Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog training - dog behavior

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old March 28th, 2006, 02:20 AM
Soroush Soroush is offline
Lucy's daddy
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 93
Water spray as punishment

Is spraying water on your dog a bad thing?

Lucy hates water anyway and I've come to the conclusion that she'll never ever like to be bathed, so there's no use in making water a fun thing for her!

She sometimes nips or bites when we're playing and I always say a loud "OUCH!" or "OWWW" and she does respond to it, but 2 minutes later she's back at it! Is it bad to have a water-spray handy and spray it on her face after a bite?

I'm just learning so don't shoot me if I'm totally wrong!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old March 28th, 2006, 06:44 AM
toby's tracy's Avatar
toby's tracy toby's tracy is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Montreal
Posts: 340
The way I see it is there is nothing all that horrible about it - except that it is only useful as a deterrent as long as you have a spray bottle around! SO, unless you want to spray your dog forever and have little spray bottles EVERYWHERE, it would be much more worthwhile to follow the great advice you can find on pets.ca for deterring biting and be diligent and consistent with following it.

That way you will end up with a darling puppy who doesn't bite and nip, instead of a darling puppy who bites and nips until he is sprayed!

What we did was completely stop giving Toby any attention as soon as the teeth became involved. It was like we gave him mini 30 second time-outs. When he played without nipping it was 'good boy!' and loads of affection. It wasn't easy being consistent, but we did it and he doesn't play with his teeth anymore - at least not with humans!

You may want to do a search on the topic. I know I have read a ton of threads on this in the past - that is how I got through it with Toby!

Good luck!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old March 28th, 2006, 10:54 AM
jessi76's Avatar
jessi76 jessi76 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: U.S.
Posts: 2,510
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soroush
Is spraying water on your dog a bad thing?

Lucy hates water anyway and I've come to the conclusion that she'll never ever like to be bathed, so there's no use in making water a fun thing for her!

She sometimes nips or bites when we're playing and I always say a loud "OUCH!" or "OWWW" and she does respond to it, but 2 minutes later she's back at it! Is it bad to have a water-spray handy and spray it on her face after a bite?
it's not a bad thing, it's just that you don't want to have to rely on having a spray bottle with you at all times, as Toby's Tracy mentioned. OR have the dog respect the bottle and NOT you. I have used the water bottle, but only in extreme circumstances, when he was flat out ignoring me. I don't recommend spraying your dog in the face, that's just not nice... a quick squirt to the side will work just fine. No need to make the dog fear you by squirting in the face.

my dog isn't thrilled w/ water either - a squirt, rain, etc.. but for some reason LOVES bath time, and swimming! water can be fun, it's just how it's used. To make bath time fun (and acceptable) I got a kiddie pool for my pup - great summertime fun, and got him used to being in water for a bath.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old March 30th, 2006, 12:59 PM
wjranch's Avatar
wjranch wjranch is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 397
Personally, I do use the water squirter method when needed.. However, I incorporated this little trick...
When I hold the bottle out to squirt, I make sure my fist is wrapped around the handle (this is a visual cue) and BEFORE I deliver that cold stream of water in Dillin's direction, I say out loud "SQUIRT, SQUIRT" then let loose with the water.

Now, I just have to hold up my fist (minus the water bottle) and say squirt squirt if he's playing too rough, or not minding my commands like i want him to. He knows.. it's an associative training method, much like clicker training. try it, who knows, it can't hurt either you or your dog...and it just might work for you...
__________________
Don't trouble trouble till trouble troubles You!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old April 4th, 2006, 09:12 AM
littlesister littlesister is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 62
My other dog doesn't care, just opens his mouth as if to say " more, more."
Though surely if there's a more effective way, I'd like to here it. Ignoring my dog doesn't work, so I'd need a better way than that to replace it.

Last edited by Blathach; April 4th, 2006 at 03:41 PM. Reason: Inappropriate Comments
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old April 4th, 2006, 09:27 AM
Soroush Soroush is offline
Lucy's daddy
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 93
LOL! ok water spray is out of question now! I tried it a couple of times and she actually thought I was being more playfull by spraying water on her so she started doing zoomies after each spray and barking on her way!

She doesn't nip or bite anymore. She opens her mouth and shows me her teeth trying to tell me "Look daddy! I didn't eat anything bad! Give me a treat plz!"
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old April 4th, 2006, 09:38 AM
jessi76's Avatar
jessi76 jessi76 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: U.S.
Posts: 2,510
Soroush, I'm very glad to hear the nipping/biting has settled!

Last edited by Blathach; April 4th, 2006 at 03:42 PM. Reason: Inappropriate Comments
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old April 4th, 2006, 11:03 AM
Me and Kayla Me and Kayla is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Toronto
Posts: 143
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soroush
LOL! ok water spray is out of question now! I tried it a couple of times and she actually thought I was being more playfull by spraying water on her so she started doing zoomies after each spray and barking on her way!

She doesn't nip or bite anymore. She opens her mouth and shows me her teeth trying to tell me "Look daddy! I didn't eat anything bad! Give me a treat plz!"
That was my problem too. The water bottle worked great for the first few times, then when she would see the bottle, she would come up to it, put her mouth over the end and wait til I squirted water down her throat. We now use the water bottle only on walks, for that quick drink now and then.

Dogs are great at training their owners! Reward the good behaviour and ignore the bad.

Me and Kayla
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old April 4th, 2006, 03:42 PM
Blathach's Avatar
Blathach Blathach is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 401
Please be civil and educate one another. If you cannot follow the rules of the forum, the thread will be closed.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old April 5th, 2006, 09:12 PM
tenderfoot's Avatar
tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
Senior Contributor - Expert
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Posts: 1,249
Blathach - I don't see what you thought was offensive.

Anyway - The one thing we would go one step further on is to reward the good choices and CORRECT the bad choices. We talk about ignoring attention getting behavior, but fully believe in having the righ to tell a dog they are out of line when it comes to biting, barking, jumping up etc. You don't have to be cruel or even physical, just clear and consistent with your response.
__________________
Love Them & Lead Them,
~Elizabeth & Doug
www.TenderfootTraining.com
Dog Training the Way Nature Intended
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old April 5th, 2006, 09:28 PM
dmc123's Avatar
dmc123 dmc123 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: North Carolina, USA
Posts: 1,609
All of mine, canine and feline know if I get the water bottle out, they must stop. None, including the cats are afraid of baths or water.

I have several squirt bottles strategically placed throughout the house.

Diane
__________________
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:17 AM.