Coke can with stones in...

Just wanted your opinions really...

A dog trainer we were speaking to Ralph about, gave us what is effectively a coke can half filled with small stones and is wrapped in parcel tape and told us when Ralph is doing something that we don't want him to - for example going to eat plants, or biting a visitors shoes, growling at another dog, we are to shake the coke can immediately he does it.

This effectively makes a loud noise and stops the behaviour. Ralph should then learn that he shouldn't do it...

I guess it's along the same lines of the sprays you get which just blast air out making a noise?

I wasn't sure on this method? What do you think? I was worried this would just scare the wotsits out of him and would make another issue!

It doesnt work tried the same for mia

Erm, well, it's an aversive? It depends on your stance on training in general really - I try to be as rewards based as possible and curve behaviour through verbal direction i.e "leave it" rather than just "no," and then give them something different to do but I do think that there is a place for verbal corrections in dog training. If you were to use it, I would only use it in situations where it would be dangerous for him to carry on with the behaviour that he is presenting. I had a dog in kennels that we used this technique with and it didn't phase him whatsoever - however, the lurcher next door was a quivering wreck. Some dogs are sound sensitive - there's no doubting that this technique could really upset a dog - or they could just not be phased by it at all. I think you just need to decide if you really need to resort to this measure - if redirection would work better in the long term? And how Ralph would respond.