Training With Treats: Do It Right!

Best-selling dog training books >>>

by Marc Goldberg

Hey even I’m willing to learn new things if there’s a broiled lobster in it for me.

When I’m hungry that is.

If I’m not hungry, or if I’m so distracted that a lobster won’t tempt me, then I’ll blow you off to continue doing what I want, not what you want.

That’s pretty much how your dog sees the issue when you train with food. If he’s hungry at the moment, and if there’s nothing more compelling going on, food can be a great way to reinforce behaviors.

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How to Stop Your Dog From Begging

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By: B.L. Hill

You have company over for dinner. The table is beautiful and the food smells and looks delicious.

Unfortunately, your dog thinks so too and is sitting up and begging for morsels off everyone’s plate and, if not rewarded, attempting to take the food on his own or pawing at your guests. This can ruin the dinner party and is not particularly good for your dog either.

How could this have been avoided?

Know that his is not the dogs fault and it started a very long time ago. Some horribly misguided individual who was trying to be a good pet owner did this while the pup was still very young and trained the dog for this very behavior. Want to know who taught your dog this trick? It was YOU.

No doubt you weren’t consciously training your pet for this unwanted behavior and you did it with the best of intentions but the behavior is here now and must be dealt with.

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Keeping Dogs off Furniture: What are Your Doggy Rules?

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By: Martin Olliver

In general, you need to decide what kind of house you want to live in and what doggy rules are the most important ones.

For example, if your dog seems temperamental around young children, you will want to focus on this first before worrying about the furniture.

It’s often a good idea to have “no go” zones for your dog too. This not only gives you a place where you can put your valuable or vulnerable stuff, but also reminds the dog that this is your territory, first and foremost.

The Furniture Temptation

You also have to realize that the second you walk out that door, they may go over to your leather couch, lie on it all day, and hop off just as you get home. Smart ones will even vacuum the dog hair off. You’ll never know they were there. Unless these areas are restricted, your dog will naturally want to recline in luxury. You would too, which is why you bought the leather couch. (more…)

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Dealing with Problem Puppy Behaviors

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By: Jenny Gill

Everyone who owns a puppy or dog will eventually have to deal with and correct less than desirable behaviors on the part of their companion animal. There are a number of behaviors that should be nipped in the bud, including:

Jumping up on People

This is one of the sort of behaviors that many owners inadvertently encourage in their animals, since jumping up, wagging his tail and the like can be adorable in a young puppy. When that puppy is older, larger and heavier, however, this jumping up puppy behavior ceases to be cute and begins to become annoying and even dangerous.

A large, heavy dog jumping up on people can be dangerous to young children and even to some adults, since a large, 100 pound plus dog can easily knock down a child or small adult. Since you as the owner are responsible for the behavior of your dog, it is important to nip this problem puppy behavior in the bud.

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How to Prevent Dogs from Jumping up on People

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Most puppies and many dogs have the habit of jumping up on people. This is actually their away of greeting people, and trying to reach the individual’s face. For puppies, the facial area is the chief point of contact between them and other dogs or people.

Dogs that jump up on people are annoying; jumping up can also cause injury, especially when children are involved. Although you might not mind your dog jumping up on you in greeting, it would be unfair and confusing to allow your dog to jump up on you, but then punish him for jumping on others. A steadfast rule of no jumping, then, should apply.

To correct jumping, be firm and consistent but show no anger. A raised knee when the dog jumps and a firm “No jump!” can be most effective in training an adult dog not to jump.

If this method fails to work, try holding the palm of your hand out so that when the dog jumps up he will bump his nose against it. At the same time command in a loud voice “Down!” Dogs have very sensitive noses and will not purposely risk many such bumps. (more…)

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How to Control the Canine Behavior Problem of Biting

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In part one of this 3-part instructional we pointed out that some canine behaviors are ingrained, while others are learned. We also highlighted successful ways to control excessive barking. In this section, we will deal with effective techniques to stop biting.

According to the U.S. Disease Control Center in Atlanta, Georgia, about 1,000,000 people in the United States are bitten by dogs every year. The majority of victims are children between the ages of 5 and 8. In most cases, the biting dogs were house pets.

Why Dogs Bite

Dogs bite for a variety of reasons. Dogs may bite or display threatening behavior when they are angry, afraid, agitated, over-excited, or when challenged or seeking to protect.

The first thing to do when confronted with the problem is to discern “why” the dog behaved aggressively. If the dog was being teased or felt threatened, the problem may not be with the dog. Instead, fault may lie with whomever or whatever teased him or made him feel threatened.

Some dogs bite or snap at their caregiver’s hands when the caregiver tries to take something away from them.

Return Violence with Violence

According to Barbara Woodhouse, internationally known dog trainer, canine behavior expert, and author, the best cure for such aggressive behavior is to “return violence with violence.”

When the dog attempts to bite, the caregiver should act swiftly by suspending the dog off his front legs by his choke chain; at the same time, scold in a violent tone of voice, “No bite!” The dog should be allowed back on his front legs only after he shows signs of discomfort (usually within 10 seconds). Once subdued; caress and praise him.
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Excessive Barking

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A Few Words About Dogs

Dogs are wonderful; just ask any one of the millions of canine owners world-wide. They make terrific companions, are loving, loyal, protective, entertaining, and obedient. Well, most of the time anyway.

As with humans, no dog is perfect – including my treasured poodle, Muffy. She is wonderfully calm and composed, especially considering her breed type. And she has been my best friend for nearly 14 years. Nevertheless, she has her faults. We all do.

That aside, it is important for new dog owners to understand the differences between dogs and humans. Recognizing the differences will help owners balance expectations and keep them realistic.

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