No shame in my dog's game: Yelling and remorse

I haven't been writing much in the last few weeks. See, my primary purpose here is to relate my experiences as a (relatively) new pet parent in the hopes that people will learn something from me.

The only problem is I've had so much trouble with the dogs that I feel like I have nothing to give you.

Does she mean us, Lulu?

I want to yell it from the rooftop! My dogs are driving me nuts! But does my yelling really matter to them? No! I'll explain why in a moment.

What's happening? They won't stop peeing and crapping in the house! And that's just the biggest problem.

Lulu is easier to deal with -- she just needs to get used to the new grounds. It's taking her longer to find the right spot. But she finds it eventually.

You call this easier? She rolls in the grass!

 Jasmine, on the other hand, has never been properly trained. She has something of a routine: Mom would wake up at 5, feed her and Buster in their crates around 6, and let them outside. And they would stay outside until Dad was ready to let them in before going to work. When they got home, the dogs would go out, sometimes hours at a time.

That's way different from my schedule: I wake up around 8, take them out on a walk, then feed them. And Jasmine won't follow that plan.  She won't go to the bathroom until she's been fed. And if I leave her in the crate while I walk Lulu, she'll just go there. And she doesn't tell me if she has to go!

Is that a dog in your iPad?

 And every time I find her mess I want to yell and scream at her, but what's point?

See, I yell to release frustration. I yell because my dog has pissed me off.

But what do they hear?

All the dog knows is they're being yelled at. If you're yelling because they JUST pooped on the carpet, they MIGHT know they messed up. But then how do you remedy it? Putting their nose in it is useless, trainers say. Immediately take them outside, but by then they've already gone.

If your dog pooped even 10 minutes before you find it, they won't even know why they're being yelled at, likely. A dog has maybe a 10 to 20 second short term memory.

And you can forget about remorse. Numerous studies have found that sad guilty look as little to do with their actions and everything to do with the tone of your voice, the energy your throwing off.

Again.

 

So... there's no point in yelling.

On Saturday, Jasmine starts class. We hope to iron the issues out. But what do you do when your dog is so stubborn that the usual measures to find a routine don't seem to work?