Punishment After Misbehavior Ineffective, Instills Fear in Dog

Instead of scolding or punishing, divert the dog’s attention or take him out for a walk.
Punishment After Misbehavior Ineffective, Instills Fear in Dog
Dogs will recognize that they're in trouble from your body language. GoodFocused/Shutterstock
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Q: When Dobby, my roommate’s family dog, visits us, he sometimes gets into the trash. My roommate says scolding him after I find trash on the floor isn’t effective. Is this true?

Yesterday, I found Dobby knee-deep in trash on the kitchen floor. Even though I didn’t yell, Dobby rolled over and showed his belly, so I’m sure he knew what he'd done was wrong. How do we deal with this problem?

Lee Pickett
Lee Pickett
Author
Lee Pickett, VMD, practices companion animal medicine in North Carolina. Contact her at AskTheVet.pet. Copyright 2024 Lee Pickett, VMD. Distributed by Creators.com
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