This. I have seen from my own experiences that getting a dog to know what you want it to do is SO much easier than getting it to know what you dont want it to do.

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But, to the OP, it is true that when it comes to potty training, the dog doesn't know what you are punishing it for. You know how we can rewind our brains and recall memories? Like I can remember that I went to the bathroom myself just a little while ago. Well, dogs can't do that. They can't rewind their memories and remember that they peed on the floor. The only real way to correct them is to catch them doing that and they will connect the two. Peeing on floor = angry mommy or daddy. But when you "rub their nose in it", all they learn is that messes on the floor make you angry. They won't realize that them MAKING the mess on the floor is wrong. A lot of people make this mistake and never have fully potty trained dogs.


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Most dogs crave attention. To the dog, negative attention is better than no attention. You could also think of it this way- If all you are ever told is what you do wrong how will you ever know when you are actually doing right. Most dogs want to please you and it makes them happy to do so. Let them know what they do that makes you happy and they will offer that behavior more.

I'll have to differ with that. When I show Chevelle something she chewed up, she won't look at me. I can be totally calm, even happy, and she still won't look at me. I can be laughing when I say "Chevelle, did you chew this?" and she still won't look at me. As apposed to when I yell at her, she goes and gets into her kennel. So, I dont think that's always true. No matter what science says...



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That seems to be a common theme in your illogical reasoning "no matter what science says". Regardless, dogs are very sensitive to emotion and body language. Even if YOU think you're calm/happy/whatever, SHE knows that you're not. I can tell you this from personal experience. I get very nervous when I walk into the obedience ring. Even if I take a lot of deep breaths and make it "happy Lily fun time" and smile and make happy noises, Lily still knows I'm stressed and it transfers right down the leash. It doesn't matter what you pretend you are, emotionally, dogs see through that. That's what makes them amazing companions and teammates.

---------- Post added at 11:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 PM ----------

Not true. Rubbing their nose into it does ABSOLUTELY nothing. They DO NOT relate that to anything they have done or even what's on the floor. They don't know that pee on the floor makes you angry. What are they doing when you're rubbing their nose in it? What behavior are they exhibiting? The usual behavior for when a person walks into the house and sees a mess on the floor is to call the dog to them, the dog goes "oh hello most wonderful human ever!". And then what happens? Human gets angry and grabs dog angrily and shoves them in their own shit. So what behavior is the dog now connecting to the shit? Coming to you. Congratulations- you've now taught your dog to never come to you.

What I find counter-intuitive is punishing a dog for something that it doesn't know is wrong and doesn't know how to do right.

Not only that, but dogs live in the moment. Literally, second by second. The rules that apply to rewards apply to punishment. Most cases of 'rubbing his nose in it' happen long after the fact. Dogs have no idea that you are punishing them for urinating/defecating in the house. All they know is that you're angry, which is why they cower (NOT because they are remorseful).

The best thing you can do for your dog is to teach it a cue, whether it be bell ringing, door knocking, or barking. Teach your dog to tell you when it needs to potty. Doing this will help them be successful.

One thing to remember is that these are dogs, as in animals, not robots. They won't be perfect, especially not as puppies. Create a trusting bond between you and your pup early on and that trust will perpetuate throughout your dog's life. You'll have a dog that WANTS to work with you, not in fear of you or in spit of your trust.

Plus, rubbing a dog's nose in its excrement is just plain unsanitary.