Puppies crave attention. They have a love for it, they cry for it, and when they get it, they will do anything to keep that attention focused on them. Whether it be negative or positive your puppy is just happy they are getting attention regardless of what kind it might be. All he cares about is getting attention from you.
Let's say that you're trying to have a nice, peaceful dinner, but your puppy keeps jumping up and down, standing like a prairie dog right in front of you to get your attention. When you try to correct him by pushing him down or yelling “Off!”, he just gets more and more excited and continues to jump up and down. He's doing so because you just responded to his behavior.
By yelling at him and pushing him down, you are actually giving him what he wants. You are answering to his needs whether you realize it or not. The response (attention) that you gave him, even though it's not positive, motivates your puppy to keep going because he knows that whatever he's doing is working.
Let's take this example. Your puppy is galvanting around the house. When you notice he has one of your key chains in his mouth. What do you do? You put down whatever task you are doing and chase after him. First, chasing your puppy, in your puppies mind is either you playing with him or he's thinking he has something really good since you want what he has so badly. With this mind process chasing is not registering as a form of discipline. So he will keep on running until you stop or one of you eventually gets tired of playing chase.
Returning a smile to you misbehaving puppy can be seen as simple attention. Acknowledging him while he is committing the unwanted action is giving him the idea that he is doing something right. The reason for this is because puppies think that we are just like them. Therefore, when your puppy gets excited and you respond back by getting excited, whether it is positive emotion or negative emotion, your puppy will think that you are following his lead, which further reinforces his behavior.
The fact that you are upset with your puppy's action does not represent anything to him. You getting excited and using body contact is what he has based his excitement off of. Even if you yell at him and then push him hard, he will most likely stop and walk away. Now the only thing you have accomplished with all of the harsh reactions is your puppy fearing you. It is possible to train your puppy without having to establish fear.
Show your puppy that the way for him to get your attention is through positive behavior. The best time to do this is when he is calm and resting or chewing on a bone peacefully. Slowly go to him and give him a gentle pat or a soft belly rub while whispering a warm praise. Eventually, your puppy will realize that being calm and quiet is what gets him the attention he wants. In turn because of you paying attention to him will end up repeating the behavior.
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