I never insisted anyone ignore unwanted behaviour - merely stated it was my prefered method of training
Yes, I did ignore puddles/poops in the house; alongside positive reinforcement when he got it right - and he was clean in the house within a few weeks
The principle I firmly believe in is that behaviour that is not reinforced will be eliminated in favour of behaviour that is reinforced
Amazingly, there is evidence that *punishment* or *correction* can act as a reinforcer for dogs - so a dog that is pushed off each time it jumps up is more likely to carry on with the unwanted behaviour than a dog that is ignored (no eye contact or verbal interaction) and rewarded when all four paws are on the floor
In situations where a dogs natural behaviour is likely to put it at risk or causes damage, such as chasing livestock or chewing furniture, I would avoid putting the dog in the position where it could display the behaviour in the first place, rather than correct it once it had *failed*.
Much of this behaviour is self rewarding anyway - so it's better that a dog isn't given the opportunity, surely ?
I have a theory that the reason that the number of dogs in rescue centres is ever increasing is due, in part, to the increase in the tendancy of people to anthropomophise and have unrealisitic expectations of their puppies and dogs, which is inevitably going to lead to failure on the part of the dog
Each time the behaviour of a dog is compared to that of a child, it is likely that someone will end up disappointed
Densil - I once believed as you do; as I said, one of the biggest influences in my change of opinon was reading Jean Donaldson's book The Culture Clash - perhaps once you've read it you may understand why