Mar 1
Some times a dog’s disobedience can be due to incomprehension. For example, if your dog disobeys a command because they do not understand what it is you want them to do, then behavior is not the problem. It suggests, rather, that you should spend more time with your dog. True disobedience occurs when your dog understands what you are asking, yet deliberately does not obey the command.
A dog’s disobedience can not only be an inconvenience, but it is a serious issue. Aside from being dangerous for your dog (like when you command your dog to stop when heading towards a moving car), disobedience says volumes about how your dog feels about you. When your dog disobeys you, the act demonstrates that the dog does not respect your authority.
Allowing disobedience can create a passive-aggressive dog. This is not something that the dog will just grow out of and can actually get worse. It is vital for your dog to accept you as a higher ranking member of the social hierarchy of the household. In order to maintain a healthy, functional relationship with your dog, you need to accept alpha status.
Your dog will actually be happier when the realization sets in that somebody else is accountable for making all the choices – even those day-to-day behavior and obedience ones. Your relationship as a sensible owner and obedient dog will not be sustainable if you are not understood as the clear-cut authority figure. Your dog must understand that he’s beneath you within the chain of command.
It should be obvious that your first step in dealing with disobedience is to reestablish your dominance. Here are some recommendations on doing that:
When leaving the house and the car, you need to always leave before your dog. This is unmistakable alpha behavior. To a dog, only the alpha leaves first. By allowing your dog to leave first, you are saying, “You are stronger than me and the decision maker, so you should go first”. Before going through a door or leaving the car, make your dog sit and stay. Once you have gone through, release the stay with an unharness word. Give verbal praise and/or reward with food.
Make your dinner time come before your dog’s. If this means your dog will eat a half hour after you and your family, then so be it. Keep the feeding schedule varied so that your dog is aware that you are in command of the food. Don’t allow your dog to dictate when the food should be given. When you do place the food down, make your dog sit and wait until you unleash them to eat.
Don’t allow your dog free, uninhibited access to the house. Remember that the house is your den. You’re just permitting the dog to reside inside. Remind your dog of this fact. Being in your den is a privilege, not a right. Continue to keep bound areas of the house strictly for your own (like your bed, certain items of furniture, or some rooms).
Never allow your dog to initiate play. If they nudging you for attention or to start out a game, you will assume that it’s cute and affectionate; however, what the dog is really saying is, “I’m the boss and I’m telling you to play with me right now.” If your dog starts bothering you for attention, ignore for several moments then get up and do something else. Wait till the dog has given up before you initiate play. Playtime may be a fantastic way to bond with your dog, but it should be done on your terms.
Ignore your dog when you get home; at least for 3-5 minutes. Upon arriving home, avoid rushing straight over to your dog to shower them with affection. That’s not alpha behavior! An alpha dog, upon arriving home, doesn’t reassess to the other dogs and throw himself at them, saying, “Here I am! I missed you guys! Let’s have a cuddle!”. The alpha dog ignores everybody else, relaxes for a bit, perhaps has something to eat, and solely interacts with the others when good and ready. Although you’re probably good and prepared to interact with your dog when you get home, it can underscore your authority.
Another approach to counteract disobedience is to start and maintain a basic obedience training plan. You don’t have to try and do something fancy or super-demanding. Just 10 minutes a day can be a sufficient amount of time to dedicate to the learning and implementing of commands.
Here are some tips on how to implement a sensible coaching program:
When your dog chooses to disobey you, never give a command that you can not reinforce immediately. Every time your dog takes the opportunity to ignore your command, the dog is learning that it’s easier (and more fun) to ignore you.
Your dog should remain on an extended line or retractable lead until completely reliable with your commands. This will allow you to enforce them if necessary.
Use your voice to have a powerful effect. Your dog will make a distinction between your tones of voice. Praise ought to be in a very lightweight, cheery, happy tone of voice.
When giving corrections, your voice should be an exceedingly stern tone. This does not mean you want to shout, but your voice ought to be low and authoritative. Verbally interrupting your dog with “OI!” or “Ah-ah-ah!” rather than with “No” is a more effective way to catch their attention. This is because the sounds are more clear.
Do not repeat a command. Repeating yourself teaches the dog to attend for the command to be repeated at least once before he obeys you. If your dog decides to ignore you, give a short, sharp tug. Remember, you must be training on a leash or a long line.
Spend five to fifteen minutes per day training your dog. Fifteen minutes of intense training, where your dog is concentrating on what you would like, is sufficient to send even the most energetic dogs to their beds for a nap after wards.
Once your dog has mastered the basics, you can move on to additional advanced training and ‘tricks’. Formal obedience training classes is another option. They offer a nice manner of socializing your dog (he gets to interact with different dogs, and those dogs’ house owners), and conjointly teaches focus on what you would like despite the manifold distractions taking place in the environment. It’s also very useful to have face-to-face contact with a skilled trainer. They can make you aware of any mistakes you might be making, and provide you recommendation for tightening up your coaching techniques.
Visit the Secrets to Dog Training site to learn more.
Feb 22
Among dogs, the act of chewing seems to be a matter of individual preference. Some dogs love to chew and do so as a pleasurable activity. For other dogs, chewing is an activity that only sheer boredom can initiate.
The phrase “destructive chewing” simply refers to inappropriate chewing. It is important to note that all chewing is destructive, but not all chewing is inappropriate. Because dogs have strong jaws and sharp, pointy teeth, anything they start to chew on is probably going to show the effects of it within minutes. Inappropriate chewing, on the other hand, is the kind of chewing that is focused on your possessions and household items, instead of on your dog’s own designated toys and chews.
Three Reasons Why Dogs Chew:
With a little time, effort, and patience (mainly on your part), your dog can learn to chew the things you want them to. Here are some suggestions to help you train your dog to be an obedient chewer:
Manage Your Own Possessions. Your first step should be to take control and dog-proof your home. Dogs explore the world with their mouths. Even the best-behaved dog will have its self-control tested with a multitude of items laying around. So dog-proof your home.
Dog-proofing your home requires taking whatever you don’t want to end up in your dog’s mouth and making it unavailable. This may mean taking it completely out of sight. Consider the size and agility of your dog when deciding whether something’s out of reach. For example, can your dog jump, climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object?
Common household items that dogs will target include books, eye wear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.
It is also imperative that all food is put securely away. Don’t leave snacks on low tables or even on counter tops (yes, dogs can be very acrobatic when it comes to getting what they want). For some dogs, the occasional dirty dish may even need to rinsed of scraps before left in the kitchen sink.
Don’t Blur the Boundaries. It is impossible to expect your dog to understand the difference between your cast-away clothes and the ones you actually want to wear. To avoid this confusion, simply don’t offer your possessions (old or new)-towels, socks, or shoes to your dog to play with.
Provide Tasty Alternatives. Remember that most dogs need to chew. If our dog is young (a puppy-three years old), the need is more pronounced. Provide a variety of attractive and interesting chew toys. If the environment is relatively barren of approved chewing objects, you can hardly blame your dog for chewing on your possessions. Buying a variety of toys and rotating 2-3 every few days will keep things novel and interesting.
Provide Active Supervision. Provide opportunities for your dog to explore the boundaries of your expectations. It is through this exploration that your dog will learn what is appropriate behavior and what is not. Although it may be convenient to keep your dog penned up in a yard, dog run, or crate, it is not fun, fair, or productive for the dog.
Interrupt With Loud Noises. When you catch your dog chewing something that is on the “not allowed” list, interrupt the behavior by making a loud noise. This doesn’t mean give the dog a heart attack by screaming into a bullhorn, but rather a startling noise in the form of a hand clap or voicing an “Ah-ah-aaaah!”. Once you have the dog’s attention, give a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy). Then, as soon as the jaws close around it, load on the praise. This is a sure-fire way to teach your dog what is appropriate to chew and that chewing those things will win praise from you.
Maintain a Productive Attitude. The most important thing to remember is to stay positive and realistic. It should be obvious that dogs are not humans. There is likely to be an incident or two that leaves a cherished item damaged by your dog’s curiosity. Your dog is not perfect. Make sure you give your furry friend plenty of time to learn the chewing rules-take precautions to keep things out of reach and provide plenty of you-time to make learning faster.
For more information on dog training techniques and how to deal with problem dog behavior (like chewing), check out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s the complete manual for dog ownership and is designed to fast-track your dog s learning.
Visit the Secrets to Dog Training site to learn more.
Feb 18
Establishing Yourself as Pack Leader
Whether you have just adopted a young pup or an adult dog, you have many things to teach your new companion. You want your dog to be loved, trained and lively, but not spoiled, a robot or uncontrollable. Dogs can be naturals at learning manners and commands, particularly when you understand a key aspect of their nature.
The Alpha Role
In a natural state, dogs would live their entire lives within the closely structure social order of their pack. While young, they would begin to learn the workings of the pack’s social system and, as they grew, begin to establish their place within the pack’s dominance hierarchy. Dominance, submissiveness, leadership, obeying others – these are all concepts that are understood by every dog. These are all concepts that you must understand as well if you are to relate to your dog in a successful manner.
Each pack has a leader, generally an individual who is dominant over all pack members. In wolf society, this individual is called the “alpha.” This is the member who makes the decisions, who must be obeyed. This is the individual that you must be in your dog’s eyes.
Steps to Establishing Your Role as Alpha
Professional trainers know that it is a waste of time to try to train a dog without first establishing themselves as alpha to the dog. Every dog needs a leader to listen to and adore. Without this leader, a dog will feel lost and unstructured. If you do not take the role of alpha, your dog will instinctively take the role himself. Here are some steps to establishing your role as the alpha. Notice that these involve both behaviour and body language – two types of communication that your dog will understand.
1. Always praise your dog confidently. Put your hands firmly on the dog. Hug the dog. Pat him so that your hands get warm from the contact. Do not praise him in a timid way.
2. Praise warmly, well and quickly. Do not drag out your praising of your dog. Do not fawn over the dog just because he did one sit-stay.
3. Reprimand fairly and quickly, then forgive. Don’t hold a grudge. When you put your hands on your dog, do it with confidence and authority. Hands on does NOT mean hitting. Hands on may mean a leash correction, a surprising assist into a sit or down etc. Do it quickly and with authority. Then when you’ve made the dog do exactly what you want – once – reward him.
4. Make the dog obey on the first command. Don’t get into the habit of repeating yourself. A dog’s hearing is significantly better than yours, and you can bet he heard you the first time.
5. Give commands only if you can follow through, and make sure you always follow through.
6. Give permission. Give it for what is about to do anyway as long as it is OK with you. This does not mean you say OK when you see your dog about to steal a plate of food. This means you do say OK when your dog is about to get into the car for a ride with you, eat the food in his bowl, go out with you for his afternoon walk. It means that in a subtle way you are teaching the dog to look to you for approval and permission instead of making decisions on his own. Remember – the better behaved the dog, the more freedom and fun he can have.
7. Deny permission. Monitor your dog’s behaviour. Teach him some manners. Even if you like him to sit on your couch or bed, he shouldn’t behave that way in other people’s homes.
8. Do a sit-stay. This is an easy way to reinforce your role as alpha. Put the dog in a sit-stay for five to ten minutes. For particularly dominant dogs, make it a down-stay, and even more submissive position. When he breaks – and he will – put him back. If he breaks 6 times put him back 6 times. At the end of a few minutes, the dog knows you’re alpha. He knows that anyone who holds his leash can call the shots. And this is with no yelling or hitting. Just a sit-stay. easy and effective.
9. Be Fair, but tough. Act like a top dog. Tough, but loving. Always be fair and never get angry. Dogs understand what’s fair and what’s not.
10. Be a model to your dog. The top dog behaves with dignity, confidence, authority, and intelligence. This will help your dog to be calm himself.
Your Dog Will be Happier
Remember, by being consistent in your handling and in your demands on the dog you are being fair. He needs structure to understand what you want and what his responsibilities are.
This article was prepared for us by Professional Trainer, Scott Donald as an introduction piece on dog training. For more free training tips register at www.dogmaster.com.au
Whether you are a new pet owner or you have had a pet in your home for some time, you know how delightful, and frustrating, owning a pet can be.
Bringing home a brand new puppy or full grown dog is a great joy for most people. The relationship between an owner and a dog is like no other. After all, you brought your dog home to enjoy as a pet – Right?
Dogs often provide unconditional love and affection, hours or exercise and entertainment, and real friendship. On the other hand, your dog may create random messes, afternoons of destruction and cleaning, and become a real nuisance!
How do make sure your dog behaves in a manner that is rewarding and enjoyable? If you think your dog’s behavior is based on breed, you are partially correct. Breed does play a role in a dog’s behavior. However the most significant factor is primarily the training your dog receives. Good dog training resources can go a long way toward helping.
The Benefits of Training
Many pet owners don’t account for the time required to train a dog. Most people are very busy and there is never enough time in a day to take care of yourself, let alone a dog! The time invested in training your dog will benefit you and your relationship for years.
There are five main benefits of training:
Let’s dog into each benefit a little bit:
For more dog training help and advice visit the DIY Dog Training Website.
Feb 9
I am still waiting to see one of these videos where the dog comes out on top.
Feb 8
Why do dogs get such a bad reputation for chasing cats?
