How to Discipline a Pet

Discipline your dog or cat for misbehaving. Acknowledging the bad behavior right away is the key to proper training. Once you discipline your pet once, you must remain consistent with your actions. It may take a while for your cat or dog to learn that what he did was wrong, but your patience will eventually pay off with a well-trained pet. Sometimes taking preventive steps will help avoid the bad behavior from occurring. Whatever you do, never hit an animal for misbehaving. Hitting a pet will cause the animal to fear you.

Things You'll Need

  • Crate
  • Spray water bottle
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Instructions

  1. Dogs

    • 1

      Catch your dog in the act. Dogs, especially puppies, will make mistakes like go to the bathroom in the house or chew something she's not supposed to. Catching her right as she's about to do something bad is the perfect time for a teachable moment. Dogs often don't remember what they did last, so trying to discipline your dog after the fact may not be very successful.

    • 2

      Make some sort of loud noise toward your dog. Clapping or yelling "No" will catch your dog's attention and is an indicator that what he did or was going to do is wrong.

    • 3

      Place your dog in a dog crate for 20 minutes. This will serve as his timeout. Ignore him while he's in there to let him know what he did was wrong. When you let him out, pet him or engage in some sort of play time.

    • 4

      Re-direct your dog's attention and praise her for responding correctly. For example, if your puppy is about to go to the bathroom in the house, take her outside immediately and then verbally praise her for going to the bathroom outside.

    Cats

    • 5

      Spray your cat with water using a spray water bottle. Most cats hate getting wet and don't like to be surprised. Spray her as soon as she starts to misbehave. You don't have to drench her with water. Just a few squirts will work.

    • 6

      Make a loud noise in your cat's face. Try hissing, clapping, snapping or yelling "No." Do anything to get his attention.

    • 7

      Push the palm of your hand into her face and push her head back gently. This is extremely effective when disciplining a cat for biting. Follow this with a loud "No" to let your cat know what she did is wrong.