How should i punish my dog?

Question

we've just got back from the pet shop to buy some fish, we were no longer than an hour to find our dog had complete broken ( by chewing and scratching )a cat flap and brand new door costing around 1000 pounds. we are very annoyed and irritated and I'm wondering what the best way to punish him is. i don't want to hurt him i just want him to know what he did was wrong, so he wont do it again.

thanks!

Answer 1

Once the damage is done, there is absolutely nothing you can do to punish him where he will understand what he did.  You simply have to catch them in the act.  You are angry and frustrated but the dog just doesn't know why.

It sounds like he has issues with separation anxiety which is a serious problem and punishing him isn't going to resolve that either.  I suggest crate training him to prevent future damage.

Answer 2

its to late now but i've read punishing a dog or puppy is like punishing a baby but if you do catch him in the act tell him no

Answer 3

you can't punish the dog now....you have to catch him in the act & stop him in his tracks.  if you punish him now...he won't realise what he's done.  

our friend's dog completely chewed up the arms of their brand new leather 3 piece suite....they weren't happy either...!!

Answer 4

well now there's really no way to punish him because he wot know why your mad what you have to do is right after he does it you put him in a crate for 15-20 min and if he keeps doing bad things keep putting him in until he understands that when he does somthing bad he gets punished  

Answer 5

Unless you catch a dog in the act of doing something, you cannot punish him for it later. Even if you show it to him he will not be able to associate what he did with why you are mad. Yes he might look guilty and try to get away.... but wouldn't you if someone is yelling at you about something you don't understand?

I suggest you think about enrolling in obedience training to help train him up and stop him from being destructive in the future. There is nothing you can do to punish him for this episode and you would risk alienating your dog and be wasting your time to boot.

Answer 6

You can't punish him for something he did when you weren't there......he won't understand (dogs are thick).  He probably did that because he was bored, lonely, and not had enough exercise.  Take him with you next time

Answer 7

i dont think its the dogs fault, maybe he needed to go out?!? Its not right to punish him. surely he doesnt understand?!? well he wont if you say im punishing you for eating the catflap and scrathed the door?!?

Answer 8

if you dont catch him doing it and you tell him off, then he wont know why you are telling him off. you have to catch him in the act.  

Answer 9

If you didn't catch him doing it, there's nothing you can do. He simply won't associate the punishment with the act.

This site may be of use to you:

http://www.apdt.co.uk/

Good luck!

Answer 10

There's no point in correcting him now, correction will only be learned if you catch him in the act of destroying something.   Anything you do now will only confuse him.  Sorry about the damage.  All you can do in the future is make sure he has no access to important things he could destroy.

Answer 11

Bring him over to the mess an point at it and say NO BAD and the usualy look away and thats a good thing if he looks away!!

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Answer 12

Dogs live for the moment.  Since you did not actually see the dog doing anything, do not punish him - it will not mean anything to the dog as he will not understand why you are angry with him.

When you leave, the dog should be confined to a crate or small room where he cannot get into trouble.

Answer 13

You can't do anything now because you haven't caught him in the act!  To some extent he will get the message by your body language - and don't tell me dogs can't experience guilt!!  But he may not make the connection.

Suggest you crate this monster when you leave him - damage limitation time!!!

Answer 14

Find your dog a new home, to a loving home who doesnt want to hurt him, and who can handle him. He deserves the best.

Answer 15

nail his paws to the floor,he wont get up to much bother afterwards

Answer 16

Don't punish him unless you catch him in the act. When you do, just say AH AH! NO.

But i'm so sorry about your cat door :( But it's just all a part of having a dog.

Answer 17

Here's what you do:  slap yourself on the hand for leaving the dog out to tear expensive things up, and then go and buy a dog crate if you don't already have one.  

Your dog may be suffering from boredom or separation anxiety, in which case punishment is not only pointless but cruel.  You need to figure out WHY he did it, and then take steps to prevent it from happening again.

I know it's VERY frustrating when they tear things up.  I'm watching my sister's greyhound right now, and I left him in my bedroom while I was gone because he didn't have a crate.  When I got home, my mattress was completely off the bed and chewed, two doors were chewed along the edges, and a part of a wall was destroyed.  I didn't punish him; I decided he had been bored and lonely so I figured out a different situation for him while I'm gone.  Sorry about your cat flap and door.

Answer 18

Seeing as it seems there has been a time laspe between what he did, and your punishment, it's going to be hard to get him to associate the two.

I think your best option is to take him to training classes and if this behaviour continues to reconsider whether he is the right dog for you.

Answer 19

Its a bit late and basically you are to blame for leaving the dog alone. I know that sounds stupid as I have a dog that is often left in the house for 3 to 4 hours at a time.

She has never damaged anything and is now 13. Its really all about knowing your dog.

We also have 2 Dobes who I would never leave in the house because they would wreck it.

In future get a dog cage and put the dog in it when your are out of the house.

We do that all the time when we have puppies as its stops them running rampage and destroying things. Just make sure the cage is large enough so the dog can stand up and turn round in it.

Punishing a dog after the event will have no effect on it - you need to catch them in the act.  

Answer 20

ah i wont tell you what the other people have already mentioned.

to prevent things like that from happening again, exercise him for at least an hour everyday, walk the right way! provide chew toys esp those like Kong where you can stuff food inside. it'll keep him occupied. walking and chewing are opportunities for him to release some pent up energy, if he's not allowed to release them in appropriate ways, he'll soon find his own methods like chewing up your house.

prevention is the best cure!