Does rubbing your dog’s nose in pee work, or does it just make dogs scared of their owners and housebreaking more difficult?
There is no evidence to suggest this method works. Dogs who are punished in this way are more likely to avoid toileting within sight of their owners as they learn their owners are unpredictable and scary.
This presents issues because your puppy will be worried about peeing in front of you, even outdoors. This can lead to unsuccessful trips out to the garden, only for your dog to hide from you upon coming indoors and toileting where they shouldn’t.
Dogs do not associate an action with a consequence unless the consequence happens within a few seconds of the behavior, so if you come home to a wet patch and rub your dog’s nose in it, they will make no connection between the two events.
In other words, it is highly unlikely that rubbing your dog’s nose in pee works, or that it will lead to any long-term house training improvements.
Why Is It Bad To Rub Your Dog’s Nose In Their Wastes?
If a dog hates having their nose rubbed in their wastes, she’ll stop going potty on the rug, right?
Even though it’s unsanitary to do this, if your dog is relatively healthy, they probably wouldn’t get sick from it. Dogs regularly eat their own feces, and the worst illness they would get is extended the lifecycle of worms that they already have in their body.
Dogs don’t dislike the odor of their own feces and urine quite as much as we do. For dogs, wastes are an integral part of the way they communicate with others of their own species.
Even so, one of the most effective ways to potty-train a dog is to use a crate. A dog will typically hold their feces and urine while crated because they do not want to soil their sleeping space.
So, rubbing your dog’s nose in their poop might not be as unpleasant as you might expect, though they definitely will not enjoy the experience.
The potentially traumatizing part of this practice is the physical force you’d use to hold the puppy down, and rub their nose into the carpet.
I’m not sure if people are getting more detailed advice about this. Are they restraining their puppy to the point of a struggle? Are they smearing feces all over their own dog’s nose?
It’s horrifying to imagine. I’m trying to remain non-judgmental, and I would hope that anyone who has make this mistake was able to avoid doing it to the point of extreme trauma.
If you were to rub your dog’s nose in their feces right after she had an accident, she will associate going potty on the floor with this bad experience – but she’ll learn that she needs to hide from you, rather than magically figure out that you want her to go potty outside.
If you were to do this long after the accident, it would be even less effective.
The truth is, the biggest lesson your puppy will learn is that you’re scary to be around. As this practice is often done early in the puppy’s life, it builds a relationship based on fear.
When your dog fears you, they don’t know when you’re reaching towards them to pet them – or to force them down.
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There is actually very little scientific research on this topic, as it is generally believed to be an old wives’ tale. Dogs may be more likely to avoid going potty in front of their owners if they are punished in this way.
This method is likely to be ineffective as dogs will quickly learn to associate their owners with punishment. This could lead to further behavioral problems down the road.
RUBBING YOUR DOG’S NOSE WITH ITS URINE? #SHORTS
Never rub a dog’s nose in urine or feces, or punish a dog for an “accident.” This will teach your dog to fear you, and he may hide when he has to “go.” It is not instinctive for dogs to relieve themselves outside; it is only natural for them to not go where they sleep. … It is up to you to train your dog.