A client in Manly had been rubbing her puppy's nose in an accident for a week, convinced it was standard practice, before Luke Buchanan explained why it was actively making toilet training worse, not better. She'd read it in three different places online. None of them were right, and her puppy's anxiety around toileting had been building the whole time as a direct result.

Luke Buchanan, Owner of The Toe Beans Co and Sydney's Puppy Trainer, hears the same handful of myths on repeat, usually passed down from an older generation of dog ownership or picked up from outdated content online. Here's what's actually wrong with the most common ones.

Myth: Rubbing a puppy's nose in an accident teaches them not to do it again

It doesn't teach location, it teaches fear around toileting in front of you, which frequently makes a puppy start hiding to go rather than stopping the behaviour. Toilet training improves through environment and timing, catching the tells before an accident, not through punishment after one.

Myth: A tired puppy is a well-behaved puppy

Exercise alone doesn't fix behaviour problems, and over-exercising a growing puppy causes joint damage that often doesn't show up for years. A puppy that's wound up rather than tired needs its arousal brought down through calm structure, not more physical activity thrown at the problem.

Myth: Puppies should meet as many dogs as possible, as often as possible

Quality matters more than quantity. One bad interaction, an over-excited adult dog crashing into a puppy, can do more damage to a puppy's confidence than dozens of calm, positive ones do good. Controlled, positive exposure to a small number of appropriate dogs beats an open-slather approach at a busy dog park.

Myth: A puppy that knows a command at home knows it everywhere

Commands are learned in context first. A puppy that sits reliably in the lounge room hasn't generalised that to the park, the vet, or a busy street until it's been practised in those settings specifically. Owners often mistake this gap for stubbornness rather than an incomplete generalisation of the skill.

Myth: Puppies grow out of separation anxiety on their own

Left unaddressed, this pattern typically gets more entrenched, not less, the longer it runs without intervention. Structured, gradual home-alone conditioning changes the pattern. Simply waiting rarely does.

Myth: You should let dogs sort out their own arguments

Some low-level communication between dogs is normal and fine to let play out. But letting a genuinely escalating situation continue "to sort itself out" risks a real fight and a lasting fear response in one or both dogs. Calm, early intervention beats waiting to see how far it goes.

Myth: Treats are bribery and a well-trained dog shouldn't need them

Treats used well are timing and reinforcement, not bribery, and every dog, including highly trained working dogs, responds to some form of reward system. The goal over time is to fade the frequency of food rewards as reliability builds, not to avoid using them from the start out of principle.

Where these myths actually come from

Most trace back to advice that was standard decades ago and hasn't been updated, or to methods that produce a visible short-term result, a startled puppy stops mid-accident, without addressing the underlying pattern. The common thread across nearly all of them: they treat a symptom rather than the cause.

Want a second opinion on advice you've been given?

The Toe Beans Co runs a free SKOOL community where Sydney dog owners get training guides, Q&As, and direct support from Luke. It's free to join.

Join the free community

Upcoming Puppy Schools Across Sydney

Luke runs regular puppy schools right across Sydney, from the Lower North Shore through the Eastern Suburbs and out to Campbelltown. Check upcoming dates and book your spot.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Should I ever use treats for training, or does that create dependence?

Treats are a tool, not a crutch, when used with intent. Fade frequency gradually as reliability builds rather than avoiding them altogether from the start.

Q: My puppy seems fine meeting lots of dogs at the park. Is that actually a problem?

Not necessarily, if every interaction is genuinely calm and appropriately matched. The risk is one bad encounter outweighing many good ones, so quality and supervision matter more than raw quantity.

Q: Is it true puppies just grow out of separation anxiety?

Rarely without intervention. The pattern typically entrenches further the longer it runs, so structured home-alone conditioning is worth starting early rather than waiting to see if it resolves itself.