Does anyone else feel really guilty after yelling at their pet? (2 Viewers)

[DavidMich]

I have a very well behaved Welsh Terrier. (Looks like a small Airedale Terrier). She responds well to all commands, and has never misbehaved. Great dog.
However, no matter how much or how loud I yell at my fish, they act as if they can't even hear me. They even go so far as to look right at me, and then casually turn and swim away, as if they were thumbing (I mean, finning) their nose in my face. How Rude!!
Perhaps I can buy little shock collars for them? Or would one large one be effective, due to the conductivity of water. How do other members get their fish to respond to voice commands?

 

[Philip_G]

. They put on the lowest setting and only had to use it 3 times and the dog caught on.

musta been a little slow
usually once is all it takes

 

[teapot2001]

I rarely yell seriously at my dog. I just want to change my tone of voice to let him know that he did something bad, and it ends up sounding like a Jerry Seinfeld yell.

~T

 

[Walt N]

Training collars for barking allow the dog to bark a few times, but they will apply the correction after it becomes excessive. I think of them as a last resort measure as it's really not pleasant to have to use one, but they can be effective and better than the alternate course if that means losing the pet.
My dogs have a dog door so they can go in and out at will, but when in the back yard the dog would bark non-stop at times to entertain herself, so my nervous neighbor called the police numerous times about this taking place when I was at work. In the city where I previously lived there were no dB levels or time constraints on noise complaints. If someone was bothered at any time or for any reason they could call, the police would come, and the owner had to fix the problem or face legal action which included having the animal removed as a "public nuisance".
That was my last resort scenario, the collar helped quite a bit in solving the problem, but since then I have moved to a more rural area and am home much more of the time so the problem has ended for good. As I mentioned before, they can be effective, they don't harm the pet (yes, I tried the collar on my arm to make sure) but they must be used according to instructions only during supervised training sessions rather than simply left on the pet.
That's my defense, your honor!

 

[Jeff Savage]

Well I love my dog but she was a stray that wandered into the yard of some friends of mine. She was used to "doing her own thing" so for the first couple of months a firm but not excessive pat on the top of the snout (with my hand underneath hold her head) was required to get a point across every now and then. Now that she understands who the alpha dog (me of course) of our little pack is, this is almost never required
And because a pet thread is not complete without pics:



Laters,
Jeff

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I don't have to yell at my dog if she can see me. Just a certain look will let her know she's done something wrong and she immediately gets that guilty look on her little face. If she's barking in another room or hassling the cat, I will yell at her to get her attention, and she'll immediately settle down.



DavidMich's description of how his fish react to him exactly matches how my cat responds to me. She totally ignores me at all times, except when she wants out.

When she was a kitten she'd go behind the gear rack and start batting at my cables, which drove me nuts. I'd yell at her and she'd ignore me. For obvious reasons I didn't do the squirt bottle thing for this behavior, but would immediately grab her and put her outside.

Now she has me trained--if she wants out she needs only approach the equipment rack and I immediately get up and open the slider to let her out. She never approaches the rack at any other time, just when she wants out.

 

[Joel Mack]

And because a pet thread is not complete without pics:

Yay!
Here's "Evil Incarnate" (AKA "Ariel"). She NEVER has to be yelled at (and if you believe that...)

 

[DavidAM]

For my dog, I need the pinch collar for walks.

Just curious...what is a pinch collar? I never heard of that.

 

[Philip_G]

Just curious...what is a pinch collar? I never heard of that.

a choker collar, it's a metal chain with a loop on each end, one loop goes through the other and attaches to the leash, so if the dog tries to pull away on the leash it tightens up around their neck.
I've never had much success with them personally

 

[Rain]

When I was about 6, our dog Jack was out on a choker leash one evening. He got twisted around a bush and ended up hanging himself.
I really dislike this thread immensely.

 

[Philip_G]

*

 

[Rain]

Seriously though, you've made your views clear in several threads...

I think I have as much right to share my views as you do.

I have not singled out anyone specific in this thread. If you feel the need to, please do it with someone other than me.

 

[Philip_G]

I'm sorry that some of you've had bad experiences in the past, but it doesn't necessarily mean you know what's best for other pet owners and their pets. Different pets have different personalities, and different owners expect different levels of obdience. Sometimes a thump on the nose will suffice, sometimes knocking them on their ass with a jolt is necessary. You're not there, and it's not your decision to make.
If you think shooting your dog a dirty look, or a gentle "no rover don't do that" will work in a field of standing corn when she's 20 yards away and running full speed where she shouldn't be headed, good luck.

 

[Rain]

That wasn't intended to single you out, but I'll edit the post to remove the quote.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

If choker collars don't work for you (I don't like them either) try a holti. They're a simply harness that has a loop that attaches over the nose and one that wraps around the head. The leash then attaches to a swivel that's located at the bottom of the loop over the nose. What this does is when the dog tried to pull it pulls down on their nose which is a natural submissive gesture...plus its hard to pull when your nose is on the ground Anyway our sheppard/lab cross used to pull like crazy when you first took her out for a walk but with the holti she's much more under control.
Halti Collar

 

[Dave Morton]

Actually a pinch collar is different than a choker collar. The pinch has metal prongs around it. When the dog pulls really hard the prongs will squeeze together and pinch the skin. Actually, I tried positive reinforcement, then a choker collar but those didn't work. I tried the pinch collar and it worked immediately.

I will say this. We all make our decisions to do what we think is best for our own situation. Not all agree with all the methods. But as long as the methods are used for training and are not abused, then I think whatever works is good. Most of it is common sense.

I do feel bad when any animal is subjected to unnecessary cruelty and am sorry for those animals that are not with us as a result of those actions. I love my dog but she does need to listen to me and not chase after those squirrels.