How to Correct a Dog the Right Way

On the journey of training your dog, there is one inevitable thing- corrections.

Corrections are vitally important to mold and shape your dog into all that you want it to be. Corrections help you communicate with your dog when it does the wrong thing. Communication is everything.

How do I correct my dog the right way?

It all starts with understanding the value and importance of a well-done correction. A correction that is poorly applied can set you back and even be detrimental to your dog's development. A correction that is appropriately applied will help propel your dog forward in training and can enhance your dog's overall development.

How to correct your dog in a way that propels it forward in training

If you want your corrections to be productive then you need to understand a few things. Things like...

• Why correct your dog?
• When to correct your dog?
• How to correct your dog?

Why correct your dog?

Simply put, we correct our dogs because the course of action that the dog is taking is not the course of action that we would want. Our dogs need to perform the way we want them to. 

If our dog doesn't do what we ask of it, it's not going to be able to fulfill the role that it needs to fill. It can even be dangerous if our dog disobeys.

We also correct our dog to help it understand what it should vs. should not do. This is more than how to punish your dog. Correction paints the lines for your dog so that it knows its boundaries and, therefore, can do what you ask of it. 

When to correct your dog?

The timing of the correction is EXTREMELY important. If your timing is off, then the correction doesn't work and can even set you back significantly. 

In a sense, you need to be able to think like your dog thinks so that you can get the timing just right.

For you and me, we can think very broadly. We can understand different things, and we can also understand how they all fit together. Think back to a time in your life when you got in trouble.

When you were a kid and you did something wrong, your parents would tell you, "Here's why you're getting in trouble." Then, once you understood, they disciplined you. Odds are, as long as you understood, you probably didn't do whatever it was that you did, because you knew that it would only lead to more discipline.

Dog's are similar and different at the same time. A dog is very locked in and focused on the immediate thing that's going on at that time. It doesn't have the same ability that we have to understand how everything fits together, and therefore, it can't reason as we can.

For example, I was talking to a friend the other day, and he was working his dog, and it decided to run off. He wasn't exactly sure why it ran off, but he felt that it smelled something and decided to investigate.

Eventually, his dog came back, and he decided to punish/correct the dog for running around and for doing what it wasn't supposed to do. The correction didn't help, and he still had an issue with this later. The reason is that the timing was off on this correction. It set him back a bit because he lost some trust with his dog.

In the dog's mind, it was corrected for coming back to him and not for running around. The dog had forgotten entirely about the running around and was excited to come back. If this would have been you or me in the position of the dog, we would have been able to understand that running around was the issue, but it is not so for the dog.  

Dog's view the world second by second.

If you wish to have an effective correction, you need to understand your dog's point of view to the best of your ability. That will allow you to communicate clearly, which ultimately produces the best results from your dog. 

Timing is everything, and it needs to be immediate. Remember, dogs think second by second. If you want it to understand why you are correcting it, the correction has to be at the same time that your dog is doing the wrong thing.

How to correct your dog?

Now that you understand timing, and how to think like your dog, you've also got to understand how to correct your dog.

Correction can come in many different ways. As Barton Ramsey likes to say, the crime should fit the punishment. Meaning, if you're going to correct, it needs to fit and makes sense to the dog.

There must be some give and take between you and your dog. After all, you've got to remember that the end goal of correction is solely to help improve our dog and propel it forward in training.

Every dog is different, and that's why every punishment/correction is not for every dog. For some dogs, all you need to do is raise your voice. For other headstrong dogs, you may have to get into their grill a bit. Others may seem really tough, but on the inside, they are as soft as they can be.

What does all of that mean?

Well, fortunately, you will spend enough time with your dog that you will learn what type of correction works best for it. Also, keep in mind that with every correction there is potential to erode trust between you and your dog (especially if the correction is taken the wrong way or if it's just too much for your dog).

I always say it's like a bank. I call it the Trust Bank. You're either depositing or withdrawing. If you withdraw, the balance gets smaller. If you deposit trust, the balance grows!

That's how it works with our dogs. You can either deposit or withdraw trust. A correction done at the right time and the right way will result in a deposit into the Trust Bank.

Why? Because after the correction is done, you can then have your dog do it the right way, and then, it CLICKS! The dog realizes what is required of it and retains the correction moving forward which means your dog has improved and the correction served its purpose!

I say all of that, so you will be thoughtful about your corrections. You will have to test around a bit and see what your dog needs as far as correction goes.

Types of correction

• Spacial Correction
• Verbal Correction
• Physical Correction

A spacial correction is where you utilize spacial pressure to help correct behavior that you do not want.

For example, if you have a dog that runs past you on the return, you can retrieve with a barrier like a hedgerow or a fence right behind you, and then the dog will not run past you because it won't be able to. Plus, it will feel the pressure of the barrier, and it should slow it down as it comes in for a delivery. 

Spacial pressure is a pressure most dogs can handle without a problem. In fact, they hardly will even notice that there is pressure in this instance. 

A verbal correction is where you use a word and tone/voice inflection to indicate to your dog that it is doing the wrong thing. The tone and the word that you use will need to be associated properly first. Otherwise, your dog won't understand that you are not pleased, and in fact, it could have the opposite approach.

A change in tone/inflection could excite the dog if it doesn't understand that the new inflection is actually showing that you aren't pleased. Very soft dogs pick up on this easily, and harsh verbal corrections can actually begin to shut down a very soft dog.

A physical correction is where you actually physically correct or apply physical pressure to your dog. Physical pressure can come in the form of a lead tug, a nick from an e-collar, or even where you grab your dog by the scruff to put back where it is supposed to be.

Some dogs will respond well to physical pressure. Other dogs can't handle it and completely shut down.

REMEMBER THE TRUST BANK. 

It's up to you to get to know your dog and understand what type of correction will work best for it. Odds are, over the course of your dog's life, you will learn that certain corrections work best in certain scenarios.

Get to know your dog, and see how your dog responds. Take your time, and show your dog the respect it deserves. Don't try to force your agenda too much but rather, try to build the partnership between you and your dog. Your dog wants to please you, and if you take the time to study your dog, making sure that every correction is intentional and thought through, you should be well on your way to having incredibly effective corrections!

BuildFromHere,

Joshua Parvin 

P.S. Each of our courses go in-depth on issuing corrections. If you'd like more information, click here.