# how to teach puppy "No" command?



## dogs123 (Feb 17, 2008)

Do you have any suggestions on how to teach 11-weeks old puppy "No" command? I tried saying "no" and giving her treat when she stops, or making some noise after saying 'no', but so far nothing seems to be working - she stops for a second, and then continue to do what she was doing.
thanks!


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Why not put the alternate behavior on cue instead of using no? 

Example: Dog jumps on you. You rather she sit, so why not teach her sit. So when the dog is approaching you, you can instruct her to sit.


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## dogs123 (Feb 17, 2008)

Curbside Prophet said:


> Why not put the alternate behavior on cue instead of using no?
> 
> I'm doing that; when she is chewing on furniture, I'm giving her toy; if she jumps, I'm telling her to sit. But she has to learn No anyway, right?


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Curbside Prophet said:


> But she has to learn No anyway, right?


What is "no"? It's a punishment. Now, if we're going to use a punishment, wouldn't it be better if that punishment were also instructive? When you ask your dog for "sit" when she jumps on you, you are also using "sit" as the punishment, and it cues your dog to a behavior you prefer. So no, the dog doesn't need to know what the word "no" means. She just needs to know what she should do instead. 

Just saying "no" doesn't mean you'll get a desired behavior. If your pup is chewing on your shoes, and you say "no", she may run off to chew on your couch. She did stop chewing on your shoes, but did she learn anything? No. But, if you said "Kong" and your dog started chewing on her Kong, now the dog is learning.


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## dogs123 (Feb 17, 2008)

I undestand about desired behaviour and am teaching her this as well, but it's impossible to predict all 'undesired' behaviors to teach her to do something else instead. For for my other dog, 'No' means 'stop anything you are doing right now', and it was pretty easy to train her by just saying firm 'no', and giving her treats when she stops.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

dogs123 said:


> I undestand about desired behaviour and am teaching her this as well, but it's impossible to predict all 'undesired' behaviors to teach her to do something else instead.


So what's the problem? You want to use no, use no. I'm not clear on what you're asking for. Are you asking how to get your dog to stop doing what it's doing? Well, you're asking how you can make your dog freeze. Freeze, unless taught as a behavior is a respondent behavior, typically expressed around fear. I'm not going to teach you how to scare your dog.

But I do know this... A dog can't jump on guests, can't chew on the couch, can't unravel the toilet paper, can't climb in the garbage, can't lunge, can't chase cars, can't pull on lead if her butt is on the ground...so teach sit. You don't have to know all the inappropriate behaviors to teach your dog how she should respond. So, instead of teaching "no", teach sit, or some other behavior you prefer as a default.


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## dogs123 (Feb 17, 2008)

Sorry if I wasn't clear - I definetely don't want to scare her!! I do want her to stop doing what she is doing, but not by scaring her or punishing her. I guess telling her to 'sit' will do that - she can't chase the other dog when she is sitting  Thank you!


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## rvamutt (Jan 8, 2008)

What you are asking for is a negative marker, a noise that will let a dog know that what he is doing is incorrect and it should be stopped. This is a great thing to pair with postive marker training.

I feel the best way of teaching this is when your pup is doing something you don't like to give a strong firm command (no or ahh) if the dog stops then immeadiately gush and praise and give him a treat if you have one. If he doesn't stop then go and get him and remove him from the distraction. No physical punishment is neccesary because its your fault your dog got in trouble. 

The thing you need to keep in mind also is "why is my dog doing this". If its getting in the trash then the answer and solutuion is obvious, trash tastes good so keep it out of reach. If it is chewing then go out and buy some appropriate chew toys to give your pup a good outlet for that energy.

And Curb, I'm sure this is just a mixing of words but one has to be careful when they attempt to use an obediance command to manage a behavior. Its how many people go and teach their puppy the anti-recall. The pup is young and bonded and comes when called everytime so they call it and never reward. "Come" becomes a punishment for having fun and so the dog stops obeying.


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

"No" is not a command. It is a verbal correction, and in my case, a "no-reward" marker, since I don't use "no" when correcting my own dogs. I use "no," "nope," and "nah uh," to let my dogs know that they haven't scored the reward for what they are currently doing. I don't use it when they're being "bad."

Instead, I use a loud, firm "AH, AH!" because it always seemed to get their attention more, and then it is followed by an actual command which they get rewarded for doing.. So yeah, it is possible to make a dog avoid doing something without using the word "no."


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

rvamutt said:


> And Curb, I'm sure this is just a mixing of words but one has to be careful when they attempt to use an obediance command to manage a behavior. Its how many people go and teach their puppy the anti-recall. The pup is young and bonded and comes when called everytime so they call it and never reward. "Come" becomes a punishment for having fun and so the dog stops obeying.


That's absolutely a good point to make. There's a difference in what an instructive reprimand is, and what a poorly conditioned cue is. The difference is the dog has a long history of reward for the behavior you're asking for. So I agree it's important to note the instructive reprimand should be followed with a reward, until the behavior itself is rewarding. Like in your "come" example, the owner can correctly condition the cue, by allowing the dog to go play again.


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

Cheetah said:


> "No" is not a command. It is a verbal correction, and in my case, a "no-reward" marker, since I don't use "no" when correcting my own dogs. I use "no," "nope," and "nah uh," to let my dogs know that they haven't scored the reward for what they are currently doing. I don't use it when they're being "bad."
> 
> Instead, I use a loud, firm "AH, AH!" because it always seemed to get their attention more, and then it is followed by an actual command which they get rewarded for doing.. So yeah, it is possible to make a dog avoid doing something without using the word "no."


 What is the point of not using the word "no", if you're using another word (or sound) in order to get the same response. You're wanting to get your dog off the counter. You say "no" and a sit command, and reward the sit. Or you say "Ah ah", followed by a "sit" then reward the sit. What is the difference?


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## dogs123 (Feb 17, 2008)

rvamutt said:


> I feel the best way of teaching this is when your pup is doing something you don't like to give a strong firm command (no or ahh) if the dog stops then immeadiately gush and praise and give him a treat if you have one. If he doesn't stop then go and get him and remove him from the distraction. No physical punishment is neccesary because its your fault your dog got in trouble.


thank you! I was missing the part "If he doesn't stop then go and get him and remove him from the distraction"  I'll try that!
As for word 'No' or "Ah-Ah"- I tried to use 'No' because we use 'No' with our other dog. But now I'm not sure if I should use 'No', or pick different word so other dog wouldn't get confused when I'm correcting the puppy...


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

the-tenth said:


> What is the point of not using the word "no", if you're using another word (or sound) in order to get the same response. You're wanting to get your dog off the counter. You say "no" and a sit command, and reward the sit. Or you say "Ah ah", followed by a "sit" then reward the sit. What is the difference?


Because it's not a word. It's a loud sound that I've just always used, that every one of my dogs has always responded to, without me having to teach them what it meant.

The whole point of my post was that the word "no" is overrated, that it's not a "command," and that is IS possible to train a dog without having to teach them what "no" means. Really though, it's what works for that particular dog. If "no" doesn't work, perhaps try something else.


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

Cheetah said:


> Because it's not a word. It's a loud sound that I've just always used, that every one of my dogs has always responded to, without me having to teach them what it meant.
> 
> The whole point of my post was that the word "no" is overrated, that it's not a "command," and that is IS possible to train a dog without having to teach them what "no" means. Really though, it's what works for that particular dog. If "no" doesn't work, perhaps try something else.


I totally agree with whatever works for your dog. I guess I just don't understand people and honestly I do the same thing more than I use no. No for me is used more in the sense of "nooooooooooooooo, I can't beleive you just peed again in the dining room, you just came in and peed outside".


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## Hi there (10 mo ago)

dogs123 said:


> Do you have any suggestions on how to teach 11-weeks old puppy "No" command? I tried saying "no" and giving her treat when she stops, or making some noise after saying 'no', but so far nothing seems to be working - she stops for a second, and then continue to do what she was doing.
> thanks!


Go to guide dogs and their training puppies blog. No is a verbal cue marking "wrong" behavior. Say NO without yelling. Leash on puppy. Pop back on the leash just enough to get the puppy to stop behavior and re direct to you. Then praise and give alternate behavior. No should always be said while behavior is being done and ALWAYS followed by a correction strong enough to stop the behavior. Then praise. No should be used sparingly though. If it's way over used and will then mean nothing. Say it once only and correct. Keep corrections at the intensity needed just to stop the behavior keeping the age of the pup in mind as well. You can also teach a leave it along with a no command. A verbal cue must always be followed by a consequence. Then praise when the puppy responds. U tube McCann dogs and watch how to teach a "Leave it" command.


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

This thread is 14 years old. The OP is long gone. Please feel free to participate in current discussions or start your own thread, but I'm closing this one to further replies.


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