how to train your dog

If you treat your dog as an equal it may well see it as an opportunity to challenge your position. For example, be aware that allowing your dog onto the couch, bed, etc will give it the leeway that it needs to be able to challenge your position as the alpha dog in the relationship. This behavior change may occur quite gradually, without you even noticing it, until your dog starts showing aggressive tendencies when you try to move it.

Adolescent Dogs

Most dogs go through an adolescent period when they reach six months and this usually lasts until they are 14 months of age. However, the exact age of adolescence does vary between breeds and individual dogs. Be aware that this adolescent period can be characterized by behavior changes in your dog. De-sexing will help resolve these issues.

You should reprimand your dog for unacceptable behavior, no matter what that behavior is. If you do not reprimand your dog’s poor behavior then it will feel that it has the right to behave that way and it will take much longer to correct the behavior. What I recommend you do the next time your dog acts poorly and exhibits dominant tendencies (such as growling) is throw a heavy blanket over your dog and be sure to reprimand it. DO NOT yell, as this has no effect on the dominant dog.

Undertake the following techniques to re inforce your status as alpha dog:

If you come across your dog while she is sleeping or lying on the floor then you can re inforce your position as alpha dog by making her move so that you can pass by.

Generally I do not recommend people giving their dogs bones as this can encourage (possessive) aggression (in the wild the alpha dog would be the only one to have the privilege of chewing the bones). The reason your dog growls at you when you approach it with a bone is because it believes that it has the right to the bone and is trying to discipline you for challenging your dog for its dominant role.

Make sure that you always go through doorways first. A good method to re inforce your position as alpha dog is to walk your dog around the house on the leash, making your dog wait while you walk through doorways first.

At mealtimes make sure that she eats after all of the humans have.

Do not feed your dog tidbits or let her pester you at the table. Save the morsels and tidbits for training sessions instead.

Do not greet her straightaway when you arrive home. Make her wait until you are ready and then call her to you.

When she wants to go outside for a walk, make her sit and wait until you are ready to go.

Do not inadvertently re inforce poor behavior from your dog. You must be consistent. For example, if she is allowed to jump on you when you are playing with it but is not allowed to jump up at any other time, she will be unable to understand the difference.

Once you and your roommates have followed the above techniques, you should notice a distinct difference in the behavior your puppy exhibits to everyone in the household. This will definitely help with the talking back and barking when you tell her off, and most likely the jumping and chewing objects also. However there are other methods we can use to help get your puppy out of these particular behavioral problems.

With regards to jumping and lunging, there are a few techniques you may wish to try – some of which you may have already tried. I would recommend not really trying these methods until you have undertaken the alpha dog techniques described above for a couple of months. After this time you may wish to begin with this other training.

Your puppy should not be allowed to jump in any situation. This means that she should not be allowed to jump on family members OR strangers. If you allow her to jump up at home, she will not realize that jumping on strangers is inappropriate. Next time she goes to jump on you, move quickly towards her, then as she moves back to prevent being stepped on, tell her to sit, and praise her for obeying.

Or when she begins to jump, totally ignore her, don't even look at her. Cross your arms, and look at the ceiling. When she eventually calms down, ask her to sit then praise her. You could attach her leash, then if she jumps, tell her "Off" firmly, then give a sideways pull on the leash, so that she loses her balance, and falls down to all four paws. Praise her quickly so that she associates being on all fours with your praise. Your roommates should join in so that she knows not to jump on anyone – not just yourself.

As for chewing here are some important points to help you curb the behavior:

You will have to spend quite a lot of time doing corrective training with your puppy

You will need to reprimand your puppy effectively when you can catch her chewing (or performing any other destructive behavior)

You will also have to restrict your puppy’s access to chewable things when you are not around to control it

You can train your puppy to recognize that chewing anything but its toys is unacceptable, however the minute you are not around, the puppy is instantly the alpha dog and can do whatever it wants.

Spend some time every day, quietly following your puppy, so that she believes she is alone and free to do as she pleases. The aim being that you want to catch her in the act.

Startle and reprimand her as soon as she starts to chew on something. The best way to do this is verbally, or by shaking a can (like a soda can) of pebbles to startle her. Give your dog time out in another room or an area where there is nothing for her to chew. When you are away, restrict access to your roommates' rooms, and always give her plenty of her own toys to keep her busy chewing on good stuff.

Because she is so young you shouldn’t have any problem training her out of the behaviors you have been seeing recently. Be sure to reward all good behaviors as well as reprimanding bad ones. It will take time, patience and persistence to overcome these problems, but you will make a breakthrough relatively quickly in this case if you follow all the steps and stick to them. 

dog bed covers

There was a couple who adopted Bella, a Black Labrador. She was well-mannered and well-loved. For over a year, the dog was allowed to sleep on the bed. Then the wife bought a set of satin sheets, which she had been saving up for. She decided they were too nice, too delicate, and too expensive, to become “dogified” (a term that describes all the things that make you know a dog’s been there, including dog hair, dog drool, dog dirt, and that distinctive dog smell), and no longer wanted the dog jumping up.

So what could they do? They were told that this would confuse the dog. And this is certainly true. But in my email to them I also explained that their pet’s confusion is no reason to avoid the satin sheets they dearly wanted, and that the wife shouldn’t feel bad about her decision. After all, there are plenty of confusing things that dogs must adapt to that we can’t control or simply don’t realize.

However, I told them that taking away the dog’s privilege was not the problem, but doing so without in some way offsetting it with something else was. In other words, before the switching the sheets, they needed to provide Bella with a great new deluxe dog bed. In addition, they had to do some training to make Bella believe that it was just that!

This involved praise and reward when she went to it, either on her own or when asked. I also told them to spend some time hanging out right around the dog bed with Bella, even if the bed is placed near their existing bed, so that she didn’t feel like she’s been banished from the only social spot of the room.

The introduction of the dog bed was accompanied by a training regime in which Bella was asked “Off” the bed each time she was found there, and interrupted with a sharp “Uh uh” when she looked like she was approaching it. Through some patience and repetition, Bella figured it all out in a couple weeks and, to the delight of the wife, all before they upgraded their bedding.

The added benefit of this arrangement is that the dog develops a better sense of her own personal space. Oh, and as for the dog bed itself, it was truly deluxe. In fact - and I kid you not - they lined it in satin!

how to train a dog

For parents, children are a small menace who can be difficult to predict and control. For dogs, children are a medium-sized menace who can be difficult to predict - but a menace they rely on parents to control.

In order to avoid your dogs aggression in the company of your children, there are several important rules to put down. Basically, owners need to train their kids on behalf of their dog.

No tug of war or “contest” games. Certain play activities encourage an elevate dog aggression responses, as they trigger the “prey instincts” of dogs. It may look cute when puppies thrash a stuffed toy, jerking their head from side to side. But this is a hangover from when wolves had to snap the spine of their protesting prey.

 Tug of war, in particular, also encourages the dog to assert its strength and dominance by way of a contest. These games are a bad idea for kids.

Don’t push a playful or jumping dog. Dogs respond to this force as a further engagement of play. They are hardwired to respond to this force with an equal and opposite force. Translation: they will push back. 

In situations where you want a dog to stop jumping, the child needs to make sure they are calm enough to avoid encouraging the behavior, which is where is gets tricky 

when the high-pitched giggling, squealing, or even crying kicks in. High-pitches are music to an excited dog’s oversensitive ears. You’ll need to work with the whole family on having commands to interrupt this behavior (such as “Down” or “Ouch” followed by ignoring or physically separating child from dog).

Don’t touch tail or paws. Dogs can’t see what’s behind them. If something is pulling on their tail, even if it’s just a curious tug, they will respond quickly and firmly, often with their mouth open and primed. Kids don’t have tails.

 That’s why they’re curious about them. It’s up to you to make them cautious as well. The same goes for their paws. They are over-protective of their paws since back in their pack hunting days they were the means to their survival.

Don’t have attack commands, even for fun. The command “Sick him” should not be part of your children’s vocabulary, whether it is directed at a squirrel or the bully down the road.

After you’re done with basic training for your children, there are a few tips you should give them when dealing with other people’s dogs, which after all is where a lot of dog aggression problems start:

Always ask the owner first if you can say “hello” to their dog.

When you do greet a new dog, it’s always best to pet “underhand” with your hand first making contact under the dog’s jaw. This is a non-threatening contact that allows the dog to see your hand (and what it’s doing) at every point.

Never pet or even approach a dog tied up on its own, however nice it may appear. Dogs that are tied up can easily feel “cornered” by an approaching child or group of children, and will act defensively.

Avoid head on, direct eye contact. For dogs this can be a sign of confrontation or challenge.

Kids love to teach other kids what they know. You’ll find that if you start with a few simple rules, the knowledge will spread and we’ll have a safer relationship with kids and canines.

stop cat spraying 

dog behavior

You can find everything from doggy psychiatrists to aroma therapy for treating separation anxiety in dogs. And, as per our pill-popping culture, there are of course medications you can ask your vet about. But this option is not advisable, at least not before a concerted effort has been made to address the behavior through training.

Training involves a combination of methods, including: 1) desensitizing your departure cues, 2) toning down your departures and arrivals, and 3) staging a series of absences that gradually increase the duration they are left alone.

Crate training also plays an important part in addressing your dog’s separation anxiety, and helps to keep your house safe in the meantime. However, what it might not do is keep your dog safe from itself, since severely anxious animals can rub their nose raw or tear up their paws on the crate door. You’ll have to follow a gradual training regime to introduce this method without making things worse.

1) Rehearse Departure Cues:

Your anxious dog will sense any act or routine you initiate as you prepare to leave. Putting on shoes and picking up keys are the most common examples. These actions are like triggers for your dog’s uneasiness.

It has been shown to help your dog adjust to absences when these cues are “desensitized” – that is, you can break the association with these actions with you disappearing for a while. This is easy. Simply go through the motions of putting on your shoes, picking up keys (or whatever it is that clues in your dog to your departure) without actually leaving. The repetitive act, newly coupled with the outcome of ‘owner not leaving,’ will calm your dog and eventually allow them to pay less attention to these routines when they do mean you have to leave for real.

2) Tone down arrivals:

Obviously, everyone loves a wildly enthusiastic welcoming committee every time you walk in the door. But with a dog with separation issues, your ecstatically happy reunion repeatedly sends the message that, yes, this is a HUGE deal, huge enough to feel like it’s been years since you saw each other last, and could be years until you see each other next!

Extra happy returns will not cure separation anxiety; rather, they will make it worse. You need to resist the urge, and it is even advisable to ignore overexcited pets for a few minutes until they regain some degree of composure.

I trained one dog with a jumping problem and a mild case of separation anxiety. After we let him blow off a bit of steam and do a few cartwheels, he had to sit down before being rewarded with a greeting. Also, the owner would always kneel down to greet his friend, which not only helped with the jumping, but also allowed the exchange to take place in a more controlled and civil manner, and ‘on the dog’s level.’

3) Stage Exits:

Conditioning your dog to be alone, and to be comfortable without you, is the goal. It is necessary to budget time to undertake this training process. You will have to stage exits. That is, practice leaving him first, confined to another room in your house for a few minutes with you at home; next, getting used to very short exits and entrances – as short as a minute or two at first; then finally for incrementally longer absences.

You will NOT be able to leave your dog alone for longer than you have successfully “staged” with practice. Try crate training or arrange for a dog sitter in the meantime to make sure you are not taking two steps back with every step forward.

TIP: I’ve had success in some cases standing just outside the door after I’ve departed, then, upon hearing the anxious behavior – whining, crying, or scratching the door itself – I gently talk to the dog and let them know that what they’re doing is inappropriate. It not only corrects the behavior on the spot, but helps them understand that you don’t vanish when you walk out the door.

Finally, in the long run, time IS on your side. Dogs will learn that you’re always coming back, whether you’re leaving them in the car or a few minutes while running an errand, or in the house for an afternoon. They will grow in confidence as they grow in maturity.

In the meantime, some things to do and keep doing:

• Exercise – it’s my answer for everything I’m told, but it sure helps most everything
• Personal activities – remember, they’re dogs. They enjoy chewing on things. Give them something to chew on. If they’re left inside, switch on the radio.
• Visits – try to arrange short visits from friends if you work long hours. (The great thing about having a very sweet and very obedient dog is that everyone WANTS to see them)

I wish you and your dog the happiness of many (un-anxious) departures and (low-key) returns in the future!   read more      

How to Stop Your Cat Peeing Outside the Litter Box

Excessive Barking: What It Means and How To Cope

There are guaranteed to be some occasions when your dog's barking is going to be inconvenient, but this doesn't mean that you have to view your dog's vocalization as an intolerable irritation. You could choose to look at it more constructively: your dog is trying to communicate with you. In order to cope with and control excessive barking, you need to understand what the reason is – and 

then take steps to remove the stimulus.

Different Barks & Their Circumstances

If you can spend some time watching your dog, you'll find there's a fair bit to be learned about the different barks he uses and why he's using them. If you can learn to recognize these and then pair them with the circumstances in which they typically occur, so much the better.

• 
  
• Boredom. This is a major problem for a lot of dogs. Some can handle being by themselves for long periods of time (for example, the average working day), but the truth is that it's really hard on most dogs. Barking is something your dog can do to relieve the boredom, and to give himself something to do. A dog barking out of boredom or loneliness will usually do so repetitively and with little alteration in frequency, tone, or volume.
• 
  
• Toilet-call. Most dogs will show their need to go outside by pacing, circling, sniffing the ground, and whining; a lot will sit by the door or pace restlessly back and forth. The type of bark that accompanies this behavior is usually a single short, sharp imperative (repeated if you don't take action the first time round).
• 
  
• Dinner-time: this is similar to the toilet-call bark (the motive is similar: your dog thinks that you need to be made aware of something). He will probably be racing around energetically, interspersing the barks with little pleading whines and jumps.Excited barking is an expression of joy: your dog's happy about something and needs to let the world know. You should be able to tell by the circumstances and his body language (tail waving, mouth open and panting, front elbows touching the ground, rear end up in the air), but happy-barking is also higher-pitched than usual.
• 
  
• Warning barking is almost always a husky baying noise – your dog is trying to make himself sound bigger and meaner than he actually might be. Even the smaller breeds, which are physically incapable of producing anything more menacing than shrill yapping, will lower their tone as much as possible. This is usually accompanied with raised hackles, and a tense “I-dare-you” posture: leaning forward, tail stiff and twitching, ears pointing forward or back.

Coping With Excessive Barking

Sufficient exercise and companionship take care of about 95% of irritating-barking cases. If your dog's still barking after you've ruled out the obvious, you'll need to employ some tried-and-true tactics for controlling this habit.

Tips for Curbing Barking:

• Never reward barking. You need to teach him that barking is no longer an effective communication tool. If you dog is barking, he must get no attention – period – until he stops. Don't touch him, talk to him, feed him, or look at him.
• 
  
• Teach the “enough” command. When your dog starts to bark, break his attention quickly: call him to you, and say firmly “Quiet”. The moment he stops barking, treat him profusely.
• 
  
• Remember to allow him to vent: you can't expect your dog to stop barking altogether. You need to be realistic and allow him the chance to get a few good barks out before you quiet him.
• 
  
• You need to redirect his energy into a different channel. Tell him to “quiet”, and then get him to sit or lie down. It's important that you give him something else to do. Treat him when he obeys you.read more here    

                           

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