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When training your dog, use a shake can to disrupt behaviors you don’t want and positively reinforce the behaviors you do want. A shake can simply consist of a soda that can be filled with some coins or metal screws. This kind of constructive discipline will not harm your dog, it simply distracts him long enough from performing unwanted behaviors because you are teaching him what you want him to do.

Interrupt a barking dog by shaking a tray to teach him to be quiet. credit: pojoslaw/iStock/Getty Images
can create vibration
Using an aluminum soda can or metal dog food can make your shake.
- Rinse the can and allow it to dry completely.
- Fill the canister with 10 to 30 coins, such as pennies, or with small metal nails, screws, screws or washers.
- It should be full enough that the coins swing around inside with a loud bang when you shake them up and down. It should be light enough to carry around during training.
- Seal the top of the canister with duct tape or cover with plastic pet food over aluminum foil. You will find pet food wraps at most pet supply stores. This will keep the coins from falling out when you shake them.
Use constructive discipline
Constructive discipline simply involves marking your dog’s unwanted behavior with an audible correction, recommends trainer Victoria Stilwell on her website Positively.com.
- Loud shaking, much like clapping your hands, can stop your pup from barking excessively, nibbling on enclosed spaces, jumping up on people, or nibbling on things that aren’t allowed.
- The sound won’t scare or harm your dog, but it won’t like it, and it will distract him from whatever unwanted behavior he’s in the midst of.
- Reward him with a treat only when he doesn’t do the behavior you made. For example, give him a series of treats when he’s calm after you just shake the pack, not when he’s barking if you want to discourage excessive barking.
Train your dog with an enclosure
When your puppy does something you don’t want, like barking excessively, it can only be shaken once to stop the behavior. If you shake the enclosure too many times in a row, your penis will quickly become unacceptable to the sound and the training tool will become ineffective, warns the American West Highland White Terrier Club.
As soon as the puppy stops doing what you don’t want, immediately redirect his attention to something you do want. For example, if you don’t want your dog to chew on the sofa cushions, you can shake the box once to distract him when he does, before redirecting his behavior to something acceptable, such as a chew toy. If your dog is eliminating indoors, distract him with a shake and you can bring him outdoors to finish. Reward him for eliminating the outside.
Shake can tips
Some trainers advise throwing the shake in front of the dog to stop unwanted behavior. if you do, Never hit the dog with the pack, which could hurt him and make him fear you.
Stay consistent with your training. Keep some cans around your house so you can correct your dog’s behavior wherever you are.
Once you shake the can, either redirect the behavior to something acceptable or ignore your dog. You don’t want to negatively reinforce unwanted behavior or put pressure on your dog, which verbally or physically reprimanding your dog can do.