How to Discipline a Dog When He Misbehaves

Improperly disciplining your dog can worsen his undesirable behavior. Even though discipline is essential if you want to raise a well-behaved dog, physically hurting your dog or yelling at him only makes him fear and distrust you. Instead, use proper punishment and positive reinforcement to unteach the problem behavior -- correct his bad behavior and reward his good behavior. It may not happen overnight, but with consistency and patience your pet companion can become a happy, well-behaved family member.

Things You'll Need

  • Water gun
  • Can with coins
  • Dog treats
  • Dog crate
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Instructions

    • 1

      Correct your dog's bad behavior in the moment. Avoid disciplining him after the act, because this is ineffective and causes confusion -- your dog won't know what he's being disciplined for.

    • 2

      Discipline your pet companion each time he displays the undesirable behavior -- be consistent. If you sporadically discipline your dog for his bad behavior, he'll get confused and may continue misbehaving.

    • 3

      Interrupt your dog's misbehavior with a firm command, such as "No" or "Enough." Have all family members use the same commands when disciplining your dog. Your pet will associate the commands with unpleasant consequences.

    • 4

      Back up your command with an unpleasant action. Squirt a water gun at your dog or vigorously shake a can filled with coins. The water and noise are unpleasant to your dog; they stop his misbehavior and get him to pay attention to you.

    • 5

      Tell your dog to "Sit" immediately after he stops misbehaving. Give him a treat once he sits down. This action teaches your pet companion acceptable behavior that will get rewarded.

    • 6

      Put your dog in time-out as an alternative punishment. Confine him to a crate when you catch him in the moment. This expresses that you are unhappy with his behavior and allows both parties to calm down.