Housetraining your dog can be very frustrating for any dog owner. Coming home from work or walking into a room and finding a mess on the floor might tempt you to show your dog up close and personal that what he did was wrong. However, there are several reasons why you should never, ever do this!

Your Dog Won't Understand What He Did Wrong

We as human beings enjoy a very advanced ability to reason and put complex concepts together. Dogs don't have this ability, however. A dog lives his whole life in the present moment. When your dog has eliminated on the carpet and you find it an hour later (or even a few minutes later), it is already too late for punishment. You see, dogs connect punishment and reward with whatever they are doing in that very moment. Punishing your dog after the fact will be very confusing to him, because he won't understand what he was doing that very moment that caused you to punish him. Consider your dog thinking the following thought:

I have just been punished for having a bowel movement on the living room rug, therefore it stands to reason that I should have eliminated outside on the grass instead. I accept that punishment and will endeavor to eliminate in the proper location next time.

Seems pretty silly to believe your dog has that much ability to reason, doesn't it? Yet that's exactly what you expect your dog to think when you punish him after the fact for something you never properly trained him to do in the first place!

Remember: Dogs don't associate "right now" with 5 minutes / 30 minutes / 2 hours ago.

You'll Send Your Dog the Wrong Message

Since having one's nose shoved into a pile of smelly feces or urine is incredibly unpleasant, your dog will come to believe that the very presence of the excrement is the problem, and will find ways to avoid having it discovered. This means either developing a habit of eating the feces (known as coprophagia), or eliminating in hidden places such as under the bed, in the closet, or in rooms you aren't likely to visit as often. Hardly the result you were hoping for.

It's Disgusting, Unsanitary, and Cruel

While dogs don't have the acute deductive powers of humans, they aren't stupid, either. Dogs are highly intelligent, sensitive creatures they just learn and associate differently from humans. You, at one time, had to be taught (through no small amount of patience and consistency) the appropriate place to relieve yourself. You also had to learn the self-control to hold it when necessary. Your parents didn't shove your face into your dirty diapers as a way of teaching you to use the toilet so why would you subject your canine companion to such a thing?

Also, keep in mind that urine and feces are waste products full of bacteria and potentially harmful substances, and your dog's nose is a highly sensitive organ, consisting of delicate tissues and membranes. You could be inviting all manners of infection and discomfort by rubbing your dog's nose in his own waste.

In summary, this type of punishment will NEVER work better than consistent, proper methods of housetraining and in most cases it will just make things much, much worse. Your dog loves you and trusts you don't abuse that trust and subject him to such unnecessary cruelty.