posted by Tess on Jun 13
The first ten week period of a newborn puppy’s life is the best time to teach a puppy that biting is not acceptable. And training your puppy to avoid an incidence of dog biting is crucial.
This is especially because biting comes naturally to them and it is the easiest form of dog aggression that he can resort to in situations that induce fear, anxiety and aggression. And such training is best done before strong adult teeth take the place of small nibbling ones. Curbing aggressive dog behavior among adult dogs is far more difficult than training puppies.
While training puppies, always remember that physical punishment does not work. Punishment is tantamount to making the dog more resolute in his behavior and in such cases aggression is likely to become a permanent concern.
The approach that you take should clearly indicate to the puppy that you love him but hate the biting habit instead. At the same time you must assume leadership as the dog considers you as part of the pack. Unless he perceives you to be the leader he is likely to let go of aggressive dog behavior easily.
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posted by Tess on Apr 10
Just as you teach appropriate behavior to your children, dogs also need to be trained to behave in an acceptable manner. The difference however is the age at which the training is most effective. While a one year old human baby can hardly be expected to learn more than toilet training, a year old dog is considered to be a teenager. That means dog training should start as soon as he opens up his eyes and starts to recognize the members of what he will later consider as his ‘pack’.
Most dogs and puppies are lovable creatures, adorable, affectionate and sweet. At the same time puppies love to play and Bite each other all the time. If they spend enough time in the litter they learn to control themselves. The reaction of other dogs in the litter ensures that. It is experience that teaches them what is acceptable and what is not.
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posted by Tess on Mar 2
People Training for Dogs: The Dog Whisperer
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posted by Tess on Jan 4
Dog territory marking, dog scent mixing, male spraying, dog marking - it does not matter what you call such bad dog behavior. It may be dog instinctive behavior, but no one wants a dog relieving itself in the house!
Let’s say you have an Aging male dog who, up until now, has been somewhat of a model citizen. You want you new puppy to learn from him so that training will be easier, and the pup will grow up with some social skills.
You bring the new pup home. The old dog tolerates him, but he clearly is not thrilled to have another male in his house. In a situation such as this, we humans feel a bit guilty, and we want to give the old timer extra affection to be sure he does not feel left out.
Instead of reacting emotionally, the best thing to do, in reality, is to allow the dogs to acclimate to one another. Correct the old dog if he is too rough on the newcomer, but surely correct the pup if he is out of line. Balance is the only thing that will bring harmony between two males (actually, any dogs being together need this balance).
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posted by Tess on Jan 2
The objective of crate training your dog is to teach him/her to go into its crate for safety, obedience and behavior control.
Your dog will love the crate with proper training as the crate will act as a den for your dog where it can feel secure and comfortable, the same way dogs like going under tables, sofas, or beds.
Crate training has also been proven that it is a very convenient and effective way to housebreak a dog at the same time as dogs generally do not like to soil on the areas where they rest.
This training can also come in handy when you are traveling with your pet as the crate can be utilized to transport your dog around safely.
Overall, crate training is an effective training method and is often used by many dog lovers, owners and trainers alike.
Choosing A Crate
Selecting a crate depends on whether you have a puppy or an adult dog.
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posted by Tess on Oct 30
Therapy dog training, while important, is something with which many people are not familiar. A therapy dog is one that is used to do animal assisted therapy and activities. Organizations train the dog to help people in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and virtually anywhere people need some sort of therapy. So, then, how do dogs become therapy dogs? It is a fairly simple process.
A Good Citizen
Though the requirements for therapy dog training vary from state to state, it is almost universal that the dog must be certified as a canine good citizen. In order to receive that, you have to train your dog to be focused and well behaved around distractions. Generally your local animal shelter or even a therapy dog training center will have classes available for you to learn how to turn your dog into a canine good citizen.
Classes for Therapy
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posted by Tess on Mar 30
The best thing to do is to start training your new puppy as soon as you get him home. You need to teach your puppy your rules, and how you expect him to behave starting from a very early age.
Every member of your family needs to handle your new puppy often while he’s still learning to wear his collar and leash, eat from his own food bowl, sleep in hid own bed, and come when you call him.
But only one person in your family should be the ‘mother substitute’, who is responsible for training your puppy. However, other family members can still participate in helping to train your puppy.
Here’s A Few Things You Should Be Aware Of:
* You need to eat before your puppy does. In your puppy’s eyes, whoever eats First in the ‘pack’ are the dominant members who are in control.
* You should always use rewards rather than discipline to teach the puppy which activities are right or wrong.
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posted by Tess on Mar 10
Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, must not have owned a dog. If dogs are anything, they are extremely intelligent and can learn many new things given the chance to show you. When training your dog, keep in mind that yelling, hitting, cursing or punishment is uncalled for, as dogs will retreat backwards the more they are yelled at. Besides, you wouldn’t treat a child like that and dogs are essentially just little children with tails and four legs!
The first thing to learn when training your dog to do anything new is to never change your verbal expression, tone or volume. If you say, “come here, boy” then do not change to “Fido, come here”. By doing this, your dog will become confused and it will cause unneeded frustration for both of you.
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posted by Tess on Jan 25
A dog owner contacted me the other day and said, “Adam: I’ve been using your dog training techniques for six months now and Zac, my Labrador /Heeler cross (two years old) is just about an angel now.
The only problem I have is that he digs up the lawn approximately once every two months. I have him on a running lead when I’m not home and this prevents him from digging. However, he is off the lead over night. Most of the time he’s good, but now and again he digs a hole (at night).
I’m reluctant to put him on the lead at night because this is when he goes to the toilet (he can’t go during the day). Can you please provide me with some advice so that I can stop this problem?
Thanks,
Night-Digger
Dear Night-Digger:
Thank you for your comments about my dog training techniques, which I write about at Dogproblems.com.
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posted by Tess on Jan 18
Because your dog lives with humans, he’s going to have to learn to deal with frustration sometimes, because you shouldn’t let things always go his way if you’re to be a responsible dog owner.
Dogs that are strong-willed and confident are more likely to become frustrated when they can’t have something, especially if to them they are the dominant one, and not their owner.
To cure this bad behavior, you’re going to have to set up some situations in which your dog becomes frustrated. You must then wait for him to go through his frustration and eventually calm down. Once he’s calmed down, he’s allowed to get whatever it is he wanted.
You need to remember while you’re doing this, that you can’t react in anyway while he’s frustrated.
Here’s an example of the whole process:
Offer your dog something he wants, often a food reward of a favorite toy will do the trick, and keep it just out of his reach. If he pulls on his leash, or barks, just ignore the behavior.
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