How do I discipline a dog who is shy and cowardly?

Question

I have a miniature australian shepherd who is 7 months old. When he has an accident and I scold him he yelps like I'm beating him. I've only spanked him once (it was even worse then so I have never done it again). However, just shaming him doesn't seem to make any progress. Any answers would be great!

He is crate trained he just has accidents more often that I would like. He was doing great for about 2 months and now he's back to making messes. I let him out about once every 2 hours.

Answer 1

You are making it worse! The result will be the dog, who is scared of you.
DO NOT DISCIPLINE. Praise him when he does it where he is supposed to do it.
Never beat a puppy! Never yell at him! You'll make him scared and he'll hate you.
HOW CAN A PERSON HIT A PUPPY! Do you hit your children as well?

Answer 2

The dog can be shy but not cowardly; your dog is probably insecure or anxious. You need to not yell or raise your voice or make loud noises until your dog is adjusted. Don't use too much physical contact and affection when he's feeling skiddish. You have to show affection at appropriate times until he is able to calm his nerves. Assure him through soft tones and gentle hands and light spoken commands. If your dog is skiddish of loud sounds in general then associate louds sounds with positive outcomes. Example: When you prepare his food make moderately loud noises such as hitting a spoon on his food bowl before giving him the food. Like a parent handling a child, you have to work with patience. Don't scold him but tell him why what he did was wrong. A simple no and remove him from the location immediately - such as put him outside. After a while he'll catch on the jist of things.

Answer 3

Stop scolding him when he has an accident, it'll probably just make him have another. Take him outside very frequently and give him lots of praise when he does his business where he's supposed to. When he has an accidentally, calmly but quickly interrupt him and take him outside so he can finish there. You can't punish a dog for any accidents that happen when you aren't there. They can't get the concept that you are punishing them for something they did previously. If you come in and your dog has peed or pooped on the floor, yelling at him just makes him think you are yelling because he's happy to see you, not because he did something wrong two hours ago.
Good Luck

Answer 4

Dogs never forget! Once mistreated they remember it and change their behavior out of fear. I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog for nine years and I NEVER hit her. I rarely raise my voice. When she did something bad like engaging a skunk or rolling in bear sh*t...... and then comes home - she knows very well she did something wrong. Raising one's voice and threatening her accomplishes the opposite - she won't even come close. So - I just look at her and let her inside and then give her a bath or shower. After that is finished and I dried her with a towel I give her a gentle slap and she is all tail wagging happy and runs happily around.

As to your problem - use the loving approach. What are a few accidents really. You want a loving pet or one that has a fear phobia !

Answer 5

Then you need to let him out more often than every 2 hours.
I hope that you've recognized that hitting your dog is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Taking a bit of time online to Goggle search for "puppy house training" would have given you hundreds of better suggestions than that.
Shaming does not work. This is an old-school way of attempting to teach a dog - most dogs respond to this by sneaking off to potty away from you, since it's dangerous to potty around you. They have no sense of 'right' and 'wrong' - so it's cruel to discipline a dog when you have never shown him the right way!
Dogs learn best by being rewarded for doing the 'right' thing. It is our job to learn how to reinforce them in a way that THEY like to help them to learn. If you're not up for this, then you should not have a dog.

Answer 6

First of all if he is having accidents in the house keep him in the room with you when you are at home and in a crate when you are not. When he is in the room you will see him circle (needs to poop) or sniff (needs to pee) and be able to as fast as your legs can move take him out. When ever he pees or poos outside raise the tone of your voice not volume but tone and praise him, give him a treat and pat him repeating good boy or good (name).

This can take a few months but he will get it.

You may also want to google the breed and look up any training tips or concerns associated with that breed.

Don't give up and good luck!

Answer 7

because there has been spanking and scolding already this has caused the pet to be fearful and less respectful of you

try to love this pet back to obedience by showing extra love and to take out at hourly intervals for bathroom trips

there may be occasional accidents but eventually the pet will recognize that that is the way it is done - especially when can tell where other animals have gone - will proceed in same or similar areas in order to mark its own territory

Answer 8

Play with the dog gently. Gradually invite loud, startling noises. This will help in later training. NEVER hit a dog. This will get the dog mentally paralyzed. Learn more about the history of your dog. Not the breed, your dog. Learn about how it played with his/her siblings, how it was treated by them, etc. Also, look around your environment. Do you live in a house in the city where there are buses, people yelling, car horns, etc, and you're out? The dog might be scared at being alone in this scary, loud, noisy area.

Answer 9

You dont punish a shy dog, you reward good behaviour instead, make the dog more willing to do the good things to get the reward. Just shaming him will make it more likely he will try to hide his accidents from you instead of doing the right thing. When he has an accident, just pick him up, take him outside while you clean it up. Take him out to do his 'business' more often and reward him when he goes outside in front of you. How you train your dog does depend on your dogs temperment, if he is shy, reward good behaviour, if he is more of a bold dog, firm stricter disclipline is usually needed.

Answer 10

You could try the opposite approch: take him outside very very often and praise him like he just saved the world when he does his business outside! Then he will start to know that outside is the place to do it and he will get used to doing it only there (hopefully)!!