7 Dog Training Mistakes That Make Behavior Worse (and What to Do Instead)

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Dogs are always learning, including all the times nobody thinks they're training. That's how professional dog trainer Dan Stevens, author of Secrets to Dog Training, puts it. Dogs understand the world very differently from us, so some everyday, well-meant habits teach a dog the exact opposite of what its owner intends.

The seven mistakes below come straight from Dan's teaching and from letters written by owners who use his guide. Each one comes with what to do instead.

[Add one honest sentence about your own dog or your readers]

1. Using the recall word to scold

Dan tells the story of a dog called Major, who is out in the garden digging up the newly planted daisies. His owner calls quietly, "Major, come here," and Major carries on digging. The owner shouts it, and he still doesn't come, so the owner marches over, grabs him by the collar, says "I told you to come here!" and smacks him. Major is a smart dog, and he draws his own conclusion: "come" means you're in trouble. The next evening, when he's called in for dinner, he runs the other way.

Do this instead: make your recall word mean good things, every single time. Never use it to call your dog for a telling-off or anything else it won't enjoy. If you need your dog for something unpleasant, Dan's advice is to give a firm Sit command and go and get it. Done right, it looks like this owner's puppy: "Now anytime I call my puppy to come, he rans as fast as he can, because he knows that he will get a lot of love for coming to me!!!" (Anna Kovalenko, New York, USA)

2. Rubbing a puppy's nose in its mess

It's an old house-training habit, and Dan is blunt about it. A puppy whose nose is rubbed in a puddle has no idea why it's happening, so it doesn't learn to go outside. Dan says punishing a dog this way frustrates it and stunts its learning, which makes the whole job harder.

Do this instead: reward your dog for going in the right place. Take it out often, wait with it, and praise it the moment it goes. John and Jackie Robson used the book's techniques with their dog Cassie, and wrote that "every morning we come downstairs to a clean floor with no accidents to mop up."

3. Correcting a mistake you didn't see

Coming home to a chewed shoe is maddening, and the natural reaction is to show the dog the shoe and scold it. Dan's rule is that bad deeds must be caught in the act. A dog can't connect a scolding with something it did an hour ago.

Do this instead: if you find the damage later, clean up and say nothing. Put temptations out of reach when you can't watch your dog, give it things it's allowed to chew, and keep corrections for the moments you actually catch it in the act.

4. Giving a command you can't back up

Picture a dog racing across the park after a squirrel while its owner shouts "come" from the other side. Dan calls this doomed to failure. If your dog doesn't respond, there's nothing you can do to enforce the command straight away, so you're teaching it that the word can be ignored.

Do this instead: only give a command when you can follow through on it. Practice recall at close range, in quiet places, until it's reliable. Out in the open, if you know your dog won't come, walk over and get it rather than wearing out the word.

5. Shouting, and forgetting what your body is saying

Dan points out that your posture, eye contact and body language really matter to dogs, and facial expressions are as important to them as they are to us. A raised voice and a tense, looming body often make things worse. Renee Gordon found that with her Papillon: "shouting commands at Lord Byron often backfire, causing him to become aggressive. The section on Dog Whispering has encouraged me to use a more controlled voice to which he responds much better."

Do this instead: stand tall and relaxed, give each command once in a calm, firm voice, and watch your dog's face and ears for clues about how it's feeling.

6. Rules that change from person to person

If jumping up is fine when one person is playing but gets a scolding when visitors arrive, the dog can't work out what you want. The same goes for a household where one person lets the dog on the sofa and another chases it off. As one reviewer put it: "Dogs are so trainable but can get confused if you try too many different methods out on them." (Dee & Nickey, USA)

Do this instead: agree on the house rules and the command words together, write them down if it helps, and make sure everyone sticks to them, including visitors and children.

7. Letting the dog lead at doors and mealtimes

Many loving owners spoil their dogs without realizing what it teaches. Margaret Angus, whose dog Casper developed fear-based aggression, wrote: "Having never owned a dog, we thought all you had to do was to love them to bits, and spoil them, and that was it." Dan teaches that a dog feels safe and secure when it sees you as a strong leader, and small daily habits send that message. Anke Herrman spotted several in her own home: "I cringed (and giggled) when I realised the mistakes I had been making – feeding him first in an attempt to prevent him from begging, letting him go through doors first or stepping around him when he'd made himself comfortable in an inconvenient spot."

Do this instead: go through doorways first, ask for a Sit before the food bowl goes down, and don't feed from the table. None of it needs to be harsh, and dogs pick up the routine because it happens the same way every day.

A word about dogs that bite

These mistakes are behind a lot of everyday problems, from a poor recall to jumping and pulling. If your dog has bitten anyone, or growls and snaps when people come close, fixing your own habits matters, and you should also get help in person from a qualified professional.

Where to go from here

Dropping these seven habits is a strong start, and Dan's guide shows you what to put in their place for over 25 specific behavior problems. Secrets to Dog Training (affiliate link: I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you) is a 256-page, full-color eBook with photos and step-by-step instructions. It comes with a 30-minute video program, the audio book, the Secrets to Becoming the Alpha Dog eBook, four bonus eBooks and unlimited consultations with Dan and the Secrets to Dog Training team in the members' forum.

Over 220,000 dog owners have used it, and the order page shows 66 customer reviews. It costs $39.95, paid once, and comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the methods on your own dog before you decide.

Get Secrets to Dog Training and start with the problem that bothers you most (affiliate link)