There’s a fine line between torture and discipline

You return home from a hard day’s work to find that the house is in a chaotic mess. Torn newspaper strewn all over, the cushions in shreds and basically everything out of place. In the midst of it all, sits your proudly triumphant pooch.

Now you don’t want to find yourself in such a position because it could only mean an endless repetition of the same scenario for months to come. To save yourself the undeserved stress, learn to recognize early symptoms of stress and temper-related problems in your dog and nip it in the bud.

Like humans, dogs suffer from emotional trauma as well. There are many factors contributing to emotional trauma in dogs, most of them being reasons which stem from the canine’s growing years.

Dogs undergoing emotional trauma will display the typical signs like these: destroying household furniture and items in the house, aggressiveness behaviour around people, and hostility towards other pets. If you recognize any of the above symptoms, it’s not the end of the world, but get to the root of the problem and try to put an end to it as soon as possible.

Discipline is a continuous process which should begin from the moment you bring your bundle of joy home. Most pet owners are aware of the importance of discipline, but they only start trying to set rules when it’s usually too late.

Upon discovering the severity of their pet’s bad behaviour, some owners tend to go overboard in their punishment. Please note that there’s a fine line between abuse and discipline. In fact, if you ever cross that line and start abusing your pooch, it could only result in more temper problems or worse still, long-term withdrawal. This is the worst kind of trauma to put your pet in. Never torture him so much that he has to go through depression of this scale.

For most pets, these steps always work:

When your dog does something he’s not supposed to do (i.e. chew on the bathroom slippers), lift the slippers up, look him in the eye and say in a firm, loud voice – “NO.” Eye contact is very important and dogs will pay attention to this and your serious tone of voice. Facial expressions are just as important, so try to keep a stern face whilst reprimanding him.

The key is your consistency in enforcing discipline and laying down the ground rules day to day. Don’t sway in reprimanding him or give him “off” days when he can do whatever he likes. If you want a well-behaved dog, discipline him everyday, never allowing him to get away with behaviour you deem inappropriate.

Surprise, surprise, yes, your darling pooch is a lot like a child. A lack of quality time spent with him could equate to tantrums. All the discipline in the world and no love is just going to make it a bitter, sad and angry dog.

It’s vital that you set aside play time with your pooch everyday. This doesn’t have to be strict one-hour sessions. Just a little time to play “fetch” or roll around on the floor with him will make a big difference. Pet him and scratch him under his chin whenever you can. Even calling its name and smiling at it when you pass your pet on the way to the kitchen is a form of affection to it.

Dogs may not understand lengthy dialogues, but talking to him in a caressing, endearing way whilst maintaining eye contact will without a doubt transfer the message across to him – that you love him with all your heart.

It is often said that dogs can feel messages from within more easily than humans can. When you’re depressed, ecstatic, happy, gloomy, your dog will feel your emotions because he can sense changes in your body language and the like. The bottom line is this; let your dog know how much you love him.

There are no overnight solutions when it comes to taming a stubborn, ill-mannered dog. Like how it is with children and adolescents, it will take time. Combining discipline with love and quality time will always work. Be consistent in your efforts and you will without a doubt see significant changes in your canine’s behaviour.