# Raising voice in training and discipline



## huxleythehungarianV (Dec 4, 2018)

So I’m just having some difficulty with my puppy Huxley. He is almost five months now and is great except that I find that I tend to raise my voice when I reprimand him he doesn’t seem to shut down or anything but I suppose I’m not understanding the assertive yet gentle training these dogs need. I’ve heard to not be dominating at all with these dogs.
We had an incident today where he swallows an entire bag of feces and I had to swat at his face a little to get him from eating more but when I yell he doesn’t listen at all. I hope I haven’t broken him by raising my voice or swatting at him. It all comes from a place of love I just don’t want him getting sick or eating the wrong things I would never slap him or anything in the moment he was not paying attention to treat lures or anything but he ended up swallowing the bag.. ugh the frustration I just need some help


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

You need to work with a trainer. 
It can be group classes, and they are not very expensive. Most of dog training, is teaching us HOW to train the dog.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Never hit them. And lowering your voice is far more effective than raising it.

A good trainer for you is a good idea. My favorite training book is "Mother knows best" by Carol Lea Benjamin itls good reading in the mean time.


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## huxleythehungarianV (Dec 4, 2018)

So make it a low voice? What did you guys do when they have something in their mouth but run away when you try to grab it


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

huxleythehungarianV said:


> So make it a low voice? What did you guys do when they have something in their mouth but run away when you try to grab it


Very few things are really going to hurt them.
Grabbing at their mouth, teaches them to keep it away from you. Instead I ignore what they have in their mouth. Pet, praise like they are the best thing since man invented fire. Only then do I put my hand on their collar, next reach under their chin (not over their head ) to take the object. Tell them just how cool it is, and then hand it back to them. 
If its something that could hurt them, I slip the object out of their sight. Then act like something else is so cool, and hand them that. Or mine know the word treat, and get quickly sidetracked when I say it. They get a treat, and forget about what they had.
By getting them in the habit of doing this, they trust us with high value things.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

huxleythehungarianV said:


> So make it a low voice? What did you guys do when they have something in their mouth but run away when you try to grab it


Low voice not only gets their attention, it sounds more serious.


It depends on what he has in his mouth. In your example, poop is disgusting but not dangerous, and when it's bagged the only way he can get to it is b/c you allowed him to. Don't get into a control struggle with your dog, you'll lose. Like a child, the advice is to pick your battles carefully, it makes you far more credible when you make the demand. Don't chase him, but DEMAND he let go (OUT!!) and if he does not and you can't just take it away, leave him. Recall that the most devastating intervention is to with hold attention.


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## 1stVizsla (Jun 22, 2016)

Hi Huxley... I have a pretty foolproof trick for that situation. I have worked hard (using Praise & Reward) to get my dogs to “Sit” on command.

When you see he has something in his mouth and you knows he’s going to run off, fix him with firm gaze and command him to “Sit”, then Praise and move toward him as if you have the treat reward and calmly take the object.

It works ~100% of the time for me, unless I let on that I want the object (then they may go into chase me mode). 

The “Sit” command is so important for gaining control of the dog in all kinds of situations, jumping on people and other relatively low energy situations. 

You need to master the “Sit” command in as many situations as possible. TR is correct that a session with a trainer would probably be a terrific help to you. I found the Viszla can be formidable to train, needing lots of patience, affection and repetition, much more so than my Lab or German Shepard pups.

You will find you have much more control and better relationship with your V and he will WANT to please you. 

It’s fun too! I recommend cooking up some bacon and having a morning training session sometime when you’re up for it. You will have him gladly doing your bidding relatively quickly and you’ll be amazed how long he retains it.


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## 1stVizsla (Jun 22, 2016)

Tell him to “Sit”. 

If you’ve taught and reinforced that well, the dogs will literally sit and wait while you approach and remove the object. 

It’s about trust and obedience and can pretty easily be trained with patience (and a little fresh cooked bacon or other meat they Love - store treats didnt work well for me). I found that having a treat they really loved, and my being in a good mood, I.e. making the training fun worked extremely well. 

A few sessions of quality training time was enough to get the Recall, Sit, and even Stay that I needed. It is especially important for the Safety of the relatively impulsive V IMO. 

Watch some YouTube dog training videos and give it a try; if you need help, your vet can be a resource too.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

a lot depends on the situation, a raised voice can have a positive effect in the right situation, when I'm out in the field (or moors or woodland) working my dogs that I consider quite well trained and they're running to close to boxed in birds, the whistle sometimes isn't enough but a raised voice of either "down" or "heel" grabs their attention and snaps their attention back to me.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

harrigab said:


> a lot depends on the situation, a raised voice can have a positive effect in the right situation, when I'm out in the field (or moors or woodland) working my dogs that I consider quite well trained and they're running to close to boxed in birds, the whistle sometimes isn't enough but a raised voice of either "down" or "heel" grabs their attention and snaps their attention back to me.


I totally agree with your scenario.
I just don't do it with young puppies, and seldom do it with my older dogs. If/when I do, they know I mean business.


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