My dog pees when he's been told off

Maybe you're hovering over him a bit too much and he’s reacting like that because he can tell it’s stressing you out. Do what Caroline-eg suggested, I think it’s a good idea; it’s similar to Célinéo’s advice and what she says works brilliantly. I followed what Célinéo taught us for ISA and it’s working a treat! Plus, maybe you need to take your dog out for walks more often too!!!

My dog is quite sensitive; he has a bit of "happy pee" when he's excited too. It’s just a behavioural thing, that’s all. There’s no point telling the dog off—they don’t understand what they’ve done wrong. That’s a separate issue. But if it only happens when they're scared, then there’s likely something wrong with the owner’s approach!

Mind you, there’s telling them off and then there’s *telling them off*. I agree with the general consensus here on positive reinforcement.

Shouting or hitting is completely pointless. Ignoring the behaviour and a firm "no" is more than enough. If a dog wets themselves when they’re being scolded, the punishment is far too harsh.

While corrections have their place, you’ve got to remember to give them plenty of praise. Reinforce the positive behaviour and ignore the rest.

Above all, to train a dog, you need to be able to look at your own actions too. Anyway, that’s just my two pence worth!

Personally, I don’t even use the word "no"; in my eyes, ignoring a dog is the best way to go. Iago has played up twice—he chewed my remotes and pulled my washing onto the floor. When I got home, I just quietly picked up what was lying around and checked the remotes still worked, and the whole time I didn’t give him the time of day. He hasn’t done anything naughty since. Mind you, I do keep my remotes up high now, but as for the laundry drying, he hasn’t knocked that down again either. I think he realised that when I’m busy tidying up his mess, I’m not paying him any attention, and for him, that’s total torture. He’s happy to see me, but I just blank him.

When he nicks my slipper, I don’t even say "no"; I just take it back and put it away. The biggest punishment for a dog is being ignored. To me, saying "no" is just too much hassle; plus, I find that if you use it all the time, the dog stops knowing what it actually means. "No, leave it", "No, don't do that"—it has so many different meanings that even a human would get muddled, so I can only imagine how my dog feels. Besides, it never worked with any of my dogs, so I gave up on it early on. Enzo made me realise that in his own way—it was basically "yeah, whatever, keep talking"—so when he barks, you just have to call him over gently and give him a stroke. Pat him on the head and he’s over the moon. ^^

Basically, I think dog training is both simple and complex at the same time, but people try to overcomplicate it. You don’t scold a dog the same way you would a child. If he messes up, you just clean it up. If he’s overexcited when you get home, you wait for him to calm down. When you head off to work, you don’t make a fuss; you just leave as if you were going into the next room. If he has an accident in the house, you take him outside; if he does his business outside, you give him plenty of praise. You shouldn’t use a stern voice when you lose sight of him; use a cheerful one instead. Mix that with a bit of exercise and some attention, and there you go—a well-behaved dog. It’s not rocket science; you just need to stay calm at all times. I know life is stressful these days, but you’ve just got to keep your cool.

Yet more 'positive training'.......

I agree, Caroline.

How exactly are you telling him off?

When you scold a dog, you just say NO. That’s what "telling them off" is—you don't hit them, you don't grab them by the scruff of the neck, and you don't rub their nose in the pee, etc...

You need to be much calmer because he’s scared to the point of peeing himself. Honestly, I find it quite serious and shocking to frighten a puppy to that extent.

Why and how do you tell him off?