How to Keep Your Puppy From Chewing

When a puppy is young, many people assume that they can let the dog continue chewing on whatever they want. It’s natural, right? Or they do the opposite and yell at their puppy, confusing it and causing other behaviour problems. In reality, your response should be somewhere in the middle, showing the dog that chewing on your things is not okay, but that there are plenty of alternatives.

How to Stop Puppy’s Chewing Behavior

When it comes time to stop your puppy’s chewing behaviors, there are a few things you can do. To start with, do not scold your dog openly or hit them for any reason. No matter how angry you get, make sure you don’t direct it at a puppy. Not only does it confuse them, they likely will never figure out what they did wrong. Instead, consider the following actions.

Behaviour Adjustment – Instead of simply trying to stop your puppy from chewing on your things, teach it to chew on the right things. When you catch your puppy chewing on a slipper, get the puppy’s toy, replace it and then praise the dog when it starts chewing on the new toy. This will teach your puppy that the new item is good and the old one is not.

Keep Your Puppy Busy – To stop puppy chewing, you need to keep them from getting too bored. Even when not teething, a puppy will chew to keep active. It’s like reading a book for them. Avoid this by getting them plenty of exercise and playing when you’re home. When you’re not home make sure there are stimulating toys that will keep them active.

Crate Training – If your puppy gets into your things when you’re not home, crate train them so they have limited access to the home. You can even keep your puppy in a single room while you’re away to limit their access, but the goal here should be the same.

Aversion Sprays – To stop puppy chewing of things like carpet or couch cushions, which they can actively destroy, use a safe, humane spray like Bitter Apple or Cayenne Pepper that does not taste good to them. They will quickly associate those items with a bad taste that will keep them from chewing there.

Chewing behaviors in a puppy are completely normal, but it should never be directed to your possessions or your fingers. If it is, you’ll need to start shifting it to something different.

Being Consistent

If you really want to stop puppy chewing, make sure you are consistent in all of your actions. Don’t let your dog chew on a slipper or a sock if you want them to leave your clothing around. Don’t let them have a stuffed animal as a toy and then expect them to know which stuffed animals are not okay. As the owner, lay down strict rules and follow them. Your dog will learn quickly enough and the chewing will be far less of a problem.

By David Ostiguy

With so many dog training books out there to choose from, it’s difficult to find out which one is the best. So which books actually deliver the goods and have the best results?

For the people who plan on training their dogs from home rely heavily on the best dog training tools out there to aid them to get through the various stages of training.

Here are a couple reviews.

Clickertraining The 4 Secrets To Becoming A Supertrainer

This book review was taken from Chris Smith who said that Clickertraining is a great dog training book. This is a long overdue training book and is definitely much needed. This training book is for anybody who likes to use a non violent, positive and rewarding dog training method. The authors Morten Egtvedt and Cecile Koeste have put together an excellent resource that covers everything from the history of click training, the principles, the theories behind the book and techniques on how to use this book effectively with step by step instructions.

Secrets Of A Professional Dog Trainer

This training book was put together by the professional dog trainer Adam Katz. This book shows you all of Adam’s latest tricks, tips and other things related to the dog training profession and makes it easy for your average dog owner looking to train their pooch. This book is over 300 pages long filled with the best information to be found in a book. You’ll learn the most cutting edge techniques.

This book covers in details everything you need to know about do training in a “no B.S.” fashion. Adam writes with absolute confidence based on his years of experience.

You’ll also learn things, such as how to achieve a relationship with your dog with respect and trust. You’ll also learn how to reward and praise your dog when they do something good and fix the negative behavior.

You’ll learn things such as:

- How to housebreak your dog
- Stop your dog from jumping
- Fix dog aggression

and much more…

Get my eBook on Dog Training Books, plus receive over 130 Dog Treat recipes absolutely free! You’ll also receive some dog training emails that will help you when training your dog. We hate spam and we won’t share your email address with anybody else.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Ostiguy



The Causes of Dog Scratching

There are multiple reasons a dog might scratch incessantly. Before you can stop dog scratching, you must first identify the root cause.

Infection – Infections can be caused by bacteria, yeast, or fungi. Look for greasy sores, hairless patches, or red swelling for any of the three.

Neurogenic – This is a nervous issue that can be caused by excessive licking and chewing. Often, this is caused by a lack of exercise or mental stimulation. It can also be caused by separation anxiety.

Allergenic – Food allergies, flea allergies, plant and dust allergies, and other allergies can all cause skin problems that lead to severe itching.

Nutritional – A dog that doesn’t get the right nutrients in their diet can get dry skin, developing eczema, sores, or simply bad hair that leads to dryness.

Environmental – Too much water from swimming, digging, or playing outside can cause scratching as well.

Parasites – All parasites can cause itching, including ticks, fleas, flies, gnats, and mites. Most medications can stop parasites.

As you can see, before you can stop dog scratching, you must first identify why the scratching started in the first place.

Visiting the Vet

To fully determine where the scratching behaviour is developing from, visit the vet and have your dog thoroughly checked. If it is an infection your dog will need some form of antibiotics, antifungal or cream to remove the effects. Allergies will be treated with antihistamines and a change in diet, and parasites can be treated with flea baths and medications.

Dealing with Neurogenic Scratching

When you go to stop dog scratching, the hardest to stop is the neurogenic cause. All five other issues can be treated with shifts in diet, medication, or change in their exercise routines. For chronic, neurogenic itching, the first thing you really need to do is pinpoint why the dog might feel the urge to continuously scratch his skin.

First, make sure your dog is getting enough exercise. Most of the time, the dog is just bored and has developed a neurotic tick to continuously itch or lick, almost hypnotically. To stop dog scratching due to boredom, you may also need to avert that behaviour. You can do this by putting bitter apple spray or cayenne pepper on your dog’s favourite licking spots.

You can also get a cone from the vet that will not allow the dog to reach those itching hot spots. Once the dog has a better, more active exercise routine, you will be able to slowly return their other activities to normal, removing the cone and the spray.

If your dog continues scratching, make sure you visit the vet again to rule out any other physical ailments. Sometimes, infections can grow in the interim.

Ultimately, your goal as a dog owner is to pay close attention to why your dog might start scratching. Most of the time, it can be easily fixed, but you can never be too careful.

The Basic Retraining Methods

If your dog has severe chasing issues, the first thing you should do is some basic retraining. In many cases, if the fixation is not too extreme, the retraining will help to reduce the negative behaviours.

The leash should be your best friend in these instances, providing a controlled, easy method to keep your dog safe while you train them.

Focusing on You – To start with, make sure your dog learns to keep its attention focused on you. This is a big one that many people avoid. You’ll need to have established a strong alpha leadership control of the dog to stop dog chasing in this method. Then, when you are walking, make sure your dog is always looking at you before you start moving. Don’t allow the dog to walk unless its attention is directly focused on you.

Leash Training – If your dog likes to pull on the leash and will not focus on you, it may take a bit more time to teach them the right path. To start with, make them sit and wait for you whenever you start moving. If they pull at all, stop and make them sit beside you. Soon, they will associate the sensation of pulling against the leash with stopping.

Distraction – To stop dog chasing off a leash, you can use a toy to distract the dog. Many times, if your dog is about to get fixated and go after something, you can shift their attention to a toy or other object that they are equally excited about. Throw it out and they will chase after it instead.

Aversion – You can also have a friend help you out. Have them ride by on a bicycle or jog by –whatever stimulates the dog’s desire to chase. To stop dog chasing here, have the friend stop, firmly say “no” and spray them with a water bottle. For many dogs this will teach them that catching the thing they are chasing is NOT a good thing. A note – this does not work for all dogs. Some will just grow angry at the water bottle.

Avoiding Extreme Measures

Many people will turn to extreme measures to stop dog chasing – using electric fences, shock collars, or other measures to keep a dog in line. These are not good for a number of reasons. They’re inhumane to start with, and they’re not always effective. If your dog truly will not stop their chasing behaviour, consider bringing in an expert to help out.

Remember, if your dog chases animals, cars, or other people, it may just be annoying now, but if they get off their leash, it can be incredibly dangerous for them. Fix the behaviour now and you’ll protect them when it happens.

So, before you can stop barking dogs, you need to understand why they bark and what forms of barking you can control.

The Causes of Dog Barking

Dogs bark for any number of reasons. They bark when they are angry. They bark when they are excited. They even bark when they are scared. Here is a rundown of when you might expect your dog to start barking:

Territorial Barking

Alarm Barking

Attention Seeking Barking

Greeting Barking

Frustration Barking

Compulsive Barking

Injury or Illness Related Barking

As you can see, barking is a major part of who your dog is. It’s impossible to stop barking dogs completely. They’re going to want to express themselves at times, regardless of what you do to inhibit their behaviours.

How to Stop Barking Dogs

When your dog refuses to stop barking, first determine if the behaviour is warranted. Nine times out of ten, it’s excessive and can be controlled. If you decide that your dog’s barking can and should be controlled, ask yourself these questions.

When does the dog bark?

What is the dog barking at?

Does the dog have a specific trigger?

If you determine that your dog is barking because it wants to protect its territory or is simply alarmed by something, you cannot simply yell at your dog to stop. In fact, negative reinforcement for territorial barking can often lead to biting or aggression in other forms. Your dog doesn’t understand what you’re trying to tell them. They stop the barking, but the territorial issues are still there.

Instead, you need to create a situation in which your dog will not feel that territorial urge to defend itself. This starts by taking control of your household. Be the alpha leader of the pack and show the dog that you are the one in charge of protecting that space. Secondly, you can simply reduce the dog’s ability to see those incursive threats to its territory. Draw your blinds so he cannot see the mailman, get an opaque fence so they cannot see outside the yard, and make sure they don’t have open access to the windows at any time.

Stop Barking Dogs with Anxiety

If your dog has anxiety issues, the barking is likely a symptom of something much greater. They want to reach you and will continuously bark until you return. Most of the time, this is because you have rewarded them for this behaviour in the past. When you return home and they are excited, you immediately give them attention. Rather than rewarding them in this instance, you should ignore your dog for as long as 10-15 minutes so they stop associating your return with attention.

Finally, to stop barking dogs, you should teach your dog how to speak and be quiet. By creating a command that allows you to control the behaviour, your dog will learn to control the barking when it is not necessary. A benefit of this is that, if there is an intruder or something you want your dog to bark at, they will still alert you.

Dog barking does not have to be the bane of your community that it has become. Learn to control it early and you’ll never need to worry about the neighbours banging down your door every day when you get home.

The Basics of Schutzhund Dog Training

Schutzhund training is a very rigid, highly structured process that has evolved over the last 100 years.

It is markedly less abusive toward the dogs than when it started, but still just as strict, as is necessary to fully evaluate each animal. While in the past, most of the Schutzhund training that took place was based on a handful of manuals and organized courses, today there are DVDs and videos that help dog owners start the training process.

The actual training will test a dog in many different specific behaviors that are ideal for police work, including tracking, sniffing, protection, and retrieving. Most Schutzhund dog training will begin when the dog is no more than a few weeks old and will last for weeks or even months to ensure the dog is well suited for the job.

The Essence of Schutzhund

There are many different aspects of Schutzhund training. The course you use will also depend on which videos or obedience program you prescribe to. Most Schutzhund courses will focus on the following, however:

Clicker Training – Not all Schutzhund trainers will use clickers, but it is considered a nearly universal method that works extremely well with German Shepherds and other Schutzhund suitable breeds. Training with a clicker should be begin at a very young age – around 10 weeks.

Obedience – Basic obedience training is the first true test in Schutzhund dog training. There are 10-11 basic obedience commands used in most programs. These include “focus and attention”, “sit, down and stand”, front, pointing out of an object, targeting, heel positioning, heeling, retrieving, jumping, motion exercises, and “go out”. Full completion requires mastery of all 11 training points.

Tracking – Dogs training to track different objects, including drugs, bombs, and cadavers, will be trained exclusively in tracking methods. Using the “targeting” and “pointing out of an object” obedience cues, Schutzhund dog training will teach the dog to recognize the specific scent of their target and then to pursue until called off.

Protection – Dogs may also be trained to protect, as is the case with police dogs, attack dogs, and guard dogs. They are trained with specific commands to both identify a threat and attack that threat. Alternatively, they can be trained to protect a specific object or person without commands.

The essence of Schutzhund is to provide a dog with a very highly specific set of skills they can use to complete a given task quickly and efficiently. Dogs in official training programs might complete training at a rate of 20% or lower. However, Schutzhund dog training can be just as effective as an obedience regimen for dog owners at home.

If you’re considering using Schutzhund to train your own dog, be sure to research the various training courses based on their success rates and the underlying philosophies used.

What Causes Poodle Biting

There is a common belief that poodles bite more often than any other dog breed, with toy poodles biting even more often than standards. In truth, Poodles that are well trained will generally not bite at all with only a slightly higher occurrence rate than any other dogs.

The reason for that slightly higher rate is commonly related to their nature – a poodle is not bred to do much of anything other than be a pet. And yet, poodles are considered to be the smartest dog breed around. Combine intellect with a lack of any strong instincts, and poodles can grow stubborn and unresponsive to basic commands if they are not properly controlled.

How to Stop Poodle Biting

Luckily, because poodles are so smart, they can be highly trained and learn that biting is not acceptable behaviour. To start with, make sure your Poodle is properly socialized as a puppy. A puppy should never be taken from its mother before 8 weeks of age – ensuring it is given the time it needs to learn not to bite and to control of its urge to show dominance.

After 8 weeks, the dog should be socialized with your family and with other puppies. Go to bite aversion classes, puppy day cares, and make sure you are very calm and welcoming to the dog. Poodle puppies should never be scolded as they are not young enough to know better and early aggression on your part can create long term behaviour problems.

If you have a poodle biting problem with a puppy, don’t allow it. Provide a toy whenever the puppy bites and make soft whimpering sounds to show the puppy that the bite hurt you. This is how other puppies would show the same behaviour.

Poodle Biting in Older Dogs

If your Poodle is older and still likes to nip or even bite people, you need to make sure you have full control of your dog. To start with, make sure you are the alpha leader. Control feeding times, walking times, and teach your dog some basic commands. Do not back down from your dog and never waffle on your commands. Additionally, avoid any games like wrestling, tug of war, or chasing that can result in biting. This will make the behaviour into a game that grabs attention.

If your Poodle shows aggressive tendencies or fear and anxiety related tendencies, take them to an obedience class where they can socialize with other dogs and be forced, in a controlled environment to address their aggression issues.

If your Poodle Biting problem persists and grows more dangerous, consider hiring an expert or even visiting your vet to rule out any potential health related causes to their biting.

Whatever you do, know that biting from your Poodle is not acceptable. Even with a toy poodle, it is a sign of greater behaviour problems under the surface that need to be dealt with immediately.

Luckily, Mastiffs, like many big dogs, are highly susceptible to training and are eager to please their masters. But, it needs to start early and you need to remain consistent throughout the training process to ensure they don’t try and take advantage of you.

What Makes Mastiffs Special

Mastiff training is different in a few key ways. First, know that Mastiffs are generally very calm, relaxed dogs. But they need a lot of exercise. Not only do they need exercise, they need it to be given on a regular basis, even when they don’t seem to be interested in one. They won’t jog or run much, so you’ll need a lot of time to keep them exercised.

They also need to have constant, regular companionship to remain even-tempered as they age. All the Mastiff training in the world is useless if you’re never home and they get anxious. In fact, they need more socialization more frequently than most other breeds, both with people and other dogs.

Finally, make sure you are patient and have a lot of time. Mastiffs like to make you happy but they can be a bit stubborn and they’re big, so training will not be a walk in the park.

Mastiff Training Basics

To start your training, make sure your mastiff puppy stays with his mother until at least eight weeks of age. With a dog so big and such a carefully balanced temperament, it’s important to make sure he gets the socialization that a litter provides at a young age.

As he ages, you need to maintain that socialization. Someone should be home with the mastiff puppy every day until at least 3 months of age and all the while they should be socialized with other dogs whenever possible.

Avoid training your mastiff to be a guard dog. Their temperament is not easily controlled if they start learning to watch for threats. Their simple size should be enough to intimidate possible intruders and they will be protective if necessary.

Mastiff Training for Obedience

Obedience training with a Mastiff is simple enough. It starts at a young age, usually around 10-14 weeks when the puppy has been housebroken and knows its place in the household. Make sure never to be aggressive or violent with a Mastiff either, due to its size and the danger of such a large dog as it ages.

Because most mastiffs will not be doing a lot of tricks and are relatively relaxed, the most important things you can teach them are to sit and stay and to walk on a leash. It is also a good idea to teach them not to chase things as it can be hard to keep such a massive dog under control.

With Mastiff training, basic training methods work very well, but may require a bit more practice and patience on your part to enforce in them. All the while, make sure you keep your Mastiff socialized with a big family, neighbors or a local dog park.

Why You Should Know How to Train a Chihuahua

A Chihuahua’s temperament is unique in many ways. First, the dog will be perfectly happy just spending all of its time with you. As companion dogs, Chihuahuas are bred to be attached at the hip to their owner no matter where you go. However, that attachment can also lead to dominant behaviours and if they are not properly socialized with other dogs, there can be a number of aggression issues.

Most Chihuahuas act larger than they look, which while very cute, can be very dangerous if your dog is not trained properly. Additionally, Chihuahuas can be standoffish with strangers, get aggressive toward other dogs, snappy with children, and overly jumpy to noises outside. The good news is that all of these behaviours can be controlled with good training

How to Train a Chihuahua

The first thing you need to do when training a Chihuahua is to take control of the household. Believe it or not, that cute little dog thinks he is in charge of the house and will do whatever he needs to show you as such if you let him.

So, you need to establish boundaries and be the leader of the pack. Here are some basic tips to maintaining alpha leadership over your Chihuahua.

Feeding Times – Feed your Chihuahua at set intervals. Don’t let the dog determine when it wants to eat.

Walking – Walk your Chihuahua twice a day or more, but make sure you control the walk. Don’t let the dog pull or dictate the direction. When learning how to train a Chihuahua, leash control is vital.

Jumping and Furniture – With a small dog like a Chihuahua, it is easy to let the dog get up whenever it wants. But, control of your space is important to imposing boundaries. Never respond to barking or whining and set boundaries on what furniture the dog is allowed on.

Coming and Going – Ignore your dog when you come and go from the house. Only pay attention to the Chihuahua when it reaches a calm, relaxed state.

To truly learn how to train a Chihuahua, you need to be the alpha leader, lest the dog feel in charge.

Optimizing Mental Stimulation

A Chihuahua can be worn out quickly enough, but most still don’t get enough exercise or mental stimulation. How many people play fetch or go to dog parks with a small dog like that? Train your Chihuahua with basic commands like sit and stay, speak and quiet, fetch, and anything else you like.

When it comes to learning how to train a Chihuahua, reducing the chances for the dog to challenge you and to be overwhelmed with energy and boredom will remove much of the bad temperament issues that most people have when it comes to their rambunctious little friends.

How to Stop Dogs from Biting as Puppies

The easiest and most important time to pinpoint this behaviour and stop it is when the dog is still a puppy. A puppy under six months of age is very easy to retrain because it is still in the formative years of its life, when dogs generally learn how to bite in the wild.

The big problem here is that many people assume their puppies are merely playing or teething and not really trying to hurt them. Unfortunately, what is really happening is that your puppy is learning how to assert its position in the pack, using its teeth to show who is in charge. If you want to know how to stop dogs from biting, it starts right here, when they are still very open to learning.

There are many ways to stop your puppy from biting. Most of them will mimic how the puppy would be treated with its litter mates and mother. A light nip on the neck, a whining noise when you are bitten, and replacement therapy where you hand the dog a toy instead of your hand are all good ways to teach the dog that biting other people is not acceptable. If you have trouble teaching your puppy to stop nipping, you should go to an obedience school or hire a trainer.

How to Stop Dogs from Biting at One Year

If a puppy is allowed to nip and bite and show that it is in charge of the household, it will move on to play biting when it is a teenager at around one year of age. Any number of factors can contribute to this behaviour. You should stop playing physical games with you dog right away. No wrestling, tug of war or other dominance related games.

Additionally, stop allowing your dog the run of the house. Give them boundaries, cut them down to a specific range of motion, even crate training them if necessary. A good obedience training program can be very helpful with a teenage dog that bites.

How to Stop Dogs from Biting as they Age

If your dog continues to get away with their biting behaviour, eventually it will evolve into a big problem as an adult. The dog might “turn on” their owner, but in reality, the dog always stays himself as the leader of the pack.

If your dog bites or nips at anyone after one year of age, you need to find a professional immediately because there is serious danger here and the dog might choose to assert its dominance at any time with an attack.

When learning how to stop dogs from biting, you need to start at as early an age as possible. With only a few exceptions for disease or mental disorder, dogs who bite as adults had issues as puppies that could have been resolved.