Wednesday, February 20, 2013

When and how to use Pet Corrector Spray

This product was recommended to us during our puppy class when Indie was about 3.5 months old as a means to correct behavior problems, such as jumping up or barking.  It is a can of compressed air, similar to what you'd use to clean a computer, except it has a wider nozzle on it so it makes a loud "KOOSH" sound.  However, when I saw it used on a 5 month old puppy at our class I saw the puppy become deathly afraid of the class teacher who had used it. 

We wound up deciding not to use it.  EVER. 

Weeeeeeeeell, that all changed one day when Indie was about 6.5 months old.  We had been having trouble for a few months getting Indie to return the item of interest during fetch.  Instead of bring things back, he wanted to run around with them and try to play keep away and then he would frantically dig holes.  It was majorly annoying.  Actually, I was super pissed about it because we worked so hard on over coming things. We never indulged his chase-me-chase-me ploys, we offered him treats for returned items, we yelled at him when he dug, we ignored him and refused to play when he didn't bring things back, we even had a session with a private trainer.  Ugh.  Nothing was working.  I spent hours in the park using a long line and treats working on the issue.

So one day we were out in the yard working and Indie found a spot, maybe a gofer hole, and started obsessively digging.  I just go pissed and said "You know what you little asshole? I'm f*ing getting the PetCorrector."  I stood about 10 feet away, with the can behind my back, and sprayed it just once.  He was startled, immediately stopped, and ran back over to me.  I was stunned because it totally worked.  He stopped and didn't start again.  The next day my partner was playing some ball throwing with him and brought the PetCorrector.  When Indie was about 30 feet away and doing his whole "I'm not bringing it back" routine, Joe did one blast on the PetCorrector and sho-nuf, the dog comes running back.  He's fetched perfectly since that day.  It was probably a combination of all my hard work showing him what the game was supposed to be, but he needed a very sharp and definite correction that the PetCorrector was able to give us.

Long story short people, 1) use it don't abuse it, 2) use it only on mature dogs, not small puppies under 6 months of age unless they are tough as hell and/or stubborn, and 3) spray it from a distance to start off with.


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