Do you smack your dog?

Hi all,
Just wanted to know where some of you stand on smacking your dog and your opinion on the matter.
Personally if Gary is naughty i accept that hes young and he will have his tantrums but on occasions i feel i have no choice to smack his bottom with newspaper.
my other half doesnt like hitting the dog and cant bring her self to do it so when hes playing up its always "Dan come sort your dog out" then when hes behaving its her dog haha.

I want to make it clear that i dont strike him too hard, i dont strike him every time he steps out of line and that Gary seems really happy at home, and when i come back on the weekends he gets really excied to see me so its good that i dont scare him and he still knows that i love him.
I usually only smack gary on two occasions and there both reasons that one protects us and others and the second protects himself.

1) if he bites as you have seen in the gallery hes got a good set of nashers on him and i dont want him been an adult dog and using his teeth its something i want to nip in the bud whilst he is young.

2) Chewing electronic cables, again firm no and the news paper because id hate to not be in the room and he chews the cable for the telly or something and hurts him self.

The only reason i smack him is because i love him and i wouldnt want him hurt him self or anbody else and get destroyed. Its not something i enjoy and when he goes to sulk after i feel really guilty but its something i feel needs to do untill he learns that what he is doing is wrong.
In a way its good that my other half wont smack him and she leaves it to me because gary sees me as the leader of the pack and boss of the house and its god that he knows his place.

anbody else smack there dog?

Sorry but No No not hard not soft not for any reason Don't smack the kids either, violence brings violence. Smacking a puppy will just make it scared and hand shy. They don't understand why you are hurting them, they just know that that hand, paper or whatever else = pain.

Me neither I'm afraid (the dogs that is) My daughter does get a smacked backside sometimes though Kat but she is nearly 13 and knows how far she has to take me to get to that stage and all other options are exhausted. As Kat says a pup or dog doesn't understand and it becomes a fear thing.
The key is not to punish bad behaviour and to reward good behaviour , he learns very soon what gets him rewards and what doesn't.

No. I'm afraid your oh is right.

There are better ways!

Dave wrote:Me neither I'm afraid (the dogs that is) My daughter does get a smacked backside sometimes though Kat but she is nearly 13 and knows how far she has to take me to get to that stage and all other options are exhausted. As Kat says a pup or dog doesn't understand and it becomes a fear thing.
The key is not to punish bad behaviour and to reward good behaviour , he learns very soon what gets him rewards and what doesn't.

Ah yes but a 13yr old you can verbally communicate with and like you said a smack is the last resort.. Master 9 is more hurt by taking his ipod off him for a week.. A 13week old puppy Sorry but to me that is like a smacking a 6mnth old baby.. They both have no understanding as to why you are hitting them..

You could use the bitter apple spray as a deterrent for chewing the cables etc. See the link below you can get it from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/chewing-Bitter-Apple-FL-OZ-236ml-BITTER/dp/B003957GQE/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1354282018&sr=8-8

Kat75 wrote:Sorry but No No not hard not soft not for any reason Don't smack the kids either, violence brings violence. Smacking a puppy will just make it scared and hand shy. They don't understand why you are hurting them, they just know that that hand, paper or whatever else = pain.

Ive been smacked as a kid and i can imagine the majority have it doesnt make us violent,
Gary is a playfull dog that loves other dogs and people hes defenetaly not shy and he isnt scared of me or the paper if im trying to read it he tries to pinch it and run off with it hes a right characture. theres only two things i dont allow biting and chewing cables. anything else im more lenient with and deal with in other ways.

Dogs dont smack eachother in a pack, so they dont get any benefit from a smack from humans. it can make them nervous and afraid of human interaction. i completely disgree with it

Stokester wrote:
Ive been smacked as a kid and i can imagine the majority have it doesnt make us violent,

you are resorting to hitting though, which is what happened to you, so kind of a circle

I'm sorry but you asked for our opinion.. All puppies bite.. ALL of them. There arte great techniques on this site for stopping it.. I'm not saying your pup is going to be vicious.. I just gave MY opinion and reason for why I don't smack

If he nips, give a firm "no" and turn away. Stop all I retraction immediately, don't even look at him. If he continues, put him out of the room for a few seconds until he's calm.

Chewing is a natural thing for a pup. If he goes to chew something he shouldn't, again give a firm "no" and gently but firmly remove him from the object - you could also give him something else to chew on like a frozen banana or a Kong or stag bar. Don't forget he's teething so his gums will be sore & he'll chew to relieve the discomfort.

Nope, never have, never would. There are many, many other training methods that are much more effective and not detrimental to the dog's well being. I work with extremely difficult dogs daily, and have never once had to hit a dog. Even when being attacked!!

Some great advice on here thanks all,
I think some people think im proper smacking him with a belt though. i dont smack him hard at all and wouldnt wish to hurt him.
ill have a read at other techiques if they work then brill. everybody has there own way of parenthood with your dogs seems that people disagree with mine but it really doesnt make me a bad owner i love my dog to bits and he gets the best i can give him.
i strongly dissagree with animal cruelty and it seriously annoyes me when i hear about it but a gentle smack is no where near close to dog cruelty hes loved and he knows he is and i dont hurt him just want to make that clear.

My OH dad said that sometimes you havd to smack your dog so it's know who's the boss. So my OH did it couple of times to Debo,with my disapproval. But I pointed out to my OH Debo's behaviour after that. We was scared of him,when called he would go to my OH with ears back and tail low. He punished him when Debo didn't come when on the walk, results- for few days Debo was afraid to come to my OH when called. I told my OH how to do it the right way. By smacking you not showing him what he can do to be good,so you not teachning him anything at all. That's way I play deaf when my OH starts his sentence from" My dad said that we should do..."

Kat75 wrote:I'm sorry but you asked for our opinion.. All puppies bite.. ALL of them. There arte great techniques on this site for stopping it.. I'm not saying your pup is going to be vicious.. I just gave MY opinion and reason for why I don't smack

I asked for an opinion yes and im listening to all of them i know puppies will chew, if hes chewing the rug i tell him no and lift him away but when its electricals ect i want him to understand that he cant chew them.

No one said you are a bad owner,but just try to explain why smack when it doesn't do anything.

jola139 wrote:My OH dad said that sometimes you havd to smack your dog so it's know who's the boss. So my OH did it couple of times to Debo,with my disapproval. But I pointed out to my OH Debo's behaviour after that. We was scared of him,when called he would go to my OH with ears back and tail low. He punished him when Debo didn't come when on the walk, results- for few days Debo was afraid to come to my OH when called. I told my OH how to do it the right way. By smacking you not showing him what he can do to be good,so you not teachning him anything at all. That's way I play deaf when my OH starts his sentence from" My dad said that we should do..."

That makes sense to me. I dont smack gary no where near hard enough for him to be scared of me though its more of a pat to be honest. i know im getting slated on here for smacking but i did ask for opinions. i love my dog millions and wouldnt proper hurt him. Ill have a good read into other learning methods later on today, im going take gary for some recall training later and through the week so i defenetaly dont want him been scared of me or ill be p**sing in the wind.

jola139 wrote:No one said you are a bad owner,but just try to explain why smack when it doesn't do anything.

i know nobody said i was but im clearly in the minority her eunless ther eare other people that smack but are not saying so. i dont want people getting the wrong impression like im a heartless monster who doesnt deserve a dog.
I care for my dog and i like to think i give him a happy life.

Something ive realised is that as much as the dog is learning, im on the learning curve with him. everyday is a learnign day for us both.
Thats where this site comes into play there is a vast amount of experience on here and i intend to use as much of it as i can

Stokester wrote:

Kat75 wrote:I'm sorry but you asked for our opinion.. All puppies bite.. ALL of them. There arte great techniques on this site for stopping it.. I'm not saying your pup is going to be vicious.. I just gave MY opinion and reason for why I don't smack

I asked for an opinion yes and im listening to all of them i know puppies will chew, if hes chewing the rug i tell him no and lift him away but when its electricals ect i want him to understand that he cant chew them.

You may be listening to all of them but seem to be taking mine personally, I do not think you beat your dog with a belt. I am opposed to smacking as it instills fear and in dogs fear often leads to aggression, they are tough little dogs and a little smack with a paper will not hurt them physically.. But in MY opinion it does hurt them mentally. It is clear that you love your dog from previous posts, I don't doubt that.

Kat75 wrote:

Stokester wrote:

Kat75 wrote:I'm sorry but you asked for our opinion.. All puppies bite.. ALL of them. There arte great techniques on this site for stopping it.. I'm not saying your pup is going to be vicious.. I just gave MY opinion and reason for why I don't smack

I asked for an opinion yes and im listening to all of them i know puppies will chew, if hes chewing the rug i tell him no and lift him away but when its electricals ect i want him to understand that he cant chew them.

You may be listening to all of them but seem to be taking mine personally, I do not think you beat your dog with a belt. I am opposed to smacking as it instills fear and in dogs fear often leads to aggression, they are tough little dogs and a little smack with a paper will not hurt them physically.. But in MY opinion it does hurt them mentally. It is clear that you love your dog from previous posts, I don't doubt that.

No no you have the wrong impression i dont take nothing personal on here i understand that we all have other views, im new to the world of dog ownership and i value other peoples opinions and experience, if it seems like i was singling you out Kat it was unintentionally.
Im on this forum for the love of Staffys because i want to learn more. Im probably the most junior member on this site in the means of experience so i do take everbodys imput into account, and hopefully a few months down the line i can be educating newer members with my experience that has been passed on.

We have a saying in the Army, "Learn from the man above you and show the man below you" this to me doesnt just apply with the Armed Froces it can be used at anythign in life includign SBT's

Thanks for all your comments.

You said that when he chews on something else you say firm no and remove him from that. Do the same when he goes for cables or your hand. He will get that soon chewing on anything is a big no no. Just keep doing one thing everytime, he'll get there. They're very smart dogs. Good luck. X

jola139 wrote:You said that when he chews on something else you say firm no and remove him from that. Do the same when he goes for cables or your hand. He will get that soon chewing on anything is a big no no. Just keep doing one thing everytime, he'll get there. They're very smart dogs. Good luck. X

Thats what ill try from now on, i just was more paranoid about him going for the cables i tried to enforce that mre vigerously. rugs and other objects can be replaced if cary electricuted him self by chewing cables we couldnt replace him so it does worry me. i understand as a puppy though he probably doesnt understand that hes doing wrong or why im smacking him. i always seem to think hes older than he is it feels like ive had him for ever.

I think you're a great owner who obviously loves his dog! I think all anybody's saying is that smacking ( whether hard or soft) is not the best way to train. Why not give what I've suggested earlier a trial of, say, 14 days & see if it works?

I am a newbie to sbt's too and haven't had a pup in a long long time.. I am learning new things from this site every single day I was simply giving my opinion, not making a personal judgement on you.. I thought my pup was the worst biter ever, and thought I was gonna lose my mind before she lost her evil puppy teeth, but with the advice I received from people here I survived (just) She still nips occassionaly but only when she gets overexcited..
I understand the worry of biting through cables and electrocution and but a pup dosen't know the difference between electrical cords and a rug

I would never smack Solly, the tone in my voice is enough for him, (well I like to think so) and I have never smacked my children either.

I'm a new to all the puppy staff-have been herd for only 7mnth and have been putting to live all the advice given here. Some times adding something from myself,all dogs are different. Changes in Debo are great, and he is little rascal with a character. But the beauty about ours dogs is we're theire world and will do anything to please us.

NO, Never have, never will , I'd like to think
Personally, i think the world beats them enough

Hayley wrote:Dogs dont smack eachother in a pack, so they dont get any benefit from a smack from humans. it can make them nervous and afraid of human interaction. i completely disgree with it

Wouldn't that mean biting would be OK though? What we do isn't always what dogs do.

Anyway, I don't hit Loki. I did once because I thought it's the best way to stop the biting. It did not help I didn't hurt him or anything, he actually thought it was a game and proceeded to jump around and go wild because he thought it was fun . The main problems I have with hitting a dog are these:

1. There's a fine line between too hard and too soft. Too hard and you'll scare them or confuse them. Too soft and they'll think you're playing.

2. You have to do it at the exact right moment or they won't understand why you're doing it.

3. Most people hit their dogs because they're angry at their dog or stressed out, rather than as a training method. Evidently this doesn't apply to you, but the vast majority of people won't hit their dogs consistently when they're doing something bad; they'll do it if they're having a bad day or are angry at the dog.

no we never smack miley she just gets a telling off how severe depends on what she has done

Smacking is the very reason (or beating) Pixee will never trust strangers when she sees their hand come towards her. I know you say you dont hit hard, its just still a smack that can make your dog wary of you. There are other ways, verbally telling offs with a firm voice is more than enough. If Pixee dosent do as asked first time, I will make a her a funny noise that she does not like off me, she knows then. Do as Caryall suggests and see what happens. You do love your dog, we can see that.

Nope never, my ambull is already human aggressive and certainly wouldn't take kindly to it.

I will tell them off with a NO and remove them from the situation and use positive methods but never smacking

My cousin taught her daughter (5) that smacking the puppy on the nose would stop it nipping. the dog eventually did bite her properly

When Harley misbehaves, I stand up tall, use a deep voice and say No! If I don't get a response (he usually stops and starts licking me) I turn around and walk away from him. As a pup he was very chewy and nipping me and my 2 children. He has transformed into such a good boy now. The key is consistency.

no smacking , perserverance with masterful "no" and remove pup immediately from whatever he is chewing ....and he will soon learn

if jess dose something naughty i say in a firm voice no naughty girl and i think she knows she give me puppy eyes and comes for a cuddle she put her head on my shoulder lol, but i dont smack her i think if u just say no or naughty/girl or boy and change your voice i think thy know...

I would like to ask though, why is it that dogs respond so negatively to being smacked? I don't mean if they're beaten or anything, but being smacked can cause huge trust issues and make them wary for the rest of their lives. Yet their mum and siblings and even other dogs nip them to tell them off, so why does the dog differentiate so much between the two?

ANattyRat wrote:I would like to ask though, why is it that dogs respond so negatively to being smacked? I don't mean if they're beaten or anything, but being smacked can cause huge trust issues and make them wary for the rest of their lives. Yet their mum and siblings and even other dogs nip them to tell them off, so why does the dog differentiate so much between the two?

i think its just tht u,ll scare them and if u kept doing it thy might not trust u or be a worried or scared of you.. Im not 100% sure but ive read some where , you should never smack a dog as u,ll make them scared of you.. i dont know how true this this.. jess is my first dog, i use to tapp jess nose and say no but when i read tht i stopped and just say no, she knows now when im being serious or playing..

Dan, i have seen a lot of your posts and even in words because we can't see facial expressions and tone of voice so cant judge anyone on what they mean, it is very clear you love gary and a lot of other dogs you have seen on here and are worried he will get out of hand and you never want to lose him through naughty puppy behaviour that gets out of hand. As jola139 says about debo being afraid of the oh, you would be gutted if that happens to you wont you?. We have had Cassie only 3 months so we dont know her history but i can tell you there is nothing more upsetting than a simple thing like taking a pan out of the cupboard and the dog cowers with the tail between their legs. and you will say"why are you scared i won't hurt you" and i have to do that at least 5 times a day. I am no expert in fact very new to staffies but in a very short time i have learnt they are VERY intelligent,loyal and very eager to please. Turning your back hurts them more than any newspaper or shouting. WE have so much wisdom,kindness and love at our disposal on this forum that we can learn to give our dogs what they need,and i know and so do you that all it takes is 1 post and advice from all over the world floods in

I really must let my oh read this post, he thinks that hitting a dog isn't detremental and its the nly way they'l learn and didn't believe me that it can turn them aggressive, voilence promotes voilence. I was smacked as a child and it never done me any harm but i always knew what i was getting smacked for, dogs have no persception of this they'r just dogs doing dog things.
everytime i saw my oh smack Diesel i would smack him cause i hated it, luckily he stoppped doing it

I'm not so sure that smacking (a light tap, not a full, hard hit) will make a dog aggressive, but it can make them hand shy. So every time someone raises a hand, they duck away with their head & tail right down, as though they're terrified of what might happen!

"Bad girl!" in a firm voice usually does it for us - never hit or smacked her, and she learned quickly when we were unhappy with her. Coupled with positive reinforcement when she does something right, she's turned out to be a great wee dog.

Stokester wrote:

Kat75 wrote:Sorry but No No not hard not soft not for any reason Don't smack the kids either, violence brings violence. Smacking a puppy will just make it scared and hand shy. They don't understand why you are hurting them, they just know that that hand, paper or whatever else = pain.

Ive been smacked as a kid and i can imagine the majority have it doesnt make us violent,
Gary is a playfull dog that loves other dogs and people hes defenetaly not shy and he isnt scared of me or the paper if im trying to read it he tries to pinch it and run off with it hes a right characture. theres only two things i dont allow biting and chewing cables. anything else im more lenient with and deal with in other ways.

Hi, sorry but i do disagree now. people said smacking my puppy on the bum (not hard) will teach him, it didn't he didn't understand he just realised it was some kind of voilence towards him. He is now 10 months, if i go to touch him or stroke him with my hand that's it he jumps down and cowards, now i have to be really carefull. your dog may not be scared of your hands at the moment but wait till he is older, he will realise and it will not be nice to see your dog cowaring away from you. Trust me

My dog was hand-shy when we got him from his original owners Took some time until he stopped cowering (and weeing sometimes) when we stroked his head.

I (whilst tempted to boot him across 4 counties) have never smacked Monty. 10 second time outs worked a treat. hes fine now!! (famous last words)

How could you smack a cutie like that??? He looks stunning.
I got Storm when he was about three and when playing with him soon after I went to playfully smack him on the bum, more of an exagerated hand movement and would have tapped his bum gently, he threw himself on the floor cowering, it was horrible. All I've every had to do is vary my tone of voice, If he has been bad I send him to his crate and make him stay there for a while, he chewed up a torch when I was at work luckily stopped before he chewed the batteries, I had just started the job and it was shift work. He knew he had been naughty but a short spell in his bed and a stern voice was enough. I was partly responsible for leaving a torch where he could get to it, so now if he's left he has plenty of toys left lying around and I have a scan around to make sure he can't get anything he shouldn't. He used to mouth when wiping his paws after a walk, stopped by voice it'll take a little time but it does work.

No never ever. They are far to sensitive to it. If im honest there have been times but i know it would serve no perpose other than self gratification and they wouldnt know what the hell i was doing it for. Although if i saw them chewing a power cable i would want to put fear of god into them. 30 seconds locked in the loo is a good alternative for bad behaviour

I think what we have to remember here, is that despite their strength & boisterousness, they are actually a very sensitive breed. Physical violence towards them (from a human) makes them anxious & can result in a dog that frightened of people. That's not what this breed is about! An anxious/frightened Stafford can be a dangerous one.

Caryll wrote:I think what we have to remember here, is that despite their strength & boisterousness, they are actually a very sensitive breed. Physical violence towards them (from a human) makes them anxious & can result in a dog that frightened of people. That's not what this breed is about! An anxious/frightened Stafford can be a dangerous one.

Any scared or anxious animal that has the fight or flight reflex invoked can be dangerous. Even the simplest animal not just dogs

dave742 wrote:

Caryll wrote:I think what we have to remember here, is that despite their strength & boisterousness, they are actually a very sensitive breed. Physical violence towards them (from a human) makes them anxious & can result in a dog that frightened of people. That's not what this breed is about! An anxious/frightened Stafford can be a dangerous one.

Any scared or anxious animal that has the fight or flight reflex invoked can be dangerous. Even the simplest animal not just dogs

Absolutely, but with a stafford we have to be extra careful because of the public perception of them.

My Dad always smacked his dogs so i have smacked them in the past , i used work terriers up to six at a time , i never thought any were scared of me though i just thought they knew their place , it was the way i was brought up and don't forget when i went to school i was smacked by my teachers i wasn't scared of them either just had respect .

Im older now i don't work terriers any more and i don't smack Duke i use more modern day methods , i still don't believe a gentle smack does any harm and i don't believe it will make the dog scared , i know of two Staff owners who use a gentle smack works for them and they love their Staffs .