Should I ignore my dog after bad behavior?

Ignoring a dog is a good thing, it provides choices for the dog. Ignoring bad dog behavior prevents reinforcement of a behavior. Ignoring an undesirable behavior, such as barking or jumping, will decrease and then extinguish a behavior, if done properly. When a behavior is no longer rewarded, the behavior will go away. Dogs bark for many reasons, and it’s best to ignore the barking behavior while it’s happening. Every time your dog barks, walk out of the room and ignore your dog. When dogs jump up, it’s best for guests or owners to completely ignore them every time. To truly extinguish a behavior, it must be ignored each and every time.

While it might seem counterintuitive, ignoring your dog can sometimes work as a useful training tool. The idea is that when you react to an unwanted behavior, you are actually rewarding the behavior. So ignoring behavior is particularly helpful when what the dog seeks is your attention. By speaking to your dog and reacting to him, you are inadvertently rewarding him with attention—even if it’s negative. Instead, as soon as he exhibits bad behavior, without saying a word, turn your back to him and cross your arms. When he stops the behavior, you can tell him good boy and pet him. If he exhibits the behavior again, turn your back again. Ignoring a behavior may not always work, but it can serve as a trick to keep in your back pocket for when you're dealing with a challenging dog. If he uses bad behavior to get your attention, do the best you can not to enable the behavior.