To hurt a puppy feels like punishing a baby. In fact , nobody spanks a baby. Which will only lead to the adult feeling bad when the baby starts crying. Like puppies, puppies won't learn from punishment. Just like everything you do with a small baby is intended to let it feel loved, protected and close to you, the way your treat a new puppy may affect the way that dog views you for whole relationship.

The only thing you will achieve by punishing a puppy is to make it afraid of you. If you smack a puppy, even gently, all it knows is the pain of the strike and the fear it feels at that moment toward you. It's too inexperienced to comprehend the idea of wrong and right, so it does not learn.

If your little puppy is chewing on something for example, and you punish it with even a light tap, naturally it will potentially stop what it's doing. It's stunned and possibly feels discomfort from the smack, and now feels very scared of you. It doesn't link the punishment with what it was doing, though, and has no method of forecasting when it would be punished next.

Screaming at the dog can also do damage to your relationship. A puppy will certainly stop what it's doing when you startle it with a shout. But again, it doesn't know that the screaming the its actions are linked. your puppy may even be afraid of the irritated tone of your voice.

Punishing a puppy like this can only make it think that you are mean and make it terrified of you. It doesn't see why you frighten it, so it will not trust you. This can keep the young dog from ever really warming up to you, and you will be unable to have a good relationship as the puppy grows.

Some dogs are extremely passive, and will respond to you in an exceedingly defeated way. Your dog might stay in line all of the time, only out of fear, but it won't ever trust you. More stubborn dogs will feel threatened by you, so will resist your authority. If your dog thinks that it should be the leader of the pack, you have a massive behavioral problem in your hands.

At the least, you will not have as good a relationship with your dog as you could have.

Just as you would do with a very little child, use delicate correction when your dog does something he shouldn't do. A firm tone and delicate movements are sufficient to get a dog to stop without frightening it.