Friend is wrong to hit her dog?

[antelopevalley]

A friend occasionally hits her dog to "discipline it". She says this is necessary as she has a difficult to control dog that needs to be hit sometimes so the dog knows not to do something again.
I think this is totally unnecessary.
AIBU and too soft?

It's been a while since I trained a dog but there's lots of wonderful new behavioural approaches now, not just about positive reinforcement buy also training in a way that allows the dog to consent.

Hopefully someone will be along soon to name what these new techniques are and I'd be pointing them out to her.

Most people aren't cruel, they just need to learn better ways of training.

But YADNBU

You absolutely DO NOT need to hit a dog to ‘discipline’ it, ever.

All the dog is learning is that if you don’t like something then attack.

Does your friend hit her children so they learn. Does she hit other people if they make a mistake so they learn to do something right next time

Is she mentally challenged or someone who just likes inflicting pain because she thinks she can.

Poor dog. One day the dog will bite back and then be pts.
Anyone who resorts to hitting when training an animal shouldn’t have an animal.

This is not accepted practice .

She is an idiot and knows nothing about dogs or managing behavioral issues

Totally agree with you.

I would be interested in knowing what the breed was and how old.

She shouldn't hit her dog and there are loads of online resources to suggest better ways to control a dog. I would find it hard to be around her to be honest.

If your friend trained her dog properly it wouldn’t need to be disciplined. As a dog owner I find her behaviour disgusting! Let’s hope the dog doesn’t bite her in retaliation because then it will be classed as aggressive when she is the one instigating the violence. Some dogs can bite when anxious and afraid and she is making her dog feel this way.

You never need to hit a dog! Your friend is an uncaring idiot who shouldn't have a dog at all. The dog won't learn anything from her hitting it except that it's scared of her because she hurts it, and one day it will bite back. A responsible dog owner trains their dog to behave well.

You shouldn't hit a dog - how is that every going to lead to getting the best behaviour - they generally want to please you - they might be willing but not the smartest of animals - you have to work with what you have. The more kindness and trust you have the better. Simple things like making them sit and wait after you put their food down, not allowing them to get under your feet when you are putting the food out simply reinforce that you, the owner, are in charge of important things like food. All dogs have their limitations and deficiencies and some traits and behaviours are very difficult to make much progress with - it's not worth getting so wound up with things that you might not be able to change - I think you partly have to embrace your dog for its good and not so good points. If people feel the need to hit their dog I think the real reason it's more likely to be their own sense of frustration and lack of understanding about what is realistically possible - not every dog can be trained perfectly - you constantly have to work on them and with them but they do change and you do make progress - sometimes it's just a lot slower than you would like - some dogs can be trained very well but I don't think you know what you have to work with until you've had your dog a while. Perhaps your friend has the wrong breed - one that does not suit her lifestyle or domestic situation - to me - it certainly sounds like she has the wrong attitude. Very sad to read this. I'd be upset with my friend if I saw this happening and I would say something.

She has a dog that is always featured in the top most difficult dog breeds to train. And her dog is very well behaved and not at all aggressive.

I had a vet friend once, she was vegan homeopathic and an animal psychologist . An owner came to her once with a dog that had been allowed to dominate the home completely and aggressively. My friend was furious with the owner for not having disciplined her dog as a young puppy which meant that there was no way to train the dog other than by physical force so yes I think it must be necessary with some breeds some of the time