Are you a dog parent who constantly shouts “no” at your pup? Then this weeks Animal Behavior and Dog Training Tidbit video, “Why I Don’t Teach No” is for you!

If you prefer to read about “Why I Don’t Teach No” when training a dog, below is a lightly edited transcript from the video.

Hi, I’m Terrie Hayward from Positive Animal Wellness. Thanks for joining me. In today’s “Animal Behavior and Dog Training Tidbit” I’m going to talk about a popular question, “How do you teach your dog no?”

Actually, I don’t teach “no” to my hearing dog nor my deaf dog. There are many reasons why. First, because I feel like it provides some murky communication. Specifically, it doesn’t teach the dog what to do.

As such, I’d rather dedicate the time to teach the dog what to do, instead of saying “no.” Another reason is that when you say “no” the dog doesn’t understand–is that no not now, or no ever, or just no when you’re not looking?

And if you have had to say “no” more than one time, in actuality, is the “no” really working the way you’d like it too? Has the dog learned anything, or do you just need to continue to say “no” in different scenarios?

Also, here’s the issue if the “no” is as intended, to stop or decrease behavior. For example, let’s say a dog is jumping and you would prefer that the dog not do that. If you said “no” you’re trying to stop or decrease the jumping. Anytime we add something with the intent to stop or decrease behavior, then behaviorally defined, it is called positive punishment.

This doesn’t mean positive in terms of something good, it means positive like the addition of punishment. And punishment comes with dangerous side effects such as apathy, aggression, escape avoidance, and generalized fear. None of which any of us want for our dogs.

Instead what I’d prefer to do is use the time and teach incompatible or alternative behaviors. Let’s go back to my example with jumping. Say your dog is jumping up on you and you’d prefer they not do that. You can capture “four paws on the floor” and mark and reinforce that. Additionally, you can teach a settle or lie down and mark and reinforce that behavior.
You can teach these incompatible behaviors and make them much more reinforcing than the original behavior of jumping up. And you’ve also got a happier better relationship with your dog as a result.

If you, for example, did want to teach the word “no” and you’re only using the word “no” to mean an incompatible behavior like a recall, that could possibly work. For example, let’s say your dog was running after a bunny rabbit, and your version of “no” didn’t mean stop or decrease that behavior. Instead, your version here means “turn your head around and head back towards me.” In that instance, I would say full steam ahead. However, in that instance, we could also call that recall word “banana.” In other words, we don’t need to use the word “no.”

But traditionally as the word is often used to stop or decrease a behavior I would advocate that you use your time to teach things that you want your dog to do and that you want to see more frequently. Again, that will build trust and choice and more harmony in your relationship with your dog overall.

Thanks for joining me!

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