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by alyssamorgn on March 25th, 2007

alyssamorgn

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Do you think that when you give a dog a treat to stop doing something bad is spoiling them because my friend does that to her dog and the dog just keeps doing it so he can get a treat but it just makes them do it more!Do you agree with me?

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Answers. 6 helpful answers below.

  • by annjjones on March 26th, 2007

    annjjones

    totally agree with you, giving a dog treats should be for a reward, she needs to firmly let him know he`s doing wrong, ok people sometimes treat their pets like children but i`m sure she wouldnt let a child draw on her walls or smash her ornaments then go & hand out ice cream.

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  • by puppylover on March 25th, 2007

    puppylover

    Yes I agree with you. I think giving a treat when they are misbehaving is enforcing bad behavior.

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  • by Dog_Star on March 26th, 2007

    Dog_Star

    Yes, she is reinforcing the dogs behaviour with food as the reward.

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  • by Redhawk on March 26th, 2007

    Redhawk

    Oops..your friend is close but has it sorta backwards...
    EXAMPLE: Dog is barking because someone is walking past the house. Ok a bit of a yip is ok, dog is doing it's job, warning owner that a stranger is outside. HOWEVER, after a REASONABLE WOOF...dog continues to bark in an annoying manner...NOT ACCEPTABLE.

    Owner calls out once, "Fluffy! NO MORE!" (assuming Fluffy has been TAUGHT THE PHRASE NO MORE and has a clue what it means) Fluffy continues to bark, ignoring training command.

    Owner then GETS UP and goes to Fluffy, and then...calls Fluffy to COME...with one last woof, Fluffy comes to owner. Owner then REDIRECTS Fluffy's unwanted, inappropriate behavior (too much barking) to do SOMETHING that Fluffy has been taught to do...such as the Come...and now SIT or LAY DOWN, or FIND YOUR BALL.

    Fluffy looks back towards the door or window, thinking that he WANTS to keep barking at that person, BUT...remembers (has learned) that doing what "Mom/Dad" asks EARNS HIM A TREAT and Praise!...

    Fluffy chooses to do the correct REQUESTED behavior, even though he really wants to go back and bark some more....but making the right choice THEN EARNS FLUFFY THE TREAT!

    If Fluffy makes the wrong choice and runs back to bark some more at the door....oops...NO TREAT.

    For that, the owner physically retrieves Fluffy from the door and snaps a lead on the collar and takes Fluffy to a part of the house that Fluffy can't see outside, and places Fluffy on a DOWN OR SIT STAY...for about five minutes. (longer isn't better after about five minutes the dog no longer remembers WHY they are being made to stay there.)

    All of this has to take place pretty quickly too...you don't spend three minutes trying to INTERRUPT the UNWANTED behavior that the dog is doing...You ask for an alternative behavior that you know the dog understands how to do...and then reinforce it being done...if you have to reinforce physically...the dog gets PRAISE for doing it, but no treat as you had to HELP them do the correct behavior..you are still reinforcing to a lesser degree a correct behavior but not rewarding them to the full degree, as you would if THEY did it, without your need to help them do it.

    What your friend is doing is TRAINING her dog to DO an undesired behavior...that would be like giving a treat every time the pup has an accident in the house...she would then train the dog to use the INSIDE of the house as a bathroom!

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  • by smart9426 on March 26th, 2007

    smart9426

    Obviously! if you reward bad behaviour thats what you will get!

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  • by EyePod on March 26th, 2007

    EyePod

    yeah you are suppose to smack that dog if its bad and treat it when its good

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