How to Explain a “No”

Dog’s see patterns and the beginning of a pattern tell them the outcome of situations. When a dog is doing something I don’t agree with the first thing I do is loudly say the dog’s name, followed by “HEY”. At that point I then take the dogs leash and remove them to a bathroom or another area of the house they can cause damage. Not to a crate. Repetition of this creates a pattern. The dogs start to understand when they hear “HEY”, stop what you are doing or else I will remove you from a situation. If the dog continues to practice the behavior even after the first isolation, you continue this process, isolating at the same time each time. That way the dog starts to understand the behavior that gets them removed. Always start with the word “HEY”. This sets up a pattern of understanding that the dog has gone too far and that is not allowed.

Once the dog is calmed down, they get brought back in and allowed to try again. If they perform the correct behavior, they are rewarded by being social.

The pattern is something I have used in dog training throughout my years and I have learned that is very effective. However, this is only one side of the equation (the no). The “yes” is the behavior that we want the dog to perform (training). So instead of jumping on guests, we want a sit. The dog learns, the “sit” is rewarded, jumping means isolation.