What are good ways to discipline a dog?

I think you are on the right path, Applying positive reinforcement is always going to ultimately win over all other methods. Though its important to know if you are applying positive reinforcement and using negative reinforcement to 'put your point across' it has to be the right method for your dog.

It's seem the squirt bottle is not the one - though make sure you are using the squirt bottle in a way she cannot see it. It's main target is to stop the behavior for an INSTANT so you can apply the positive reinforcement for the correct behavior. For instance, say she is jumping up on the counter to grab something. Grab the bottle, squirt her face (not eye) with water, the moment she either looks at you, direct her to get 'off' then reward her when she has all four on the floor.

I don't see the actual behaviors listed of what you want to correct, so I can't give you much help with your question unless you explain what it is you want to discourage.

Though a very powerful negative 'punishment' would be removal of the stimulus. So for instance - what ever it is she is doing that is undesired, the instant she preforms that behavior you should remove yourself (or item) that is stimulating her. She learns that 'games over' and you're not messing around. Then apply the positive reinforcement by giving another chance until she understand what you are trying to communicate. It's very important you end on a successful note!! Email if you need more help.

Good luck!

Do not discipline the dog. Dogs don't understand discipline.

When the dog does something you want her to, give her lots of praise. When she does something you don't want, interrupt the behavior. Physically stop the dog, and say "No", in a firm voice. Then, direct the dog to something that you do want. For example, if you want the dog to come when you call them, you'll have to train them on a lead first. Give the command, and then pull the dog gently towards you, while repeating the command. If she doesn't want to obey, either by pulling away, or trying to run off, you hold the lead in place, say "No", and after a moment, repeat the command. Keep in mind, puppies are babies, with all the mental abilities of a baby. If the puppy is just being distracted, they really can't help it much. For this reason, you must be consistent in your training, and your treatment of the animal.

Dogs learn through repetition and reinforcement, not punishment. If you strike a dog, you will teach it to fear you. If you put the dog in their crate when they misbehave, you'll teach them to hate, and fear the crate, and the dog's crate is supposed to be a safe, comforting place for them. Negative reinforcement only works when you can explain the need for the punishment - and dogs have a limited command of human. You're never going to be able to reason with a dog, and that's why you should not punish them.

I have two dogs of my own actually. one from a breeder, who we have had since he was a pup, and another from a pet store, and we trained them the minute they got home.

The trick with dogs is, since they understand only the basics of english (sit, down, heel, etc) you have to use your tone of voice as an indicator of what is wrong and what if right, much like canines them selves do in the wild and in civilisation, to communicate with other dogs (e.g., growling, barking, yelping, etc).

This means, that when your puppy has done something bad, you need to growl in a low tone voice (and if they have damaged an object, eg chewed on a shoe, wave it in front of them) and stand up strait. this will tell them that you are the ingest, alfa being and they will usually cower by bowing thier head and/or sitting or crawling away. make sure that you do this only when something bad had occurred, and do not change feelings too soon after, as this will confuse the dog and make it think hat destroying stuff is a good behaviour.

i really hope this helps and solves your puppy problem!

Much depends on the personality of your dog and the behaviors you want to correct. Sounds like she's pretty eager to do the right thing but, of course, dogs will be dogs and push the boundaries when they can. A lot can be done with noises (like shhh, uh uh, uh oh, etc.). Sometimes hand gestures can be effective. My two dogs will sit, stay, lie down, etc. with just a hand gesture. I have learned a lot from Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer. You might check out his website at www.cesarsway.com. His books and TV show episodes are sometimes available at local libraries. I think you'll find your answers in his material.

Negative punishment is generally the nicest and most effective. "Negative" in this case means "take something away" to make a point to the dog. Obviously, positive reinforcement is the way to train a dog, through rewards of treats, toys, and fun, but in the case that your dog is misbehaving, sometimes negative punishment can be used if necessary, as long as you're not being excessive.

So, say your dog was refusing to listen to you or being bad, you could take away their freedom for a minute by putting them in their crate or another room for a quick time out. Even after 30 seconds of being put away, and most dogs come out excited to see you again and ready to learn (or behave better if you had put them away for doing something bad).

Another example would be if you were playing with your dog and they were biting your pant leg, or jumping up on you out of excitement and you didn't want them to. A negative punishment for this would be to take away the fun simply by walking away and ending the play session. Or if your dog isn't paying attention to you, you could take yourself away by silently storming out of the room. This usually gets their attention. Just make sure to stay calm and never get angry. You don't want a dog who's afraid of you.

There really aren't any negative reinforcements for dogs. I read this in a book and tried it with my dogs and it worked well, they all listen. Whenever she is doing something she isn't supposed to do, correct and give her a treat, something bite size so she gets instant gratification. If she is doing things like chewing, you simply take what she is chewing, tell her no, and replace it with one of her toys and tell her that the toy is hers to play with. It's going to take some time to get her 100% obedient. But if you start disciplining her, she is going to start getting scared of you and then she's not going to want to be around you.

It just takes time, and patience. Unless you catch her in the act, she isn't going to connect her bad behavior with the punishment. I had good results though with chewing. I would yell my head off.....not at the dog, but at whatever she'd chewed up. I've yelled at slippers, sneakers. and throw pillows. And I mean yelled. Took 4-5 times, but now the cat doesn't even chew on anything!

Try crate training, or a squirt bottle with a water white vinegar mix.

Adding the vinegar to the water makes it bad a 50/50 mix.

give her a little swat on the butt and say NO in a stern voice, don't hit her too hard or she will be scared of you. I do not reccomend beating because that is cruel just a little hit and make sure you have a certain voice for when she is misbehaving!! So she knows she does not want to hear that voice. Hoope this helped