Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have this empty bottle with an object inside. she kept running around and biting things, so everytime she did it i shook the bottle which made her stop. is this okay? cause when i say no and carry her away, she runs right back to it.

Did shaking the bottle startle her? (Is that why she stopped?) I know several people who have a jar of pennies that they shake when their dogs are doing something unacceptable. It works for some dogs; it can cause other dogs to be nervous and shut down. For chewing on things, some people also use Bitter Apple--a spray to put on objects. Re-directing attention can be good (showing your dog what she CAN chew on--a Galileo bone or some other chew toy she likes. Leave plenty of things of different textures that she can chew.)

Another method that worked for my dog was to silently bring her to the kitchen and put up a baby gate when she was doing something inappropriate (she used to jump on the couch and bark when she wanted attention). I'd calmly pick her up, put her in the kitchen for two minutes, and ignore her. Then I'd let her out. She stopped within a week.

Good luck!

It's working, I'd say it's ok to use this method of distraction. You may not want ot use it all the time and start working on a "leave it" command as well. Using a "startle" technique all the time tends to "dilute" the effect and the dog no longer responds. That makes people try even more severe corrections instead of training for prevention in the first place.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

My suggestion is to give her something "good" to do. Find a toy that she really likes and when she's doing what you don't want her to distract her to what you do want her doing. I've used this technique successfully with all my dogs.

As the dogs have learned what behavior is good I then introduced "no" or "stop." They then look at me for direction to what to do.

It takes time but has worked well for me and my doggies.

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tabitha
Kayo, Kahla, and Dante'

I would be careful with this method. Your dog is a chihuahua, right? Be very careful not to scare her. Chihuahuas can be very fearful, and many of the fearful ones grow up to be biters. Make sure that the sound you're making doesn't scare her, only startles her a little.