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Old October 25th, 2016, 03:33 PM
Puppymama Puppymama is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 3
Squirt bottle with "no" command.... is it ok?

Hi everyone, I just joined this community to ask a question regarding my 5 month old Beagle pup, Lucy.
I have owned quote a few dogs, and she's the 4th puppy I've adopted (in my life).
My question is in regards to garnering her attention when I say "No!". I have had instances where she's all wound up, playing with her toys, and then she darts and goes after something that will either potentially hurt her (like a power cord), or after her "sister's" face (my other dog, Josie), or something like the curtains (with a good quick tug she could easily rip them).
For the other puppies I've raised, clapping my hands or shaking a can of beans were my go-to's to get their attention when a "no" doesn't work. This doesn't always work with Lucy. I have had a couple spinal fusion surgeries, and I can't always run to her quickly to physically correct her (I'm talking about redirecting her to a toy, removing her and having her sit, etc, not hitting her or anything lol). So about a month ago I had a spray bottle of water in hand, and she went straight from playing with her ball to trying to jump up to grab a dangling power cord. Before anyone says "why was there a cord where she could reach it?", she had bumped into the desk while playing and the cord slumped down about 4 feet from the ground. I said "no!", clapped my hands a couple times, and since I wasn't able to run to her, I sprayed the bottle near her which was enough to break her concentration on the cord so I could practice "no bites" with her and the cord. I was fairly pleased that I had been able to get her attention, so a few days later when she went attacked the curtains and wouldn't listen, I sprayed near her to again get her attention, and again it worked. I think I've done it on one other occasion.
I've been able to bathe her as normal, use spray bottles near her, etc and she doesn't seem to have any anxiety.
But I've read a couple articles from behaviorists that say this is a terrible idea.
Lucy just doesn't respond to any loud noise or any other distraction I can dream up when she's really in that "crazed" mindset, so I'm wondering what you all might think about it, or offer any other suggestions...
I would never repeatedly squirt her in the face for jumping on people or anything, and generally she will listen when I say No. I've only ever done this when I can't get to her quickly or get her attention. BTW she gets regular, long walks each day, plenty of play time, and doesn't have any real behavioral issues besides the occasional "puppy crazies".
Any comment or advice would be so.much appreciated!!!!
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