{"id":1894,"date":"2012-09-13T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2012-09-13T07:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2025-02-11T11:51:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T11:51:18","slug":"should-you-show-your-labrador-puppy-who-is-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/should-you-show-your-labrador-puppy-who-is-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you dominate your Labrador puppy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read a post on a forum recently by someone that had been advised to dominate or pin down,\u00a0 their eleven week old Labrador puppy.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we forget that this kind of advice can still be found on the internet and TV.<\/p>\n

People used to think that dogs were highly motivated by status.<\/p>\n

We used to believe that adult dogs have a desire to be pack leaders.\u00a0 We now know that this is not generally the case.<\/p>\n

Where ‘dominance’\u00a0 type techniques work (and they do work sometimes) it is because they are acting as punishers.<\/p>\n

Confusing dominance with punishment<\/h2>\n

Pinning a Labrador puppy down can certainly be very intimidating to him.<\/p>\n

\"Pack<\/a>And can therefore act as a punishment for the immediately preceding behaviour.<\/p>\n

It will also temporarily (at first) reduce the puppy’s feeling of security in your presence and his trust in your good intentions.<\/p>\n

As a result the puppy may well be subdued for a while afterwards.\u00a0 But will his behaviour have improved in the long term?<\/p>\n

The answer is probably no.<\/p>\n

Punishment can reduce the likelihood of behaviour being repeated but in order for the puppy to learn from punishment,\u00a0he needs to be able to link it directly with the ‘bad deed’.\u00a0\u00a0This can be hard to do.<\/p>\n

First catch your puppy!<\/h2>\n

Unless you punish your puppy immediately, \u00a0punishment is not an effective behaviour modification technique.<\/p>\n

Punishing a lively,\u00a0 excitable puppy in a timely and effective manner, in a way that he can learn from,\u00a0 is not easy.<\/p>\n

Side effects<\/h2>\n

Punishment also has a number of unfortunate side effects.<\/p>\n

Including a build up of resistance to punishment which is common in many dogs.<\/p>\n

In other words,\u00a0 the dog gets tougher, and the punishments have to get tougher too.<\/p>\n

This is not a happy road to go down.<\/p>\n

In more sensitive dogs, over use of corrections can result in the dog losing confidence in his owner, and being reluctant to approach him and slow to respond to commands.<\/p>\n

On the other hand,\u00a0 there are NO side effects to reward based training.<\/p>\n

Coping with puppy behaviour<\/h2>\n

Small puppies can be difficult.\u00a0 They are fast moving, have sharp teeth and the attention span of a gnat.\u00a0 But there are ways to make your life easier.<\/p>\n

Two to four month old Labrador pups are the equivalent of human toddlers.\u00a0\u00a0 They have no sense of danger,\u00a0 no understanding of ‘property’ and no moral code.<\/p>\n

So if ‘dominance’\u00a0 doesn’t help,\u00a0 what can you do?<\/p>\n

Here are three tips to peaceful living arrangements with a canine toddler.<\/p>\n