The main ways a puppy will play with another dog or puppy are chasing, wrestling, and biting.

When your puppy eventually becomes separated from his littermates, he will most likely carry on his playful behavior with you and your family members. This is often the cause for most puppies trying to bite our hands, or clothing. This behavior usually happens when your puppy is excited and wants to play, rather than a sign of aggression.

You see, to your new puppy, play biting is a very exciting game. Usually when us humans are bitten by a puppy we squeal and pull away. But to your puppy, this makes the whole thing even more exciting, and makes him want to chase us.

This might not be a huge problem now, but if your puppy continues the same behavior until adulthood, his bites will become more painful, and could cause us bruising, even though he only means to be playful.

Some breeds of puppy are more likely to play bite than others. Terriers are often more likely to play bite, as they like to play rough with their littermates when they are young.

I am looking into ABC (Animal Behavior College) to study dog training. I was wondering if I can specialize in training puppies and therapy dogs? Is there a demand for this?

Dear Fellow Dog Lover,

I assume you love your dog, or you probably wouldn’t be reading this. But, looking at your “battle-field” of a yard filled with holes sometimes makes it tough to love your dog like you want to. You look out the window, and there he is digging like crazy, for no apparent reason. As if there is something buried there that he HAS to have right now! My Border Collie used to drive me nuts!

So, I started checking around. Calling every dog expert I could find trying find someone who knew the answers. Then, Bingo! I found a trainer in who actually had some ideas.

He said most dogs don’t dig for no reason. They smell something that intrigues them and compells them to dig. It could be many things. From moles to mold.

In my case it was mold from an old decaying tree stump just under the surface. “Buster” had dug a virtual “foxhole” around the area.

Here’s what I discovered. First, there are some commercial products you can by like “Keep Off” and “Repell” and I had some success with them. But, they soon loose their effect. Either they simply wear off, or get washed away by rain, etc. But the attraction to dig remains.

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Excessive Barking (Part 4): How To Use A Water Gun To Quiet Your Dog

If your dog is an excessive barker and literally keeping you and the neighbors up at night, you have the responsibility to take a little time and properly communicate to your dog that it is not okay to bark for no apparent reason. The key to such communication and effective dog training lies within a few simple techniques, one of which we will touch up on below.

The Water Gun Method

The water gun method is the most effective trick for training a large percentage of dogs. It is the easiest, and the most humane way of getting your point across. For an investment of just the few dollars, combined with a little imagination and some water, there can be quiet for you, peace or your neighbors, and a calm demeanor for your dog.

Remembering that dogs learn by associating their actions with pleasing or displeasing results, resolve to give your dog at least six to seven days of proper training for his excessive barking. In cases of these types of barking problems, it really does take about a week for your dog to get the point.

Dog Leash Introducing The Flexi-Lead, My All Time Favorite Dog Leash

As your puppy gets a little older, the most important training aid that you will need will be a variety of dog training leashes. Of course using certain collars and leashes may seem a bit structured and strict to use when training your puppy, but they are meant to be a temporary tool designed to help your dog understand the rules when it comes to certain activities and behaviors.

Not only are leashes and certain training leads a positive way to condition your dog, but they also can help him with safety issues. Take driving in your car for example. Every dog loves to hang outside the window to feel the cool air and to sniff all the aromas of the outside world, but accidents do happen and by having a short leash to hold onto him while you are going down the road, you will ensure that no terrible accidents will happen such as your dog falling out of the window. And using a dog leash is equally important whenever you are outside walking your dog in public places.

What Type Of Leash Is Best?

The time is now for the public to understand that obedience training is not just for pure bred show dogs or those dogs used for services like police work, public service, and military missions.

If fact, it is surprising that so many owners of mixed-breed dogs feel that their dog isn’t good enough or acceptable for formal obedience training. While it is true that many All-Breed Dog Clubs and Specialty-Breed Dog Clubs do discriminate and refuse to allow enrollment of mixed-breed dogs, dog clubs are simply just one place where dogs can receive formal obedience training.

The yellow pages and online search engines can help you find dog training classes in your area. With the exception of some dog clubs, mixed-breed dogs are welcome. And why not? The mixed-breed dog learns just as fast, and just as well as his pedigreed brothers.

Price of training is another area that has stopped so many people. Without actually inquiring, they assume that the price is prohibitive. Such is not the case.

In examining services from Georgia to California, and Maine to Oregon, we were perplexed to see no mention of price in advertisements for obedience training. The very absence of a price tag keeps many people from investigating any further. They are, of course, denying themselves the pleasure of owning an obedient dog.

When it comes to obedience training, there should be no half-way action accepted. In other words, it’s all or nothing from your dog. And a crooked sit must be considered as something less than your dog giving his full potential.

Not only does it look shabby, but it also prevents the dog from accomplishing his full measure of discipline and character. You can prevent your dog from developing the bad habit of crooked sits simply by using your free left hand while heeling.

As you prepare to stop during a walk, make sure that your left hand is in a position to place on the dogs rear in such a way as to prevent him from moving around in front of you after you have come to a complete stop. If your dog succeeds in sitting in a crooked way, hold back the praise until you have straightened his sit. As your left hand drops to his rear, keep your left thumb pointing toward your left leg. This will ensure that you do not accidentally place your dog in a crooked sit.

Whether you just adopted a new puppy, or are interested in modifying the behavior of your adult dog, its important to find a quality dog trainer. Not only someone that gets results, but someone who also works to improve the relationship between you and your dog.

Today there are many people who call themselves dog training experts. Honestly, a lot of dog trainers are full of hot air. Expert is simply a name that they have given to themselves.

So, how do you sort through all the hype? The goal is to make learning fun for both you and your dog. If you both dread the whole training process nothing will get accomplished and you will be wasting both your time and money.

There are dog trainers advertised everywhere. In your community newspaper, in the phone book, on the internet, and on bulletin boards in local pet stores and veterinary offices. Ask your friends, family, and co-workers if they recommend any dog training programs.

Before signing up to any program or class go and watch a training session in person. Do the dogs and the owners seem to be learning anything? Would you be comfortable using the techniques that are used? Does the instructor offer more than one way to solve a problem? Not every technique works for every dog.

Dog Training Use The Right Body Language So Your Dog Understands

Dogs are highly intelligent creatures and many pet owners do not give them enough credit when it comes to the way they can read and understand our body language. Some people have no idea that the body language that we display has a major impact on how well a dog will listen to us and obey our commands. Using the correct form of body language can also quickly stop your dog from displaying an improper behavior.

Let’s use a very common example, such as the overexcited dog who likes to jump on every guest that comes to your door. We all go through this with our puppy or adult dog at some point in time. As soon as the guests arrive your dog is overwhelmed with happiness and excitement about who is at the door and whether or not they are going to play with him.

Do they have dog treats? What do they smell like? Do they want to play? How about I just jump all over them and see? This is exactly what your dog is thinking if we were to decipher his emotional behavior.