a limit in there somewhere as to like, will your dog connect the consequence to the behavior? But don't worry about that too much because E let's just say in that moment, your dog isn't sure, right? Let's say you say no and then it takes you like 10 or 15 seconds to supply a consequence.

Speaker 1: The first time that happens, they might not make the connection, but after a few times they will. So it's the people worry, uh, so much about their dogs being confused. But confusion is simply part of the learning process, right? We all get confused when we're learning. What will clarify that for your dog is you being consistent. If you make exceptions, if you bend the rules, if you're hesitant because you're worried and you don't do, you don't keep your pattern the same, then you serve to further confusion instead of clarify it. The best thing you can do for a confused dog is stick to the pattern.

Speaker 1: Can't get enough of this dog training stuff. Well, I have great news. We're going to start offering an inexpensive paid subscription where you can get access to our new exciting bonus content. It's just one more way that you can help support the podcast. But even if you can't do that, just leaving us a review and hitting subscribe is hugely appreciated. And of course, don't forget to tell your friends about the podcast 'cause you and I know they have issues with their dogs. And this way they won't have to get mad at you for saying it because I'm saying it <laugh>, thank you for being here guys, and thank you for your support period.

Speaker 1: Consistency, right? But all of our human emotions and over analyzation gets in the way of that.

Speaker 1: So once your dog commits the behavior and you've said no, you should then follow up with the consequence. Even if you have to take a minute and go get whatever tool it is that you're using, if you have to go into another room and get it, that's okay. If your dog is being good by the time you come back, that's okay. You still supply the consequence because you have to stick to the pattern. Otherwise, if you don't, and of course we see this all the time because so many of our clients make this mistake in the beginning.

Speaker 1: If you don't, your dog now says, aha loophole, I can still jump on people, I can still bark out the window, I can still get in the trash. I can do all this wonderful, cool, fun monkey business stuff. As long as when I hear the word no, I stop and then I'm safe.

Speaker 1: Nothing happens. There's no consequence. Like the sky never falls, right? And then in five minutes I can go back and do it all over again because why not? So that is one of the most common mistakes. All right? So, so far we have issuing the correction at the same time as saying no, that's a mistake. You should issue your correction after you say no. Number two, you have to issue the correction. After you say no, you cannot omit providing the actual correction. Even if there's going to be a delay, that's okay. You still have to follow up after you say no and provide the tangible negative consequence.

Speaker 1: There are no exceptions to that. And so if you start making exceptions to that, you will provide your dog with a pattern that will make it take a lot longer to inhibit the behavior. And you may never inhibit the behavior, right? So you have to follow through a hundred percent of the time. And for all the talk we hear about consistency, that should be an easy one. <laugh>.

21:32 — Teach “No” during calm moments by saying it, waiting approximately two seconds, and then…

Speaker 1: So don't worry, your dog will put together what no means, right? And so a lot of times we tell people, teach your dog what no means before that even happens. When things are calm in the house, this feels mean to people. But what you're doing is you're creating a tool. You're making a tool to keep in your tool chest. It's not to be mean. Your dog should know what no means. And it's a lot easier to teach them that when they're calm than when they're crazy outta their mind jumping all over people. So when you're just sitting around and things are calm and quiet in the house, say no, then count to two and then correct them with whatever tool it is you wanna use.

Speaker 1: Doesn't matter. I often will use a bonker when I'm doing that specific thing, but you don't have to. You can use your recaller, you can use a prong pop, doesn't matter. Just do that a couple times. You don't have to do it a hundred times just once or twice. So your dog goes, oh, I hear the word no. Then there's a correction, right? So now they already know what no means, and then you can start putting it into action with their behavior.

Speaker 1: And the more you do this with various behaviors, right? 'cause your dog probably has more than one bad behavior, the more cemented the pattern becomes and they're going to get very adept at it. And so are you. So if I say no to my dogs, um, they will kind of scrunch down, making themselves small. They might close their eyes, they might go hide under a chair because they know there's gonna be a correction and they don't necessarily know what form it's going to come in because I use them all, but they know for a fact there will be a correction, right?

Speaker 1: Because that is the association that I have worked to build with my dogs. And I don't make exceptions. I don't bend the rules, I don't worry about them being confused. 'cause if I do that, I know I will create confusion. I'm very, very consistent. And that tool can help you in other ways that maybe we'll get into today, but maybe not. But your dog, knowing what no means is huge and can be a lifesaver. Um, because it can stop behaviors, um, from occurring before they even occur or as they're about to occur,

Speaker 1: You know, before you've even supplied the correction and you're still gonna supply it, right? But if you can stop a behavior with a single word just like that, think about the magic that could be in a truly dangerous situation if your dog's about to run out into the road, if your dog is about to run up to an aggressive dog, any of these things, if your dog is about to eat medication off the floor that you just dropped. So I can think of a thousand scenarios, right? And you say nno and your dog freezes and stops what they're doing.

Speaker 1: That's a tool most people don't have. Huge third mistake,

24:51 — Weak corrections cause desensitization, allowing dogs to treat repeated warnings and mild discomfort as…

Speaker 1: The third pitfall of punishment. It is not meaningful enough. So I, I said a second ago that I like to develop with the dog what no means before they actually start doing the crappy behaviors. Um, I like to teach them outside of those scenarios what their association with the word no should be. And I like to do that with a bonker. Um, however, you don't have to, but that tends to be my favorite. Um, because it just, it works better on arousal, the visual of a bonker, it seems to be more effective on, on arousal and reducing arousal.

Speaker 1: So then when my dog is all amped up and super crazy, if I say the word no, it's gonna be that memory that comes back and brings that arousal down really, really quickly. Um, and I like that. However, you don't have to. But here is the mistake that people make, they teach the dog. That no means there will be a negative consequence kind of <laugh>, right? So people are afraid of it, and that's natural and normal that makes you human. However, if you're squeamish, if you're afraid of it, you risk desensitizing your dog to any and all of this stuff, right?

Speaker 1: And then you're only making it harder on yourself because you'll have to up your intensity continually. And you'll have to be correcting your dog continually. And nobody wants to do that. I wouldn't wanna do that either.

Speaker 1: So we see that a lot with the bonker, right? I had a lady once with a super drivey crazy little puppy, uh, with some kind of a hound. And this thing was just mouthy and biting. And I mean, her arms were just scarred up, scratched up, bloody, I mean, bruised. It was crazy. And so the way we knocked this out was with a bonker, but it has to be a very firm bonk. And unfortunately they had pretty good success at first, but that gradually went away. And the next time I saw them, they could actually bonk this puppy really firmly.

Speaker 1: And the puppy didn't care at all. Thought it was a fantastic game, was attacking the bonker, trying to take it away and kind of play growling and having a good old time with it. Um, and it, I knew why immediately. And it's the classic mistake people make of just being too afraid to be firm, too afraid to come in at the intensity that they need to.

Speaker 1: Um, so it's really, really important that we're not aiming for the intensity that will stop the behavior in the moment, but that we're aiming for the intensity that will create a, potentially a lifelong negative association with doing this behavior, right? So if you come in too gentle, too soft, too low by mistake, what will happen is your dog is gonna try that behavior again. Even if they stop in the moment, which is probably what was happening in the case of this biting puppy, they probably bonked the puppy. The puppy said, whoa, what the heck was that?

Speaker 1: And kind of knocked it off. But then later on, went back to it again and they did the same thing again and maybe got the same result, right? But then a little later on, the puppy comes back to it again. And this time the puppy just shrugged off the bonk, right?

Speaker 1: And so then they did it a little bit harder and the puppy stopped for a little while, but then later on went back at it again. So you can see how this escalates and escalates gradually where the puppy goes back to it and they have to bon 'em a little bit harder and a little bit harder and a little bit harder just to get a reprieve temporarily, right? And eventually the bonker just means nothing. It's a game. It's all just a game. Um, and you know, most of the value in the bonker anyway is not just that it's firm, but it's the visual.

Speaker 1: So throwing the bonker, um, is actually my preferred way of doing things because dogs really don't like projectiles most of the time. And just seeing that bonker coming toward them really is the scary part for a lot of dogs. My, my dog included my big one, boo boo <laugh>, he does not like seeing the bonker coming at him.

Speaker 1: Um, and it's just a towel. So I love that because he has no harm, gonna come to him from a towel. Um, but yet he's absolutely horrified, <laugh> as a thought of a bonker flying at his head. Um, so, but by gradually increasing their intensity like that, that was a huge mistake. And now it's just a, a valueless tool. They can't use that anymore. They need another, another means of stopping behavior. But you can make that mistake with anything if you're too gentle with your leash pops. If you're too low on your e-collar, you can run into the same exact thing.

Speaker 1: So I always tell people, if you're serious about putting a behavior to bed, then for fuck's sake, just do it. <laugh>, yes, those are my exact words. Like, just do it. So for so many reasons, guys, okay? So listen to this. You're going to, number one, you're gonna knock it out way faster, right? Because you're just not gonna have to do it over and over again. If you make it really, really uncomfortable to jump on people or whatever the behavior is, your dog's gonna figure that out super fast and they're not gonna want any part of it anymore.

Speaker 1: Win win, right? So it's not fun, but you get it behind you much faster.

Speaker 1: The other benefit is right, if you come in higher, is that that inhibition is more likely to stick longer, right? So again, I always talk about the underground fences, the invisible fences. Those are associations that sometimes the dog feels it once and it lasts the rest of their life, right? But we struggle to do that because we're not a fence. We're human. And so we all wanna use like the lowest possible level. And the problem is there's no way for you to know what that is. And so most of the time, if that's your mindset, and if that's your goal, you're gonna be using levels that work in the moment, but they don't stick for a good long time because they just weren't that bad, right?

Speaker 1: It needs to be truly intolerable. If you wanna put a behavior to bed, put it to bed, your dog will test it again. And you know, if you're merely annoying them or making them mildly uncomfortable, you can't expect that to stick forever. Of course, it's not gonna stick forever. That behavior's gonna regenerate and it's gonna regenerate much sooner than it would have otherwise. So it's important that your correction is meaningful, very, very meaningful so that you do not end up desensitizing your dog, nagging your dog or regenerating the behavior, um, because the consequence just wasn't that bad.

Speaker 1: And that is a very common mistake.

32:44 — A client’s counter-surfing routine failed because “get down” followed by vibration did not make…

Speaker 1: So I wanna tell you, I was in a consultation just the other day and I was talking to somebody who's already signed up and their dog will be coming next month. Um, but they have an e-collar and they've already attempted to correct some behaviors at home, and these behaviors weren't going away, which is of course very frustrating for them. But after they told me their process, it's no surprise at all that these behaviors weren't going away. So let me walk you through what they were doing and let's see if you can pick out what it is that they were making for mistakes and why they weren't getting, uh, their desired results.

Speaker 1: So they have a dog that would counter surf and get up on the table and just take food off the table and everyone knows how so awful that is. And also dangerous, right?

Speaker 1: So this is a behavior they've been trying to knock out for a while. The way that they would handle it, and by the way, they were using vibrate most of the time. So their dog would jump up on the table to get the food and they would just tell the dog to get down. And if the dog didn't get down, then they would press the button and vibrate the dog, and the dog would get down. So in their mind, they got their desired behavior, the dog got off the table, but they were expecting that this was gonna change over time and the dog would stop getting up there.

Speaker 1: Why is it that that didn't happen? Because what would happen is later on in the day or the next day, the dog would just be up on the table again. So why is that?

Speaker 1: Well, if you don't know, let's dissect this a little bit. So first of all, when the dog jumped up on the table, what happened, right? So if you really wanna, if you really wanna simplify this, you could make it as simple as dog jumps up on table, what's the result? And that's it. Like, we don't really have to go any further than that, right? So the result could be the dog gets a treat, <laugh> a chicken, whatever's on the table, um, or the result could be a punishment. Or in their case, the result for the dog was just, they gave the dog a command.

Speaker 1: Okay? Well, if you do a behavior and then someone looks at you and just gives you an instruction, how does that teach you not to do the behavior in the future? It doesn't, because again, we're completely skipping the conversation of you can't do that.

Speaker 1: I'm gonna make it uncomfortable to do that. I don't want you to do that anymore. Right? So that conversation wasn't happening, just giving the dog a command to get down that doesn't tell them anything about the future. Nothing, right? You're just giving them some instruction in the moment, which is pretty much meaningless. And then if the dog ignored that instruction, then they would provide a consequence, but the consequence was just vibrate, which to most dogs doesn't mean a lot, right? So it meant enough to this dog for him to get down in the moment. And frankly, probably just because it's a physical thing, right?

Speaker 1: So the dog knows that their owner wants them to get down, and then they feel this physical touch turn on, so they respond to it and they get down. But there was no moment during that whole sequence where the dog said, holy shit, I won't get up there anymore. <laugh>,

Speaker 1: Right? And that is, I'm sorry, but to be frank like that is what you need. Like, that's where we're going with this. And that just wasn't happening. That conversation wasn't happening, that consequence wasn't happening. It was merely a tap on the shoulder and not even for getting up there, but for not listening after getting up there. So the dog commits the sin, we're just giving him some instruction, and he's choosing to ignore the instruction. So now we really have two infractions, right? The dog's jumping up on the counter and they're ignoring our direction. Um, and then we just tapped him on the shoulder.

Speaker 1: And that would be just the bare minimum for us to be able to get what we're asking for in the moment, but it will do nothing for the long term. And that was exactly what they were experiencing. They were just doing, going through this whole cycle and this whole process every single day.

37:03 — Peppe argues against using “off” or “down” to manage jumping instead of directly stopping…

Speaker 1: And as a reminder, uh, this seems like a good time to insert this tidbit. You should never need a command to prevent your dog from doing a bad behavior or to get your dog out of doing a bad behavior. If your dog's jumping on someone, getting in the trash, getting on the table, you shouldn't need to give your dog an instruction that is crucial to changing behavior, right? Your dog needs to learn on their own. Like do not do that behavior in the first place, right? Because otherwise you stay stuck in the cycle of your dog does the behavior, and you give them an an instruction dog Does the behavior, you give them an instruction?

Speaker 1: Well, that's a fail. Jumping on people is a really good example because 99% of people when we meet them, their dog's jumping all over them and their guests, and they're just saying off or down, okay? And that's a huge no-no, because again, we're skipping the whole conversation of don't do that. Instead, the conversation is, you can do that. Just get down when I tell you to. That's not, that's not going to be conducive to your long-term success. It's not what you're going for.

Speaker 1: Okay? So that is it. That is how you stop behaviors. That is how you avoid all of the super, super common mistakes that we see around people trying to apply corrections to behaviors that they don't like. So now you can be successful at knocking behaviors out super quickly, and you don't have to be a statistic of failure. We hope you enjoyed today's episode, and please don't forget to hit the subscribe button. That way you won't miss anything. And you can help support the podcast. If you have questions or there's a topic you'd like to hear discussed, you can send those to me directly at Kati at diamond K nine.com.

Speaker 1: That's Kati at diamond, D-I-A-M-O-N-D, canine, C-A-N-I-N e.com. Love hearing from you guys. Thanks so much for supporting our podcast.