Dog Health Questions: Spray bottles for dog training?

Ok, I am just asking out of curiosity here, but I read a lot of answers recommending spraying a dog in the face or whatever, to train dogs not to do undesirable things. I am not a dog trainer, but I have worked with many. I have never heard any of them say this is a good way to stop unwanted behaviors or train a dog not to dig, bark, chew ect. Does this actually work? If so when would someone employ it? Same thing for rattling a can of pennies or something to startle a dog caught in the act. I thought these techniques were used more for cats than dogs? Myself I have tried the spray bottle with my cats, but should people really do it with dogs? Cats don't care about pleasing their pack leader, and aren't trained like dogs, so seems like there are better ways to deal with problem barking or bad dog behaviors then need to spray them? What do you think? Is a spray bottle a good training tool and if so, why and how should you employ it?

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Spray bottle training is humane IF used correctly. NEVER spray a dog in the face, always aim for neck, shoulders or other body shots. Water in the ears, eyes and nose can injure the dog or cause infection. Using a spray bottle depends on the behavior you are working on, it's best for in home behavior modification. A shake can, is useful every where for distracting a dog from something it's doing or interested in. The goal with a shake can should be to get the dog's focus on you, then reward him for it.

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• penny can...put about a dozen pennies in a pop can and when doggie does something you dislike and you catch him in the act shake the can at him...startles them and they forget what they are doing.
  i've known some dogs that loved the water so much that spraying them would be a treat, not a discouragement.


• i can highly recommend this site, it helped me train my dog


• Both the can shaking and the water bottle are meant to get the dog's attention focused on you so that you can correct the behaviour. They are not meant as a punishment or a form of correction.. just an attention getter.


• I took my dog to Petsmart and they told us to buy a bottle of apple bitter and spray into the dog's mouth when ever you want to discourage them from an undesirable act. The dog will stop. It does work. Also, they encouraged us to do the can of pennies too. I have never tried it as my dog didn't seem to need it. To startle my dog, I just yell "NO" and "OUTSIDE". That was all she needed. I guess some dogs needs a little more than just a yelling, hence the need for canned pennies.


• I don't think you are getting the whole story from wherever you read this.
  Squirt bottles/squirt guns are used to get the dogs attention and break their concentration on what they are doing that is bad behavior, but it should be coupled with some kind of verbal command, such as "no" or a low growl. This gets the dog's attention and tells them that this is not a correct behavior. It works very well. I have used this on seven dogs to train no barking at the front door, as well as keeping a boundary at my front door.
  As far as the pennies go, this is just a concentration breaker. If your dog is barking like crazy, the noise will make him stop and look-you have just succeeded in correcting his behavior!
  
  It is much more involved than what you read. None of these techniques are really negative reinforcement, unless they are used in a cruel manner.


• No in my opinion i say no my dog will just bite at the water she thinks of it as a game the best way to get a dog to learn is to smack it on the nose and chain it up so he/she thinks about it. Or if your dog pees on the carpet hold he/she's nose in it until he/she gets the idea.