Archive for October, 2009

Digging is one of the most common dog behavior problems. This is complained about by dog owners nearly more than any other problem. There are things you can do to stop a problem with dog digging with your dog and you can start today? You have to understand why dogs dig and what to do about it.

Understanding the reasons that dogs dig will be your first step to stopping it. This will help you determine why your dog is doing it and what you can do to stop it. Some common reasons why dogs dig are:

· Some breeds are more prone to digging (these include terriers, labs and hounds)

· Your dog gets lonely or bored

· Your dog is trying to hunt creatures that live in the ground, like moles

· Your dog is acting on wild instinct to bury his food

· Your dog needs a cool place in the shade to relax

· Your dog is trying to find shelter when he is cold

· Your dog is trying to escape (such as digging under a fence)

· Your dog is attracted to the smell of your fertilizer

Now that you know some of the reasons why dogs dig, can you think about what might be the reason your dog is doing it? What things might you be able to change or control? Some things are out of your hands such as the breed of dog and their predisposition to digging. However, there are other things such as loneliness that you can control or if your dog does not have a cool, shady place to rest.

You need to stop digging in dogs by finding otu why the problem is there in the first place. You can go over the checklist above one by one. If you haven’t purchased a dog yet, consider breed now before your buy.

Is it possible your dog spends a lot of time alone and just feels lonely or bored? This can be remedied by spending more time with your dog or asking friends and family to help out with spending time with your dog. You can try a dog sitter to help you when you are away from your dog.

If you have a dog that’s partial to digging in the garden, try turning on the sprinkler system. Turn it on each time she starts to dig or maybe put a timer on it so it comes on randomly. Then your dog might blame the garden and want to stay away to avoid it.

You can also use chili powder or red pepper mixed with water to spray on your plants and flowers to keep the dog from digging them up (canines don’t like the smell). Always be sure your dog has proper food and shelter and that his basic needs are being met properly.

You also need to be sure you stimulate your dog mentally at least a little each day. You might play a game, teach her a trick or just spend some time together doing something she enjoys. When all of these conditions are met, you shouldn’t have a problem with dog digging anymore.

If you have adopted an older dog only to learn it has some behavior problems, don’t worry-you can teach an old dog new tricks. Sometimes people adopt dogs that they haven’t had a chance to check out first. The older dog that you are adopting may bring some behavior problems with him. Your new adopted pet may have problems such as aggression, too much barking or even potty training issues. Whichever problem the adopted dog may have, by using the right training techniques with your new pet, you can train him to be a welcome addition to the family.

When first adopting an older dog, be sure to really check it out for any behavior issues. You should check to see if your new pet has aggression issues over his food or territory, or towards other people or dogs. If you do see signs of aggression, you will need to learn how to deal with those issues immediately-and avoid any chance of a biting incident occurring.  In addition to checking for aggression, try to find any other behavior issues needing correction, and whether the dog has previously been trained or not. Check out his previous training by giving him some commands and checking his responses. By his reaction to the commands you will be able to see if he had previous training or not. If your dog reacts with fear to your commands, you may have a dog that was trained with harsh negative techniques. Make sure he is totally house trained to avoid nasty surprises. It is smart to check out your dog thoroughly to find out whether it has problems, so you know what behaviors need solutions first.

The best way to get started training an older dog is to take the advice of the best  professional dog trainers, by using a step by step program that takes you from basic obedience training exercises right  on through more advanced training. By using the step by step techniques of a proven training system, you can avoid making the mistakes that keep you from having good results with your dog’s training. All of the best training programs use only positive training techniques. With positive training you give your dog reward for doing his exercises correctly, and this quickly teaches him how to behave. A good training program will also teach you how to communicate with your dog using body language and vocal tones your dog will best understand. By using the right boy language and voice, you can train your dog much more effectively.

It is important that you learn how to be your dog’s Alpha leader. Once he recognizes you as the pack leader, he will be eager and happy to follow your lead. That is because it is a dog’s essential nature to try to please the superior members of his “pack”-that’s you and your family.

Unless everyone in the household follows the same training regimen, your dog will be confused, and fast training results won’t be as easy to attain. If you use the right training methods, it won’t be long before your new pet has become well behaved, and fits in with his new pack-you and your family. By establishing yourself as the Alpha dog, the pack leader, you will be able to get good results with solving behavior problems your dog may have brought with him.

By training your older dog to be well behaved, he will be a welcome family member, you can rely on to always behave his best in any situation. You adopted your new pet to be a fun new member of your family, so don’t let any behavior issues stop that from happening. So, take the initiative and obedience train that older dog some new tricks, and teach him how to be the best pet he can be.

Please click here for more helpful articles on dog obedience training and solving your dog”s behavior problems.

Please click here to read my reviews of the best online dog training programs>

During my routine early walk in the morning with my dog, we came across a dog running loose. Normally, that in itself is no reason for alarm. Because I have lots of experience recognizing aggressive body language in dogs, I could tell from a distance that something about this dog was wrong. The approaching dog definitely looked like he could pose a problem to us. Instead of looking friendly, his appearance was quite  aggressive-and he was heading straight for us. Although he wasn’t yet barking and growling,  even before this dog got close to us, it was easy to tell by his aggressive body language that his intentions were not friendly ones. Because I was forewarned, I had a chance to change directions to avoid having to a problem with that dog.

You should also be able to recognize aggressive behavior in dogs, so you can avoid potential dog fights. You have probably noticed how dogs will usually demonstrate to each other who is the dominant dog and who is the submissive dog.  A dog fight normally only occurs when one of the dogs refuses to become submissive to the other dog and when both want to assert their own dominance.

Use the following tips to help learn how to recognize an aggressive dog before any problems can occur. If you see these signs of aggression,  with your own or another dog, you should be ready to defuse what could turn into a dangerous situation by taking immediate action. That may be as simple as  calming and controlling your own pet, or finding a way to avoid a close encounter with the other dog by leaving the area.

• We have all witnessed the body language of aggressive dogs many times. The more dominant dog may hold his head above the other dog’s head, and perhaps might jump up and put his paws over the other dog’s shoulders. Sometimes the dog that is most dominant may try to mount the other dog to prove his point (not because he is looking for a good time).  These dominance displays can cause some problems if one of the dogs does not feel like being submissive .

• When the dominant dog starts to snarl and displays some teeth while doing this, (perhaps even snapping his jaws) it means he is now in a very aggressive mode (not just demonstrating dominance) and this can become  a very real problem. Make sure you control the situation and avoid any chance of the two dogs fighting.

• Another of the ways an aggressive dog  can be recognized is by noticing the strong tension in his body posture-his tail will not be wagging like it should be on a happy dog, and his eyes will be staring straight at his target, while the ears may be held back. The aggressive dogs tail will be held up (but it will not be wagging, unfortunately) and his ears will be held back. Even from a distance you can easily tell this dog is not a happy camper.

• Of the various types of aggressive body language dogs use, one of the easiest to see  is when a dog puts its hackles (the hair on his back) up. For instance the aggressive dog I ran into this morning had his hackles up even before he got close to where we were walking.

When you think about it, you can see that you have observed aggressive body language lots of times, even if you didn’t always recognize what it meant. Since now know what to look for to recognize aggressive body language, you can actively take steps to avoid encounters.

With my own aggressive dogs, until I finally got serious and trained them better, I could  never take them out in public without a leash on them for fear of one of my dogs starting a fight. If you take an aggressive dog of your own with you to a public place, you must be responsible for making sure he doesn’t cause any problems.

The good news is that once you can easily recognize and pay attention to aggressive body language a dog is displaying, you will be able to avoid potential problems. If there is another dog in the area that is acting aggressively, because you recognize the aggressive dog’s body language in advance you can prevent your own dog from  coming in to close contact with that uptight dog. By going in a different direction you can probably avoid having to go through a potentially problematic situation with the other dog. If it is your own dog that is the aggressive dog of the two, you  can take action by really doing a good job of obedience training your dog. You won’t be able to control your dog’s aggressive actions until he recognizes you as the boss of the relationship, and will listen to you when you want him to calm down and not be aggressive.

If you are interested in learning lots of great techniques for training you dog at home read my review of  the best on line dog training program. Using these tips and positive reinforcement techniques, training my own dogs is much easier and effective than it used to be.

For more free helpful advice for dog obedience training and solving your dog’s behavior problems, please click here to visit www.BehaveDoggy.com.

Many people believe that when a dog moves past the stage of being a puppy that it is a little to late to train him. These beliefs are false. While training a puppy may be a little more simple, training an older dog is certainly achievable.

More Training Advice Here

In most instances you will have a little knowledge about the dog going into the training process. In the instance that you have gotten your pet from a shelter or he just showed up at the house, you will not know much about his background. So, if the history of the older dog is unknown it will be crucial that you begin to train your pet in a kind and gentle manner.

Below you will find a few tips to help with your older dog and a few of these tips will prove useful in training a pup

Time To Relearn

Be aware,your new older pet is sure to have acquired a few unwanted behavior issues during his journey in life. Not only will you have a few things to teach him, you are going to have to un-teach him things. Just remember, up to this stage in his life, he does not know any better.

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Be ready to catch him right as he starts to do the wrong thing.

The Proper Voice

You will not need to yell, but you will need to use a nice firm tone while training your dog, as this will be the tool with the most impact. Try to never sound upset or angry, you want your dog to believe that you are in complete control. Look for the positive and when you see it, give him a treat and an awful lot of praise.

One Word Commands

Use commands with one word when training pups or dogs of any age. Your pet will understand things much easier with words like; Stay, Come,Down or Sit than he will, “Stay right here” or “I said come here”

The First Time

It is important to know that once your dog understands a command that you expect him to follow through with it. Begging is one thing that you should not do. Now this one is crucial. Let’s say you call your dog, he chooses not to come,Do Not repeat the command just walk over and get him,if he chooses to come to you, give him some treats and pets. Anytime you have your dog 4 or 5 times to follow a command it won’t be long before it is 5 or6 so it is very important to get to the point of “One Time”.

Rewards And Good Behavior

Here is one thing to be conscious of, rewarding your dog with treats and praise for a job well done will take you where you want to go much faster than punishing him for unacceptable behavior. So, when he sits when you tell him to or behaves the way you like, love on him for a little bit and maybe give him a little treat.

The right way to train your puppy or older dog is through the reinforcement of their good behavior.

Do not let the thought even enter your mind that you will not be able to teach your dog anything. If you use the proper training methods, the older dog that you are living with now will be behaving the right way before you know it.

Here Is The Ultimate Dog Training Guide.

Innotek is a company that prides itself is providing solutions for all your dog training needs. Among other products Innotek dog training collars are widely popular and available. An Innotek Dog Training Collar is designed with the training of your dog in mind. There are few other tools that have the efficiency of the Innotek training collar. This dog collar is a shock collar because it will stimulate the dog and deliver some degree of shock so that it can respond. Many people may say that this is a form of torture for the dog but, used properly this is a training aid that yields good results.

You can find the Innotek dog training collar in almost every pet store or you can just order it online. It is vital for you to know how to use the Innotek dog training collar because this is the key to making the most out of it. First, you need to know that it can only work when the dog understands the command he or she is given. For example, if you want the dog to sit or stand you will need to say it and make sure that the dog knows the expectation. If your dog hasn’t learned a certain command, then it’s not a good idea to use the Innotek training collar on it yet.

How the Training Collar Works

The Innotek Dog Training Collar will have receivers built into the system. The training collar also has prongs installed into it as well. The prongs are located on the inside of the collar, in contact with the neck of the dog. Then, it’s a matter of how you plan to train your dog with the collar. As the dog-owner or trainer, you will have a transmitter which will be used to stimulate the dog. Stimulation will have to be preceded by an ignored command. Let’s say that you order your dog to stop when he’s about to leave your property but the command is not obeyed. The idea is to make the dog associate the lack of cooperation with the shock stimulation. The collar works up to 300 yards away from the transmitter.

Summary

There is nothing like the Innotek dog training collar to help reinforce discipline and taught commands to your dog. This is an insight into how the shock collar works and the best way to use it. It is also a way to show you how it was designed and built.

People love their dogs, but unfortunately, their neighbors don’t love their barking as much. The Innotek Bark Collar can help stop barking at innaproppiate hours, like in the middle of the night.

Innotek is a company that produces dog collars, that are appropriate for any dog. There are collars for small dogs, medium dogs, or large dogs. Depending upon your preference, there are two basic types of collar. People prefer the version that can detect the vibrations that barking causes and then deliver a small static discharge to the dog’s neck.

Using their own patented system, some Innotek bark collars are able to recognise the best level of discouragement (by way of a tiny static shock) for your dog. The collar has sevel levels of intensity, and it comes preset at the lowest one, so that the intensity can be increased until the dog stops barking. When the barking stops, the collar will detect the intensity at which it stopped and then set itself to it. There are other Innotek bark collars that have even wider range of levels.

By using the collar at the times when your dog is most likely to be a nuisance, you can soon train your dog not to bark – using the collar for more than half an hour or so a day is generally not recommended because a dog that is not allowed to bark at all can become neurotic.

There is another type of Innotek bark collar that uses a spray that confuses the dog and makes it stop barking. The type that delivers the static shock is perfectly harmless, but some people object to them. This type of collar works in the same way that the shock collar does, except that it delivers a spray of citronella smell rather than a shock collar in order to confuse the dog and make it stop barking.

Every Innotek bark collar comes with a small set of instructions in the package that will let you know how to properly use the collar in a safe way that will eliminate excessive or agressive barking.

Summary: This is just a brief explanation of Innotek collars. The alternate types of collar available are discussed and their use. In general, no matter which type you get, you’ll get results.

If your dog barks a lot for no real reason, or your neighbors are annoyed by the endless “twilight barking” every night, you need to do something about your dog’s barking

Is There Anything You Can Do?

Figure out why your dog barks so much. Most excessive barking has a reason, sometimes it’s people passing by, sometimes it’s a health issue.;If you find out, then you probably won’t need a barking collar for your pet.

Punishing your dog for barking can be counterproductive if the reason for barking is stress. Try using positive training techniques instead. One thing that you can do is to expose your dog to the stimulus that scares it, like a big group of people, a running mottor, or the ring of a cellphone, while you are next to it and calm it down. If these don’t work, get the help of a professional – a dog trainer or vet can help.

What do Bark Collars Do?

A good idea to eliminate excessive barking is through the use of a bark collar. Three different methods are available, as well as combinations of methods for even greater effectiveness.

Citrus spray (or “citronella”) can spray from the collar when the dog barks. These Barking Collars often emit a hissing sound that warns the dog so that it can stop the barking before getting the spray.

Sonic or ultrasonic dog bark collars work by producing a “dog whistle” sound – a sound so low that generally only dogs can hear it – whenever the barking happens. The dog doesn’t like the sound; it becomes annoying or distracting and the dog will bark less often.

Finally, electronic bark collars work by giving a small shock to the dog’s neck whenever it barks. It doesn’t hurt the dog, but it can deter barking.

There are many methods to deter barking, but Bark collars are some of the best. The three main methods of bark collars are citrus spray, sound emission, and electrical shock. All of these are harmless, yet effective in reducing the amount of barking.

Using dog training hand signals in addition to verbal commands when you are obedience training your dog is very useful. The signals work even when your dog cannot hear you, so they are a great way to ensure your dog pays attention to you-even from a distance. Handlers of hunting dogs or agility dogs can control their dog’s actions in the field simply by using hand signals. Just by using the appropriate hand signal, the handlers command their dog to do the right action.

Teach your dog his hand signals while you obedience train your dog. Any good dog obedience program of dog training class will teach you the various hand signals. If you want, you can make up your own dog training hand signs, as long as you are always consistent about using the same one each time you have a training session with your dog.

Dogs pay very close attention to body language- in nature dogs do a lot of communicating between each other with body language, so the dog training hand signals will actually aid your attempts to quickly train your dog. If your dog’s obedience training is just getting started, be sure to include the hand signals as part of the training. Even for a dog that has been obedience trained only with verbal commands, the hand signals will help you over distances, so add them to your training now. Try starting with a few of the more basic obedience commands (such as sit, down, and stay). Most courses start the obedience training withe these basic steps, so it makes good sense to begin here. Teaching these first 3 hand signals to your dog, prepares him for easily learning all the other hand signals.

• To teach your dog the hand signal that means sit, you should bend your arm at the elbow and quickly raise your hand up to your head’s level, while firmly commanding your dog to sit. Be sure to repeat the same sit hand signal each time you say sit, so your dog can quickly associate the vocal command with the hand signal.
• For teaching the down hand signal hold your arm out level with the floor and then lower it down towards the floor. Do this at the same moment you command your dog down. The idea of this hand signal is that your dog will follow the direction of your hand and associate it with lying down on the floor.
• To teach your dog the hand signal to stay, hold your arm straight out towards your dog  with your palm facing up-the same hand position a policeman uses to stop traffic. You should be making this hand signal at the same time you verbally command your dog to stay.

If you haven’t already started using dog training hand signals when obedience training your dog, you can get started now. It is a good feeling to know you can control your dog even if he cannot hear you for some reason.

Find the best dog obedience training program for you-click here to read my full review of the very best of the on line dog training programs.

Learning how to become the alpha dog will help you create a bond of trust and confidence that will lead to your puppy being a great pet. When you are the puppy’s alpha leader, he will pay attention to you and be much easier to obedience train and for you to control unwanted behaviors, like puppy biting problems.

Because dogs have a pack society, they usually learn proper behavior from the interaction they have with the other puppies and their Mama. Now that you have brought a puppy home, you are his pack leader and your family is his  new pack. In nature and in your home, dogs  need to know their proper place in their pack, so it is up to you and your family to provide the guidance your puppy is going to need if he is to grow up to be the well behaved and obedient pet you all want.

You must avoid the usual mistake of acting like your puppy was human, in order to communicate and train it in a way an alpha leader would. Mistakes in how you communicate with your dog can confuse your puppy and cause confusion that can lead to your puppy trying to demonstrate his own dominance-perhaps by growling at a family member over his food bowl. You can avoid problems like these, by demonstrating to your puppy who is the boss and letting him know he has to listen to the alpha leader. Obviously, if a puppy snaps or growls at you and your family he does not yet know his place, and your puppy’s aggression must be speedily corrected before he can become a real problem and bite someone.

It is smart to train a young puppy early on to be submissive, rather than wait until you have to retrain an older dog that has already become confused about who the alpha dog is in your pack. So, it makes good send for you to learn how to assume the Alpha dog position right away with your new pup.

It is quite common to see little puppies playing quite roughly and even chasing after people, as they try to learn their relationships with their new pack. You are going to need to set some boundaries to show your puppy his limits, and to deter any budding aggression towards people.To be your puppy’s alpha leader, you don’t need to act harsh to your puppy-just show him the right kind of guidance.

You need to know some tricks to making your puppy act submissively in order to show him who is in charge. Try out these exercises on a regular basis to teach your puppy to be submissive, and recognize you as the alpha dog.

• Hold your puppy still, then look intently into his eyes to demonstrate your dominance until he is completely calm. When he finally relaxes, he is showing submission to your dominance.
• Take your puppy across your lap and turn him upside down so that you are supporting his back and head. Just like before, keep him in this position until he has become calm and submissive.
• Another variation of this exercise is to hold the puppy down on the floor with one hand on his belly and one hand holding his neck, and then pushing a little bit. In case your puppy tries to squirm, you should hold him still until he relaxes and becomes submissive.
• You can combine using the eye contact, the growling and the holding to really make your point if your puppy does not quickly submit.

Be sure to repeat these simple exercises regularly with your puppy when he is aggressive, until he has learned to recognize you as the dominant member of the pack, and is readily submissive to you without any fussing or struggling. Your consistency and fairness will be important to earning your puppy’s trust and respect and for him to recognize you as the alpha leader. After you have established yourself as the Alpha leader of your pack, your puppy will be well balanced and well behaved and a joy to take anywhere with you.

To check out some other advice on solving dog behavior problems and obedience training advice please visit http://BehaveDoggy.com.

Please check out my review of the best of the on-line dog obedience training programs: Secrets to Dog Training Review.

All puppies seem to want to bite and all puppies should be taught to change this habit. A lot of characteristics that you find cute in your puppy, such as jumping on you or nibbling on your arm, must be corrected before your dog gets too big.

When a puppy is left in its natural environment, she will learn to control her biting. The reason is if she bites too much, the mother or her siblings will correct your dog. Since puppies are removed from this natural environment, training a puppy is up to you the owner.

Let your puppy play with other puppies so it learns from them what type of behavior is allowed.

There are special classes intended for puppies sponsored by pet shops called puppy playtime and puppy kindergarten. There your puppy can socialize with other canines and humans. When your puppy plays too rough and bites too much, the other puppies will correct her.

Always try how to train your dog when it is still a puppy. This goes for biting training also. You need to have your dog spend time with other dogs. A dog that does not have the experience of socializing with other dogs can be hard to control and dangerous. Try to socialize your dog in the first 12 weeks of its life. This is according to dog training experts.

The same applies with training for dogs to socialize with people, particularly children. Parents may not want their child exposed to a dog that is older and bigger. It is best to allow your puppy to learn how to behave with children when it is still young and less of a threat.

Letting the puppy be around different things and people is a good idea. Like being around adults of different races, children, other puppies, cats.

Getting your animal to spend time with other dogs and people is important to ensuring that your puppy does not bite. Also, it will help if you provide your pet with toys to bite on. It gives your dog something to do and helps him to not bite things he should not.

Tell your friends and family that you do not want you puppy to bite. If your pet bites one person and they do not scold the animal, then it will be confused and might bite someone else.