Puppy Enforment 101

About two weeks ago, my cousin Lilly got a new labrador puppy. Lilly named the new puppy "Choco" because of his chocolate colored fur. Choco is a very energetic, happy-go-lucky pup with enough energy to wear both Lilly and me. "With a new puppy, comes responsibility and patience," my aunt warned Lilly. Playing with Choco is always fun, but training him is a slow tiresome process. Lilly and I began this "Puppy Enforment 101" course and the first lesson was: Potty Training. Training Choco not to go to the bathroon on the carpet floor was tough. Choco would pee anywhere and everywhere in the house. Lilly, being younger than me, did not like the idea of scolding Choco when he used the bathroom inside the house. She said that it's mean and it hurt Choco's feelings. I explained to her that the only way to teach Choco not to pee on the living room carpet was to first teach him that what he is doing is unacceptable. After Choco had another "accident", Lilly and I used the scolding tactic. Each time Choco had an "accident", we would scold the puppy. We taught Choco that it's ok to use that yard by giving him treats or by praising him when he would follow through. Choco learned that if he peed on the carpet or inside the house, he would get scolded. Obviously, neither human nor animal likes to get in trouble and therefore tries to avoid it. Gradually, Choco no longer used the house as a lawn. Now Choco is fully potty trained! After observing this training course and how Choco reacted to the teaching styles, I realized that rules can exist but they are worthless if no one enforces them. In the article, "What Makes Us Moral" it states, "a sense of right and wrong [is] useless until someone teaches you how to apply it" (Kluger p58). Choco did not know that what he was doing was wrong, until Lilly began scolding him. Through admonishment, Choco gradually learned that using the house as a lawn was not approved by Lilly. Choco must have linked Lilly's disapproval with his actions and began to take his bladder issues outside. In the article, "Is Morality Natural?", Hauser explains " We [humans as well as animals] generally do not commit wrongs acts because we recognize that they are wrong and because we do not want to pay the emotional price of doing something we perceive as wrong" (Hauser p.65). I assure you Choco didn't like to be scolded and didn't like to see Lilly upset, therefore he began to do as he was praised and stopped doing what he was scold. Now Choco is 100 percent potty trained and graduated from the "Puppy Enforcement 101" course! ^_________^