Mythbusters for pets

This is a sort of Mythbusters for pets thread.

I've heard a few suggestions along the way if dogs aren't doing the right thing. Maybe if we get some of those wives tales and old school things out here, we can have some of the vets, nurses and behaviouralists that we have on BellyBelly come in and give answers, why they are good theories, why they aren't etc etc.

I think some of the myths need to be debunked and maybe some of the myths proved to be true!

Did you know that if you squirt a dog with vinegar and it gets in their eyes you can have a serious health issue? I've seen dogs that wind up with huge corneal ulcers... its incredibly painful. So when I hear people suggest squirting a dog with vinegar I get concerned, just because I know what can happen if your aim is off.

So... lets hear them! Not to put anyone down, but to gain knowledge on how to better care for our pets!!

Great thread idea. Interesting to know about the vinegar and eyes. Looking forward to learning a few things here!

True or false? if puppies wee inside, you should rub their nose in it.

Great thread cant wait to hear what works and what doesnt!!

Ohh crazy idea of vinger though and yuck the smell around your house!

MYTH: Rubbing puppies nose in wee: False!

Reasons: This is from Dr. Cam Day a behavioural specialist in Brisbane:

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t is never correct to punish a pup for soiling. Forget smacking or yelling at the pup and never rub the pup?s nose in its mistakes. While that may make you feel better, it has no training value at all.

If a mistake occurs, quietly clean it up and continue with the program.

Be patient with your pup. It still has lots to learn and but your gentle guidance will get it there.

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and another thing I had written for my puppy preschool class:

If you find a soiled area, it's too late to correct them. Do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your puppy's nose in it, taking him to
the spot and scolding him (or any other punishment or discipline) will only make him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Puppies don't understand punishment after the fact, even if it's only seconds later. Punishment will do more harm than good.

What about putting a dog's poo in the holes it's digging in the backyard to stop them...does that work? I've been told it does, but am a bit hesitant to have holes filled with dog poo all over the yard...

Great idea! I'm hoping we'll be able to get a puppy this year, this thread will be very helpful. Good work Christy!

Thanks for this Christy, best thread of 09 so far :clap:

Throwing a chain to distract a dog from barking is effective ?

(I met Dr Cam Day - he helped me with a dog I rescued with severe anxiety and have since rehomed)

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MYTH: Rubbing puppies nose in wee: False!

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I agree whole heartedly with this, i think it's cruel. BUT when DF's pateince wore very thin with our pups peeing in the house habits, he did this when he caught him in the act, I remember taking him into the bathroom and crying while I whiped all the pee of his poor little face! My poor baby! But, he never peed in the house again. :dunno:

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Throwing a chain to distract a dog from barking is effective

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I've tried this, and it works. We had a trainer come in to help us stop our dog from jumping up at people. Apparently the chain is like being growled at (if you go "bah" in a deep growl voice when you throw it) and bitten on the butt by mum dog.

Interesting about the vinegar! I tried it once and accidently got pup in the eye and never again, I felt horrible. His eye's are fine though, but I mean, it was only the once I had got him :redface:

I would like to know about the poop in the holes as well!

ETA, Kazbah I love your quote under your username :p

I'm not convinced about the chain Teagz, I'm not sure that would address the actual underlying issue, if that makes sense - I'd love to hear from one of the animal workers on this one too, great question Kaz!

The dog poo in the hole worked for us - escape artist beagle X would routinely dig her way out of the yard until DH put poo in the holes, filled them over - she wouldn't dig there again. Gross but effective.

I've heard the chain works because it's a scary noise. You have to growl in an assertive dog voice at the same time. I've used it on the dog over the back when it was aggressing thru the fence whenever the kids went near there. BARK - scary noise of chain on fence - me growling. Seems to have fixed the problem. But I don't think it would work for a habitual, bored hour-after-hour barker, kwim?

Okay the poo thing is a myth, but its worked on every dog that I've had digging issues with. Most dogs don't like their own poo, so using their poo is very effective.

The chain thing... I've seen it done in training seminars and around 10 years ago it was something that was considered a proper training technique.

Its not something I would suggest to 99% of the public, definately not something I would suggest online without being with the dog and knowing the owners. Its very effective for guard dog and police dogs. Dogs that are being trained to be aggresive and have to learn when to be aggressive and when not to be.

For a family pet, its not something I would ever recommend. Its incredibly harsh, and doesn't have a long standing effect. It simply doesn't last... it teaches the dog to fear the person holding the chain, and fear can lead to aggression pretty quickly. In dog's chemistry, there is a fine line between fear and aggression. Their cortisol levels are exactly the same. I have seen family pets turn aggressive in a once off reaction to something fearful. Certainly not something I would ever suggest to households with small children who interact with the dogs on a regular basis.

OK what a fantasic idea...

I dont have a myth, but wanted to ask is there something or what should i be doing when my dog Kock's his leg and wee's in the house?

He has just turned one. I had planned to get him de-sexed at 8 months but his breeder said not too, to wait until he starts kocking his leg, thats when he is ready to be de-sexed (to do with his growth apparently), anyhow, december 08 came and went and he hadnt started.... then bam, before i knew it, he is kocking his leg and peeing on EVERYTHING he can.

He used to spend alot of time in side but not anymore, not at all. And i am so :( about it... for us but for him.

I have'nt tried much as i honestly didnt know how to punish him or deal with, so we have just keot him from being inside. But i dont want it to be like that always..

I will get him de-sexed within the next few week's... so that means he would of been K'ing and Pee'ing for about 2 months.. (DF says he Kocked his leg but nothing came out for about 3-4 weeks to start with.

Q.1 how do ideal with this?

Q 2. will de-sexing stop this?

thanks

We have a 2 year old german shepherd that we have used the chain on. We had to use it twice max and he never jumped up at anyone again. He is a very placid dog and play mate to 4 children between 9 months and 5 years old (obviously never unattended though, regardless of how placid) and using the chain has had no affects on his personality. He is still very outgoing and extremely playful and in no way timid or flinchy to sudden movements or loud noises.
In saying this though, I think when it comes to training you need to use something that suits the dog because each one is going to react differently to certain techniques. What works for one dog, may not work for another.

Papillon, my pups must be a late bloomer, he's 2 and still squats! :shyface:

Papillion, unfortunately you didn't get the best advice there from the breeder. Its actually better to desex them behaviourally before they start to adult behaviours. This is because sometimes the behaviours are difficult to reverse once they have started. Some do work.... so the first thing to do is get him desexed and hope that will stop the behaviour. If that doesn't work there are more in depth training things that you have to do. Its best to desex first and see if that works.

ETA: Teegz I don't mean to disrespect the way you have trained your dog, but I think as someone who has worked in the industry for over 10 years that its a dangerous technique to suggest anyone to use. I have gone to multiple seminars regarding the chain throwing technique, some were for guard dog training, and some were passionately anti chain throwing. I do know a lot about that particular technique.

Great thread Christy!
Pappilon - I agree with Christy. Behaviourally it is far better to desex before they hit this stage. Otherwise you then have a potential habit to break. And territorial marking is a strong natural instinctive behaviour. Hopefully the desexing will reduce that drive.

As for the chain throwing. From memory I think this was originally developed by John Fisher as a distraction technique because of the exact noise it made. The problem with it is that it was then turned by other people into a dominance technique (hence the addition of the 'bah'). It resulted in dogs being actually hit by the chain and dogs losing eyes etc. I agree with what Christy said in that it is now considered generally inappropriate by vet behaviourists. Additionally it is a pretty useless tool in itself. Tools that tend to work very quickly usually do that because they either have a large effect on the dog, or the behaviour itself is very new. Otherwise what you tend to find is that without supportive training in addition to a tool the dog becomes quickly habituated to the tool use.

Just a note - I am not a veterinary behaviourist. I am a wildlife biologist that specialises in animal behaviour. However I worked with domestic animals for a long time (as a vet nurse and in an animal shelter) so can speak with some understanding but techniques and current theories in this field are constantly changing. Which may go some way to explaining why dog owners are often given different opinions by different people. If you see someone for dog training or a dog problem it is important to see someone who is up to date with current knowledge. That is why you may have heard Christy or I talk about going to someone who is accredited by the delta society. But when looking for someone even within this society check to see how often they are upgrading their knowledge. The top of the domestic animal behaviour chain are veterinary behaviourists. They are who you need to see if you have a severe behavioural problem (eg. severe anxiety, aggression). Next I would recommed Delta Society dog trainers who have been trained by vet behaviourist. They are who you see if you have a small behavioural problem or need some training help.

Hope this helps!

This is a kinda strange one to fix an icky habit.

My neighbour said that to stop a dog eating poo (their own or their mates) you should put pineapple in their food. Theory was something like it does something to change smell/taste of the poo dogs don't like. It didn't work for their dog but the person they heard it from swore by it. Any truth in it?

We were showed the technique by a dog behaviourlist who was ex police dog trainer, so understandably that's where he's gotten then technique from. We didn't just start ditching chains with no info ;)
No disresepct, I'm merely saying we have tried it, it worked (we've never had to use it again in the last 12 months) and we have a gorgeous family pet who we have a lot of respect for.