Best Dog Answers

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Many people get a little nervous and even fearful when they see or hear the word correction in dog training. The thing you must understand about corrections is that they are not designed nor should they EVER be used as punishment. A correction is merely a tool used to let the dog know that they did not execute a learned command properly or that the behavior they are exhibiting is unacceptable.

A correction should be administered with a leash and collar. Using the proper collar is essential when administering a good meaningful correction. That is why I always recommend a pinch or prong collar. A prong collar mimics a bite to the neck a dog would receive in the wild from another dog, such as the pack leader. It does not stick or stab the dog in the neck when fit properly. The collar should have a snug fit around the neck and be up as high to the head as possible. It should not be able to free spin around the dog’s neck nor should you be able to slide it over their head. The prongs can be removed and added to accommodate the size of your dog’s neck. When you give a POP and RELEASE correction with the leash, the prongs on a prong collar pivot on their axis and pinch the fat layer on a dog’s neck just like a bite.

A correction for an unacceptable behavior (biting, excessive barking, jumping) can be given at anytime whether you are training or just in an everyday living environment.

Once your dog has been taught an exercise, and the command for that exercise is given to your dog, if they fail to execute the command properly, a correction can be given at this time. We don’t want to get in the habit of repeating the commands prior to giving a correction because the dog will get wise to this and wait until you tell them the command a few times and then execute the command. Then the exercise becomes the SIT, SIT, SIT exercise instead of the SIT exercise. Once your dog learns that a correction is administered for disobedience after the first command is given, you will see them starting to respond with reliability and speed in order to avoid the correction.

If you need to administer a correction for disobedience, then a reward is NEVER given. They will receive praise for finally accomplishing the exercise but will not receive a treat for it. When you first introduce corrections, you will want to definitely make sure they receive a treat or reward when they do execute a command properly without a correction. This way they can start to understand what earns them a reward and what earns them a correction. Once your dog understands what they need to do in order to receive a reward, you can now go back to your variable reward schedule.

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