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BEHAVIOR PROBLEMSBelow are some common methods of eliminating behavior problems. If you are interested in Clicker Training, please visit the links below. Karen Pryor is a highly well known Clicker Trainer that will teach you anything you want to know.
General Rules (Jumping is used as an example) A behavior problem can be any unwanted behavior including the normal problems of barking, jumping, house-breaking, or digging, but it could also be any particular behavior that is undesirable to the Owner. A problem behavior is not necessarily a problem in every household. For example, I do not mind my dogs on the couch and I even let them sleep with me, but others may not. So the rules below can be applied to any behavior that an Owner wished to stop or alter. I am a huge advocate of EXERCISE. Exercise is extremely important for a dog, especially when dealing with behavior problems. Every dog has energy that needs to be released through out the day. If the dog does not release their energy and get enough exercise behavior problems may develop or get worse. Almost every behavior problem can be caused by a lack of exercise. Dogs that do not get enough exercise become bored and when a dog is bored they are more likely to act in inappropriate ways. For example, excessive, barking, inappropriate chewing and nipping can all be caused by boredom which can be resolved through exercise. Granted lack of exercise may not be the only reason behind a behavior problem, but to manage a behavior problem correctly an owner must ensure that their dog is being properly exercised. When treating any behavior problem there are four components that need to be addressed: positive reinforcement of alternate behaviors, management and setting the dog up for success, consequences for the problem behavior and consistency in dealing with the problem behavior. If you breakdown training for any behavior problem into these four stages, your dog has a great chance at success. Each component plays a vital role in resolving a problem behavior. The first component is positive reinforcement of alternate behaviors. Most problem behaviors are natural dog behaviors that are self rewarding to the dog. Not only is it the Owner’s responsibility to teach the dog an alternate behavior, but that the alternate behavior is more rewarding then the inappropriate behavior. For example, if a dog jumps on guest when they walk through the door a sit-stay is a great alternate behavior. Whenever the dog is sitting calming or lying down the owner should praise the dog with a high value reward for the calm behavior. It is important not to ignore this behavior in order to teach the dog that this behavior is acceptable and very rewarding. It is also recommended that the owner desensitize the dog to the warning sign of guests arriving (opening front door, knocking, door bell). Without a guest present the owner should practice opening the door, knocking or ringing the door bell so that eventually the dog no longer expects guests to be arriving when those things occur. The second component is management of the problem and setting the dog up for success. A dog needs to be given every possible opportunity to perform the appropriate alternate behavior in order to succeed. It is the OWNER’S responsibility to set their dog up for success. The dog must be consistently supervised or properly confined to avoid failure while training. For example, if the dog has been taught a strong sit-stay, the owner should have the dog on a leash and have her dog sit and stay in position before opening the door for a guest. Once the guest enters they should only give the dog attention while the dog remains sitting. If the dog remains sitting, they should receive a treat and get attention from their own and the guest. If the dog does not remain sitting he/she will not receive attention and they will eventually learn that sitting is more rewarding. With practice the dog will learn to sit-stay at the previous mentioned signs that a guest is arriving and remain sitting in order to get a treat and attention from the guest. The third component is consequences for problem behaviors. Please note, by no means, has to be a physical punishment. A dog may actually find lack of attention to be more of a punishment than a tap on the nose. Personally, I do not see the need to physical corrections. For the example mentioned in the first two components the most appropriate consequence would be to remove the opportunity for a reward. In this case the reward is the human attention and a treat. If the dog breaks his sit-stay while the guest is calming petting him and jumps on a guest he will not receive any more attention. The owner should give the dog the No Reward Marker (“No” or “eh, eh”), ask their guest to avoid any physical contact or eye contact with the dog by turning in the opposite direction, move out of the dogs reach and tuck their head underneath their arms. The owner should cue the dog to sit-stay again and ask their guest to attempt to calmly pet the dog again. It is important to involve your family and friends in the training process if you want your dog to succeed. Anyone coming to your home should understand that you are training your dog and help out. If you do not want a particular person to help, like the cable guy, please put your dog in a separate room or their crate for a short while until they leave. If everyone is not consistent, it will be very hard for your dog to understand what you are expecting for them. Consistency is the most important part of altering any behavior. The last component of the training program is consistency in dealing with problem behaviors. Consistency is the most important rule while training a dog. The owner needs to designate time to consistently practice the no jumping exercises at least 10 minutes per day as well as consistently awarding the appropriate alternate behavior. As mentioned above the undesired behavior needs to be corrected every single time regardless of where you are or who you are with. I have a hard time getting my dogs not to jump because I get so excited to see them when I get home, that I love when they jump up on me. Unfortunately, I allow it so it is difficult to stop them from jumping on my guests. In a case like this, teach your dog a cue to jump so that they are only allowed to jump on you. Once your dog knows “sit” and “jump” or “up”, you can tell them to sit when a guest enters and give them to opportunity to jump when you get home. This takes time and patience, but if you are consistent it will work. I did not want to write a 6 paragraph story on how to alter every behavior problem, so since I have already broken it down into detail, I will bulletize some brief information for common behavior problems below. Please remember, that the four components listed above will create a successful treatment plan for all behavior problems. However, the owner must address all four components and be consistent to ensure the dogs success. Barking
There are six common types of barking as shown below. Excited Play Barking Fearful Alarm Barking Dominance Barking Territorial Barking Boredom Barking Learned Barking It is important to understand why your dog may be barking to address this problem appropriately. barking is a tricky one. So if the advice that I share with you doesn't help, please do some more in depth research. There are so many ways to help curve this behavior and there are a lot of things that your do not want to do with a dog that has a barking problem. You may need to know more specific information to help your dog. Please understand now that I do not agree with correcting your dog when you are working with barking. Redirecting or luring are the techniques that I will recommend. It is also very important to understand some common stress indicators in dogs. When your dog is in a stressful situation, they are not in the right frame of mind to learn. Some minor indications are the inability to comply with commands, inability to look at the Owner, and unwilling to take food. Major stress indicators include the following. Aggression Freezing and Unwillingness to Move Flops Around Like a Fish on a Line Starring at the Stimulus Hackles Up (Fur in the center of their back.) Sweaty Paws Showing Teeth Tense Chattering Lip/Licking Lips In general make sure that you do not answer to a dog barking. Rewarding an alternative behaviors is the first step. If your dog is looking for attention with a bark, do not give them the kind of attention they want. Instead ask for an alternative behavior, like "sit" or "down". Make sure that you pick something that your dog already knows. Asking him to do something that he is familiar with will help him understand that he has to earn what he wants. If your do just wants your attention, make him sit and then praise him with a few minutes of petting. If your dog barks to go outside, ask for a sit first before letting him out. Always ignore a bark. It may be hard and annoying but you shouldn't even yell "shut up"! Talking to the dog is still giving attention. Consistently ignore and be prepared for an extinction burst where the dogs bark gets worse for a while. This common because the dog knew that the bark use to work before and now it is not. So they try a little harder. For example, have you ever click on something on the internet and it is taking forever so you click it again ten times, like it might actual go faster? This is an extinction burst. It is very very important that you continue to ignore during these bursts because if you don't it will ruin everything that you have been trying to do. As a consequence, if your dog is barking out the window at someone walking by or even barking at something in the house, use something to startle them. Take an empty can and put some change in it. Have it ready so that you can shake it immediately when your dog starts barking. It is important though that your dog doesn't see what that you are the one creating the noise. Let him wonder where it is coming from. NOTE: If you think your dog is fearful or displaying dominant behavior, please do not use the shaker. Stick with using alternative behaviors. Just be consistent. Briefly I would like to discuss each type of barking so that you can try to understand your dog. Excited Play Alert Barking This type of barking is what you would see if you dog barks at a cat or squirrel. The bark is direct at an object that they see but cannot get (hopefully.) Your dog will be playful and the body posture could include a play bow (leaning forward with their front legs extended out) or bouncing around. Their ears and facial features should be loose and their hackles will NOT be up. This type of barking usually goes away as the puppy matures but you can help. Always continue socializing you dog with many other dogs, people, objects, noises etc. When you present help your dog succeed in learning not bark and try to redirect their attention. To help them learn, have practice sessions. Go to an area where there are lots of small animals like squirrels. With your dog on a leash, sit calmly and wait for one to pass by. When your dog finally sees one and barks take a baited hand and try to get the dogs attention. Once your dog is distracting by the treat, get their attention and give them the treat. Do not use a physical correction for a playful bark. You can cause your dog to have a negative association with the object that is causes the bark and you will turn the playful bark into an aggressive one. Also, don't forget to praise quite calm behavior at all times. Fearful Alarm Barking Fearful barking can be from under socialized dogs or genetically shy dogs. A fearful dog will bark at things that scare them. The dog's body posture is normally lowered or even hiding behind their Owner. Ears and tail could be down; the tail could even be tucked between their legs. It is very important for an Owner to recognize a fearful bark because barking is not the problem, it is a symptom in this case. These dogs should never be reprimanded to avoid even more negative associations to the objects. Patience will be key, with this type of barking. You need to help your dog gain tolerance to the objects that create the fear. This means that you need to determine their threshold of how close they can be to the object before barking. Once you figure that out, start doing basic obedience training exercises at that distance. Little by little you decrease the distance to build up their tolerance. I greatly recommend researching Fearful Barking specifically and learning different ways to help you dog succeed. You can find specific training techniques and it is also important to understand what NOT to do in this situation like reprimanding or creating a tight leash to form negative associations. Private lessons from a trainer may be very helpful.
Dominance Barking This barking is mostly seen in adult males that have not been neutered and is very common in working and herding breeds. As with the fearful barking, barking is not the problem, it is the symptom. Dominance is the probelm. Domainance with an Owner can be seen in their behavior. Some common signs are direct eye contact, chest out, tall tail or a stiff wagging tail, or even growling. The Owner needs to practice Leadership Exercises to show the dog who is in charge. Your dog needs to know that you are the leader. Read the leadership exercises under the Basic Obedience Section for some helpful examples. Also, make sure you follow the NO FREE LUNCH POLICY. Your dog needs to earn everything especially things that come from your, like your attention. Even before you give them their food, you should ask them to sit first. Nothing comes for free. The Owner can alter this behavior by building a better relationship with their dog. Dogs need to have a leader; they like it. If they don't think they have a good positive leader, they will try to become one themselves. Also, when your dog tries to show dominance with other dogs or even people, ,work on redirecting their attention. Try to get them to sit and focus on you and praise them heavily at first. Always be on the look out. Don't wait for another dog to get to close and have your dog freak out. If you see another dog coming. Move out of the direct line of confrontation and make your dog sit and focus on you. Lure them with a high value treat and keep their attention. Trust me, this isn't going to be perfect and you may not get their attention at all, but practice makes perfect. Keep the distance between you and the other dog as great as possible until they start to learn. Territorial Barking Territorial barking is commonly found in working and herding breeds but can be found in all dogs. This is a very normal behavior for dogs and some Owners prefer it. Even if you prefer it, you should be able to control it. This type of barking is usually done at home in thier own territory. Dogs will bark at people walking by or at the mail man. Ever wonder why dogs hate mailmen so much? They come and go to deliver the mail and your dog thinks that their bark scared them away. To help, if you see the mailman first, redirect your dogs attention or lure them into another room. Try to prevent your dog from seeing outside if they are left alone and you are not there to help. Try to treat your dog before they start barking. Get their attention and treat them for focusing on you. If this doesn't work and the dog barks first, lure them with the treat and try to get them to turn their head away form the stimuli ON THEIR OWN. If your dog is too excited already. Try to give him a few treats while he is barking and then stop quickly. Get your dog to stop on his own and say "hey! where did those treats go?!". If he does turn away, give him lots of treats until the stimuli is gone. If you are consistently doing this, the dog will learn that he gets good things when other dogs walk by, so instead of barking at the dog, your dog will be looking for his treat. This is one of my dogs biggest problems. My dog Moosey barks at everything and if one of my other dogs is outside, I fear that the excitement could make them turn on each other. They have tunnel vision when they are in this state of mind. Here is something that has been helping me. I started using a whistle as the cue for him to come to me. The cue "come" is used too often to have a strong meaning. Either in the house of the backyard alone, I practice blowing the whistle and giving my dog a high value reward like raw meat. Then, I keep pieces of raw steak tips available for when I hear him start to bark. I grab the steak, got to the door and whistle. This doesn't work right away, so be patient. Little by little, the response time is better once they start to learn that the reward for coming is better then barking at this other dog walking by. The key for a strong "Come" is to use something other than the word "Come". Unless you can discipline yourself to not use the word when you are angry or on a frequent basis, pick another word or sound. The Come Cue should be meaningful, so that every time they hear it, they come immediately. Your dog will not come to you immediately when you say "Come" if half the time they do you are angry or they did something wrong. Make it rewarding. Boredom Barking Learned Barking Chewing Dogs have a natural urge to chew. Some reasons why a dog may chew is boredom, teething, or enjoyment. Owners need to learn that because chewing is a natural behavior for a dog, they cannot simply eliminate the chewing. The owner must provide the dog guidance in understanding what they can chew on to satisfy their need.
First, a dog needs learn the appropriate things to chew on. They will not know unless you teach them. They cannot be expected to know what they can and cannot chew on. You should provide you dog with appropriate chew toys and praise them heavily for choosing an appropriate toy. Nylabones and marrow bone are my two favorite chews. Second you must manage and set your dog up for success, never leaving the dog alone until they are trained. If the dog it alone, it should be in an appropriate sized crate a dog pen or in a secluded room. Where ever the dog is, there should be no inappropriate things for it to chew on. You can't expect them to not chew on a shoe lying on the floor. The only way a dog will learn not to chew on something is to always be present when they make the wrong decisions and being able to stop them. Also, dogs need a lot of exercise. A lot of physical and mental stimulation will reduce the urge to chew. I can not stress enough how important exercise is. When the weather is nice and I take my dogs for a fun, play fetch or run around in the park, they come in and sleep for hours. Third, chewing is a tough behavior problem to enforce a consequence, considering it is a natural urge. I typically clap loudly or you can shake a can on coins to startle your dog when they are chewing on something inappropriate. The dog will learn to associate the loud noise and being startled with that object and will prefer to chew on an appropriate chew toy instead. Finally, consistency is the important. Consistently exercise your dog, provide them enticing chew toys, and be present to stop them from doing something wrong. Don't forget that it is your responsibility to set your dog up for success. Housebreaking
In general a Treatment Plan for housetraining needs to consist of the four treatment components: positive reinforcement of alternate behaviors, management and setting the dog up for success, consequences for the problem behavior and consistency in dealing with the problem behavior. The puppy should be taught an appropriate eliminating area either outside or on a potty pad. Anytime the dog eliminates in that spot the owner needs to reward the dog so that he learns how rewarding it is. The best way to manage the housetraining is by not allowing the dog to roam the house while unsupervised. The best solution is to have the dog in a crate while they are not home and the dog should also wear a leash and be in the owners presence to avoid accidents. Consequences for a dog that eliminates in an inappropriate area should never consist of physical punishment or rubbing their noise in the accident. This could potentially cause the dog to fearful of eliminating in front of the owner. They may wander off to eliminate in a secluded area and make the training very difficult. If the owner see the dog began to eliminate in the house they should create a loud noise to startle the dog so he stops. Once he stops the owner should immediately take him to the potty area so he can finish. If the dog finishes in the potty area the owner needs to praise the dog so he can learn that it is rewarding.
For an 8 week old puppy that will be inside from 8:30am to 4:30am while the owner is at work the owner should set up a small play pen near the door of the house and put the crate inside the play pen. The owner should put a potty pad ac close to the door as possible and provide the puppy with a small amount of water and a desirable chew toys (Kong) that will help the dog with boredom. 6:00am - Wake up and take the puppy outside, possibly carrying him to ensure that he makes it all the way to the outside potty are without an accident. It is safe to assume that first thing in the morning to dog will relieve himself by urinating or defecating. The owner should give the dog another ten minutes outside to make sure he is finished. To assist in the housetraining process and potty area the owner could start to teach the potty cue after a couple of days.
6:15am – 6:30am Bring the puppy inside and give him 30 minutes of free time. At first the owner should be holding the dogs leash 100% of the time. Gradually the owner can drop the leash and allow the dog to roam a little. When the puppy is calm and acting appropriately the owner should praise/treat the puppy. For about 10 or 15 minutes the owner should also take the opportunity to practice basic obedience with the puppy. This will allow the owner to interact with the puppy in a calm manner, teach house manners and build the dogs self esteem.
6:30am – 6:40am Bring the dog outside to the potty area and give him a chance to potty again. After ten minutes return inside even if the dog did not relieve him self.
6:40am – 6:45am Feed the puppy now. The owner should practice having the dog sit-stay until he is released before eating his meal. The puppy should only have/need 10 to 15 minutes to eat and drink. He should not wander off. If the puppy walks away a before finishing the owner should remove the food from the floor.
6:45am – 7:00am The puppy should be taken outside to the potty area immediately after eating. If the puppy eliminates she should be rewarded. If the puppy does not eliminate after 30 minutes return inside.
7:00 am – 7:30am Take the dog for a walk to get some exercise before you leave for work. 7:30am – 8:00am Tether the puppy near you so he can lay down and rest while you get ready for work. Watch the puppy carefully in case you see any sign that he needs to eliminate so that you can prevent the accident or stop the accident immediately and take him outside to finish.
8:00am – 8:30am Take the dog outside one last time before you leave for work. The puppy should eliminate and be rewarded. 8:30am Put dog inside play pen with his crate (door open), chew toy and potty pad.
8:30am – 4:30am Puppy remains in his play pen until you get home form work. If he has to eliminate the potty pad is available.
4:30pm – 5:30pm Return from work and immediately take the dog outside to the potty area. This is a good time to walk the dog or play with the dog outside for some exercise.
5:30pm – 6:00pm Allow the dog 30 minutes of free time as mentioned above while you settle into the house and prepare dinner.
6:00pm – 6:30 pm Put dog in play pen while the family eats dinner.
6:30pm – 6:40pm Take the dog outside and give him a chance to eliminate.
6:40pm – 7:00pm Feed the dog and give the dog water for the last time.
7:30pm – 8:00pm immediately take dog outside to potty area for 30 minutes. The dog urinates but does not defecate.
8:00pm – 8:30 pm Since the dog did not eliminate the owner must watch him carefully on a leash. The owner turns her back for a couple minutes and when she turns to look at the dog she sees that he is squatting and beginning to defecate on the floor. The owner immediately claps her hands to startle and interrupt the dog, picks him up and brings him to the potty area to finish. If he finished in the potty areas he should be treated. While the mother is outside, the father cleans up the accident and cleans the area with an odor neutralizer.
8:30pm – 9:00pm Allow 30 minutes of free time and take the time to practice basic obedience cues.
9:00pm – 9:30pm Take the dog outside one last time before bedtime.
9:30pm Put the puppy in his crate for bed time, shut the lights and go to sleep.
My dogs sleep with me, but they are all trained. It is up to the Owner, but I recommend crate training the dog while they are young. They learn to love their crates and treat it as their own private space. There will be no accidents in the bedroom or even in the bed. Having a dog that will go right in their crate when you need a moment too yourself is a big help. Please don’t think of a crate as a punishment and never use it as a punishment. My dogs love their crates. Since I have 4, I have to put two in their crate when I leave. I say “crate time” and they go right in. It is their “safe haven”. I always give them a treat and chew toys and the crate is large enough for them to walk around in comfortably.
If you refuse to use a crate at night until the puppy is housetrained, because you want them to sleep with you please make sure you remember a few rules. Accidents will happen and you need to be patient and be willing to clean them with out yelling or hitting the dog. Please keep in mind, if you create a traumatic experience for the dog after they have an accident, they could just start to hide when they need to go to the bathroom instead of learning that they need to go outside. Set your alarm clock for at least every two hours. Get up, bring the dog outside end let them empty their bladder. Even if it is snowing, go outside with the dog. It may take them ten minutes but they should eventually go. Do not put your dog outside and shut the door. Some dogs will just sit at the door waiting for you to open it again which is a waste. Okay back to the original timeline…...
5:00am – Dog wakes up owner by barking and whimpering. Owner should take dog out immediately and he eliminates. Owner should put puppy back in his crate until 6:00am when the routine starts again.
Gradually the puppy will be able to have more freedom in the house and will not have to go outside as often. Once the puppy is 8 months of age the schedule should look more like this. 6:00am - Wake up and take the puppy outside. By now the dog should know the potty cue “go potty”. Tell the dog to “go potty” and it is safe to assume that first thing in the morning to dog will relieve himself by urinating or defecating. The owner should give the dog another ten minutes outside to make sure he is finished.
6:15am – 6:30am Bring the puppy inside and give him 30 minutes of free time. When the puppy is calm and acting appropriately the owner should praise/treat the puppy. For about 10 or 15 minutes the owner should also take the opportunity to enforce basic obedience with the puppy. This will allow the owner to interact with the puppy in a calm manner, enforce house manners and build the dogs self esteem. 6:30am – 6:40am Bring the dog outside to the potty area and give him a chance to potty again. After ten minutes return inside even if the dog did not relieve him self. 6:40am – 6:45am Feed the puppy now. The owner should have the dog sit-stay until he is released before eating his meal. Once the dog is finished he should be taken outside.
6:45am – 7:00am The puppy should be taken outside to the potty area immediately after eating. If the puppy eliminates he should be rewarded. If the puppy does not eliminate after 30 minutes return inside.
7:00 am – 7:30am Take the dog for a walk to get some exercise before you leave for work. 7:30am – 8:00am Allow the dog free time while you get ready for work. If it takes you longer to get ready, get up earlier. As a puppy owner, people need to be ready to make sacrifices and give the time it needs to teach this puppy the right things.
8:00am – 8:15am Take the dog outside one last time before you leave for work. The puppy should eliminate and be rewarded. 8:15am Put dog inside play pen with his crate (door open), chew toy and potty pad.
8:15 am – 4:30am Puppy remains in his play pen until you get home form work. If he has to eliminate the potty pad is available. The owner should gradually increase the size of the play pen and eventually let the dog roam the house. The owner must remember that if they increase the privileges and makes a mistake they must take that privilege away for about a week before they try again.
4:30pm – 5:30pm Return from work and immediately take the dog outside to the potty area. This is a good time to walk the dog or play with the dog outside for some exercise.
5:30pm – 6:00pm Allow the dog 30 minutes of free time as mentioned above while you settle into the house and prepare dinner.
6:00pm – 6:30 pm Put dog in play pen while the family eats dinner.
6:30pm – 6:40pm Take the dog outside and give him a chance to eliminate.
6:40pm – 7:00pm Feed the dog and give the dog water for the last time.
7:30pm – 8:00pm Immediately take dog outside to potty area for 30 minutes.
8:00pm – 9:00 pm Allow the dog free time. You could even give him a chew toy to occupy him.
9:00pm – 9:30pm Take puppy outside one last time before bedtime.
9:30pm Put the puppy in his crate for bed time, shut the lights and go to sleep.
6:00am – Wake up and start again.
A dogs feeding and watering schedule are a big factor for house training. If the puppy eats and drinks on the same schedule every day, this will allow the owner to become familiar with the dogs potty habits. If an owners allows their dog a large never ending bowl of food and water through out the whole day there is no way of knowing when the dog my need to eliminate. By incorporating the dogs feeding into his consist schedule and treatment plan; the owner will give the dog a better chance to succeed. Pulling A walk with your dog is supposed to be calming. A pulling dog that yanks on the leash the entire walk is stressful. Before teaching your dog, figure out exactly what you are looking for. Do you prefer your dog heel by your side or is it ok for your dog to walk freely and sniff around. On a fun walk, Owners typically allow their dog time to sniff. Dogs love to sniff, but when they smell something and pull, if you allow them, they will associate pulling with getting what they want. When your dog pulls, stop walking. Don’t start walking again until your dog releases the tension. Teach your dog that when he pulls, the walk stops. Please be patient, but please do not like your dog pull. For a while, your walks may be even more stressful. When you are trying to exercise your dog, the last thing you want to do is walk two steps, stop, walk, stop, walk stop. But if you are consistent, your dog will learn. Also, purchase a Gentle Leader Easy Walk front clip harness for your dog. The leash clips in the front of the chest so when the dog pulls, their body gets pulled to the side, as if they should do a 180. The harness also takes the pressure off of the collar and neck which can cause serious damage to the dogs trachea. If you think that this may be too difficult and you know that sometimes you will not have time to practice the loose leash walking, purchase a regular padded harness that clips in the back. This can be the dogs pulling harness. When the dogs wear this harness, he is allowed to pull. When he is wearing the front clip harness he is not allowed to pull.
Nipping Nipping is a very common problem behavior in puppies that will continue in adolescent and adult dogs if not altered. Puppies play with each other using their mouths and with a yelp from their sibling or even themselves, they will learn that nipping hurts. In puppy world this is an acceptable behavior, but they need to learn that nipping people is not. Most importantly Owners need to always remember to praise their dogs for doing appropriate things. Playing calmly or even laying on the couch often go unnoticed. Owners need to recognize this behavior and treat their dogs. At anytime, if you dog nips, make a loud noise. Squeal or yelp as if it really hurt and say No. Actually my puppies have nipped hard so if they nip you good, you wont have to fake it. This should startle them and redirect their attention. If you were in the middle of playing around, stop and walk away or turn away. Make sure they understand that when they nip, playtime stops. Be consistent. Again, please remember it is natural for your puppy to nip when you start petting him/her. So be ready to redirect their behavior and positively reinforce an alternate behavior. Alwasy have chew toys on hand. Please do not yell asa consequence. Puppies will react to you the same way you react to them. Stay calm and walk away for a moment. This works best if you dog can not follow you. Come back after 30 seconds and try again. Also, try the Gentle Mouth exercise below for a fun trying game. Gentle Mouth Exercise The Gentle Mouth Exercise is a quick fun interactive training for you and your dog. Start by holding a few small treats in your closed hand (Make a fist). Use something smelly like cheese or meat. Present the baited hand to your dog so that they can smell the treats. If you dog sniggs or nuzzles your hand gently, say "good" and open your hand to giv ethem the treat. I usually say "take it" which also teaches them a new cue. If your god nibbles at your hand, say "eh-eh" or "no" and lift your hand up. If your dog jumps at you hand, just ignore until he/she stops. Your dog will eventually stop to think about waht he did wrong to cause this smelly treat to go away. Once your dog is relaxed, try again and present your hand. Repeat these steps until your dog is gentle with your hand. This is a fun exercise for your dog and it helps teach them to be gentle and not to use their teeth to get what they want. Digging Digging is a very common behavior problem. There are several reasons why a dog may engage in digging and the owner must investigate the reason for the digging before creating the appropriate Treatment Plan. One reason for digging is simply boredom. Dogs have a lot of energy and if the energy is not properly channeled they will find or create ways to let out their energy. It is very important that owners do not underestimate the amount of exercise their dog needs. If the owner determines that the dog is engaging in boredom digging they need to provide their dog with more exercise. Another good suggestion in stopping boredom digging is to make sure the dog is eating a high quality kibble. Some commercial brand kibbles may have hidden sugars that add to a dogs energy level. Another reason a dog my dig is because it is in their genetics. For example, Terriers were bred to dig. To manage the behavior the Owner should consider setting up a designated digging area for the dog. The Owner should create a digging pit for the dog. This area should be filled with appropriate chew toys or treats. Hide the chews in the ground so that the dog digs the up. They will be surprises for the dog. The owner needs to teach the dog that digging in the designated areas is highly rewarding; this is managing appropriate alternate behaviors. The rest of the yard needs to be off limits to digging. If you are present, immediately stop the dog from digging in off limit areas. Clap your hands or make a loud noise to startle them. If you are not present and you find a hole in the off limit areas, fill the hole with the dogs stool or lava rocks to make the digging unpleasant; this is a consequence. The dog needs to learn which areas are pleasant and which are not, so the more consistent you are the faster they will learn. Other common digging problem s may be associated with possession or saving things for later. Dogs may bury their toys or bones to possibly dig them back up later. If this is the case the owner needs to give their dog appropriate toys possibly larger than the dog would typically try to bury. The owner can also tie a rope around the dog’s toys or bones and attach it to a stationary object so that they can not bury it. Or the designated digging area may be a good option. Another cause could possibly be that the dog is overfed. If they are given too many bones or treats and they are full they may bury it so that they can save it for later. If the owner thinks that may be the case, the owner should reduce the amount of food they are feeding the dog. One other important note I would like to make is that an owner should never work in the garden while their dog is present because the dog will “follow the leader”. The dog will see the owner planting and pulling weeds and may learn to dig. The dog will think the digging is acceptable because their owner also does it. Regardless of the reason, an owner needs to determine the cause of digging and create a Treatment Plan following the four rules I discussed earlier that they can be constant with. Appropriate House Behavior A Treatment Plan for good general house behavior would have to combine a plan for no jumping, no unruly house behavior and respecting boundaries. Below is a detailed description of a Treatment Plan that will consist of methods for all three. The first step of the Treatment Plan is to positively reinforce alternate behaviors. To assist with all three behavior the owner should always have the dog on a leash and never let the dog be unsupervised. The dog should be praise and reward when he is calm, laying down, and sitting. Every time the dog is lying in his bed next to the sofa he should be rewarded. Every time the dog enters the house calms he should be rewarded. The owner must acknowledge the alternate behaviors that the dog is performing not just try and correct the wrong behaviors. The second step is the management of problems and setting the dog up for success. Every time the owner brings the dog outside he should ask for a sit-stay, walk out of the door first and then release the dog to have him go outside. The same should be done when entering the house. While outside the owner should practice teaching the dog where his boundaries are. At first they can walk to do over to the boundary, stop and walk in the other direction treating the dog every time they turn away from the boundary. Then the owner should start to ask the dog for a sit stay at the boundary while the owner walks away. The owner should return to the dog and praise him if he is still in the sit stay. Eventually the dog should learn on his own not to cross the boundary. When entering the house after release the dog from his sit-stay at the door the owner needs to keep him on his leash. The owner should take the dog on a tour of the house and praise him when he is calm. The dog should not pull and if he does the owner should stop walking immediately and have the dog come to her for a reward to distract the pulling. After the walk the dog should be tied to something so he can not walk freely around the house. The owner should give the dog a comfortable dog bed and a chew toy. He should be praised when he is calming lying down with his toy. This will also help in keeping the dog off the furniture. The dog should have a comfortable bed next to the couch and he needs to know that is his bed and he will be rewarded for being in it. Once the dog is less hyper in t he house he should be able to drag the leash around instead of being tied to something. He needs to learn that staying off the furniture is rewarding so every time he turns away from the sofa on his won he needs to be rewarded. The third component is the consequences. To reinforce the dogs boundaries it is important to teach the dog that even if you are not present he can not pass the boundary. This can be done by booby trapping the boundary with a shake can, whistle, or an upside down carpet run. The dog needs to be startled if he crosses the boundary so that he will learn to avoid it. Consequences for unruly house behavior should be given when the dog performs an inappropriate behavior on the tour. If the dog starts to pull the owner should give the no reward marker, disrupt the dogs behavior and have him come to her. If the dog comes to her he should be rewarded. Consequences for jumping on the furniture can consist of gently removing the dog from the furniture, using something to startle the dog whenever he jumps on the sofa, or making the sofa unpleasant but putting something like an upside down carpet runner on it. Consistency is the last step and one of the most important. The owner and all member of the house hold need to be aware of the Treatment Plan and follow it at every moment they are home and the dog is not in his crate. Coprophagia Coprophagia is the technical term for dogs that eat stool. This is a very common problem and can be caused by dogs being underfed, being fed poor quality food, having a medical problem, and also because of boredom. Also, females instinctively eat their puppies feces to keep the next clean. Sadly, dogs that are left to defecate in their crates may also eat there own stool because they do not want it to pile up in their living space. I wont discuss that though because if that is your dog, you shouldn’t even have one. I always ask people what they feed your dog. A lot of common basic problems can be caused by poor quality food. Check out my Quality Food section and start feeding your dog good food if you are not already. It really does make a difference. It is like feeding your child fast food every day. You will notice the difference if you start feeding your child healthy food. Since this can be more of just a behavior problem, please ask your Vet or research more valid information and recommendations on how to stop this behavior. How to Approach an Unfamiliar Dog When approaching a dog that you do not know, you should always approach slowly and not directly straight on. To avoid causing stress in the dog, you can curve your approach and also avoid direct eye contact. When approaching a dog your hands should always be kept low and unthreatening. Always be observing the dogs postures and watch for any signs of stress. Some common signs of stress and indications that the dog may bite are direct eye contact, a standing tail possibly with a stiff wag, ears up, low growling and lips raised to expose teeth. When approaching a dog, you should never reach or lean over the dog which can make them uncomfortable. As the Owner, when a stranger is approaching your dog, make sure you never tighten up on the leash or collar. To avoid any tension on the collar, the owner can use food treats to keep the dog near them. The owner needs to be conscious of their own body posture and make sure they are not displaying any signs of stress that the dog may be able to read. A very important rule is for the owner to never praise, pet or calm the dog if they are showing any undesirable behaviors. This could inadvertently teach the dog that the approach of a stranger is something for them to be worried about. Since the owner is trying to calm them they will learn that they actions are justified.
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