Dog Health Questions: Dog training meathods?

I have a 6 month black lab puppy, and he has recently found that he can jump up high enough on the counter to grab down food. He has managed to turn on the hob doing this, therefore setting a chopping board on fire! However last night he pulled down some butter, and my dad got VERY annoyed, it was the widest i'd seen his eyes go. He is very traditional about dog training with choke chains (which he got for our old dog, and granted it did work, but we wont let him with the pup), kicking the pup :( and as i found out last night rubbing the dogs nose in butter. I shouted slightly, as we have watched and read hundreds of things that have said that it doesn't work.
So the general question is what ideas do you guys have on training techniques. I don't think its necessary (note the shouting) and my parents are being very hypocritical about it. But what IS the best way?

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Recommended Answer:
Please contact your local kennel club. They can refer you to a reputable trainer. You said that your Dad kicked the dog. That is totally unacceptable. If he's that mean, you need to find the poor dog a new home.

Dog Training: Communicate With Your Dog Using The Call Command

• For every 10 people you ask, you will get 10 different answers!
  For me personally, I use a slip collar (yes, they are referred to as choke chains, but will not harm the dog if used properly and not left on the dog when the dog is alone). Along with this, a firm voice for commands and corrections, and a lot of verbal and hand praise when the dog is right. A lab is a very high energy dog, and needs a lot of exercise. A tired dog is a happy dog (and an obedient one).
  
  Make sure the dog is getting a lot of walks, play fetch, etc., as often as you can.
  
  Do not rub the dog's nose in anything, be it butter, or poop, or anything else. the dog lives for the moment, and unless you can catch the dog actually in the act of doing something wrong, a correction even a minute later is too late. the dog does not associate your anger with the act of what they did.
  
  For the counter, put a leash on the dog, even on their buckle collar. As soon as they start towards the counter, give the leash a firm "snap" and refocus the dog on something else. Never allow the dog to get within about a foot of the counter. If they can never get close to it, they will stop trying.
  
  When you cannot watch the dog, keep them blocked out of the kitchen.
  
  It will take time and patience. Yelling is something dogs do not understand - a firm one or two word "no" or "leave it" will go much farther than yelling will.


• I would use a squirt bottle with some lemon juice in it or a penny can.You could also place a motion activated device or toy up on the counter and see if the noise scares him away. Or do not let him in the kitchen to begin with.


• be stern with him and put him in his crate when he does something bad. Stern does not mean shouting. Shouting tends to make things worse, as the dog is sensitive to your tone. Hitting will make it even worse. Stern talknig and crating works.


• Well first a puppy/dog shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen, so you should probably get a child gate to block him out of the kitchen. It is for safety and sanitation that they shouldn't be there. For 'no jumping" I say "no jumping" lift the legs off me/the counter, and dance the puppy backwards. When the puppy sits, I say "good boy" I do this until I win the battle. They don't like to be danced backward, so it doesn't take long. You have to let them know what behaviors you allow, and which ones you don't allow, and remember to praise them when they do good, so they keep doing good. The problem with extreme methods is that they backfire on you. So say you yell at a puppy for having an accident and then put the puppy outside. You thought you taught the puppy not to potty in the house, what the puppy learned is that it got yelled at and put outside, so outside becomes the place he doesn't want to go again. You have to think like a puppy.


• As a long time dog trainer, your story broke my heart. What a cruel, senseless way to treat an innocent animal. Personally, I'd never allow these people alone with any animal.
  
  I would offer you links to some of my online training articles, but I'm afraid I have grave concerns for the welfare of this dog. It sickens me that there isn't a police car coming to your home right now to arrest these people.
  
  I've trained dogs for 30 years and was an aggression specialist for over a decade. The dogs I worked with were some of the most difficult and dangerous dogs imaginable. Yet I NEVER ONCE yelled at them, much less struck them!?! You don't get anywhere being vicious to an animal. I think one of the reasons I was so successful (and so quickly with each dog) was because *I* was TRUSTWORTHY.
  
  Well, here's an introduction to dog training:
  
  http://www.goodpooch.com/MyGoodPooch/tra…
  
  Please, either keep these people away from that poor dog while you train it yourself, or find it a better home. Please.