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Can getting mad or yelling at your puppy be permanently damaging?

4K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Blitzkrieg1 
#1 ·
Yesterday, I accidentally got mad verbally for a second about my 9-week old puppy peeing on the rug. He then became very skittish, ashamed, and like the life was sucked out of him. He is doing better today but, I am wondering if this could have caused irreparable damage either to the puppy's confidence or to the master-puppy bond.
 
#2 ·
The main problem with yelling at a young puppy for peeing in the house is that you could be setting back your house training efforts. He's still learning where he's supposed to go, so it's up to you to manage his environment and limit his opportunity to pee in the house. That means being right there with him at all times when he's not safely confined in his crate, watching him (not just in the same room, you need eyes on him - if you can't actually see him you're not really watching him!), and taking him out frequently and rewarding him for doing his business outdoors. Other than that it will take time and patience, usually at least a few weeks, sometimes a couple of months. If he has accidents in the house, it's your fault not his, so clean it up calmly and resolve to do better next time, don't get mad.

It's also possible that you frightened him, since he has no idea why you yelled, but unless you have a genetically shy, fearful puppy he should be fine. I wouldn't make a habit of it though. Rather than teaching him that he's not supposed to go in the house, you risk teaching him that it's not safe to pee in your presence. That will make it much harder to housebreak him because he may sneak away and do it in the house out of your sight and also be less inclined to pee when you're outside with him.
 
#3 ·
I am currently reading on fear period and maybe his response has something to do with that, but I am newbie at that field so can't offer solid advice. However, unless you screamed at him for 10min straight and was shaking his crate or something I doubt it is close to the point of "irreparable damage". I learned somewhere online that to test whether the dog is "shut-down", you can offer a treat for him and see if he is gonna take it (provided that your dog is not too hungry). If he won't eat the treat at your hand that is probably very serious to him. However only my cats would ever resist a treat so I don't know how valid this is lol.
 
#4 ·
I know there has been times when our puppy would draw blood from his play biting and I would let out a yell at him and he would come up to us as if he knew he was sorry lay down by our feet and put his head down. There just is no way I could ever stay mad at our puppy when he gives you that sad look.
 
#5 ·
It certainly doesn't help potty training, but dogs, especially puppies, are very forgiving and don't hold a grudge for long.

A dog's negative response to yelling is often a learned behavior. Overly submissive dogs can be negatively reactive to loud sounds, but generally they don't know what yelling means until you teach them. My dog doesn't care AT ALL about my yelling, because instead of yelling I used HEY to get his attention when addressing a bad behavior. Other dogs who had owners before me have gotten scared when I yell but soon get used to it (I play video games and yell a lot.)

Your pup will get over it, just try to use a specific word to distract your pup and get its attention instead of yelling.

You might also keep a cup, towel or newspaper or something handy for when your pup starts to pee or poo inside. Put it under them, flush it then take the pup outside to reinforce outdoor potty. I once caught a turd with my hands to save the trouble of cleaning the carpet LOL
 
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