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Dog Training Workshop, and an element of the Dog Science Network
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The Corrective Tap
The corrective tap is one of four punishment procedures recommended by this website. Also known as a smack, nose tap, or nose chuck, the corrective tap consists of the following routine:
- Immediately after your dog emits the target response, go to where he is. Do not call him to you.
- Scold your dog with your unsettling voice, as you proclaim loudly No!
- Then, just a second or so after telling him no, lightly tap your dog on the nose with one or two fingers.
Your nose tap should be more abrupt than simply reaching out and touching your dog. However, it should fall very far short of what any rational person would describe as brutalizing the animal. Somewhere, then, halfway between simply touching your dog and a more forceful act that might somehow hurt the animal, is the sweet spot that we call tapping your dog.
The nose tap, then, should always be far below the threshold of pain, but well above what your dog can simply ignore, because if the animal does not object to your punishment procedure enough to want to avoid it, then, your intervention simply is not going to work.
Always remember that when punishment is on the agenda, you must never call the animal to you. Indeed, to deliver punishment of any kind, you must always go to where the dog is, lest he mistake your dispensation of an aversive as being punishment for having come when called.
Also, keep in mind that a nose chuck may not be necessary with your dog. If you can get results punishing by way of your unsettling voice alone, then so much the better.
Never use this or any other punishment procedure with a dog that might conceivably bite you in response. If in doubt, check with a dog training professional in your area before proceeding.