Apr 29

Car Chasing

Even though very dangerous behavior, car chasing is very satisfying for the dog. Dogs love to pursue anything that runs, and the faster it runs, the better. To extinguish the behavior, you have to negate the reward of the chase. Car chasing is most frequently done by dogs that have the run of the property and are not exposed to many cars.

Expose the dog to traffic by making a point to walk on hectic streets rarely. Command him to remain in a sit-stay as cars pass, and snap the collar back if he attempts to go. You can set the dog up for a car chasing correction by having a friend equipped with numerous cans filled with rocks, for noise effect, drive up to or past the region where the dog starts chasing. Teach the assistant to put on the brakes as fast and loudly as possible when the dog is at a full chase. When the car comes to a screeching halt, have the assistant jump out of the car and produce massive noise and chaos by throwing the cans near the dog.

If the dog is not possible to bite, have the helper forcefully chase him home, throwing cans behind him. Repeat the setup with different cars, and if possible, different people, until the dog refrains from chasing cars. You can also use the corrections for car chasing when a dog acquires the horrible, risky routine of chasing bikers, joggers, and horseback riders.

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Apr 22

Incessant Barking: Part 2

In the wild, dogs have their own technique of going about things their way. But if you desire your dog to be a obedient pet and to live in your home with you, you have to train him the human way of living. Particularly, you have to teach your dog to convey his normal and natural dog behaviors. Failing to learn where to ease himself, what to chew, when to bark, when to jump up and where to dig are the top reasons why the association fails and people give up their dogs. Fortunately, these techniques are so easy to teach that you and your dog are guaranteed to have a long and happy life together.

Yard Barker: Barking dogs are one of the most frequent complaints of urban and suburban neighbors. A dog that is left outside will alert to all the visual and auditory stimuli. Dogs are frequently relegated to the yard since they are not house trained or chew toy trained. If that is the case, you require to housetrain and chew toy train your dog. Take him out from the backyard and bring him into your home! Giving your dog a few well-stuffed chew toys is the easiest and most efficient solution. This way he has something to think about other than barking. A well-stuffed chew toy will maintain your dog busy for a while (this means no time for barking). If you want to, place his food bowl away and simply feed him from his chew toys. This way, you will keep him very busy!

Attention Seeking Barker: When you are comfortable and in a good mood, tie your dog to a safe spot in the house. Stand or sit next to your dog and ignore him. When he barks, move away. When he stops, even for just a moment, move closer. Your dog will quickly realize that barking means you leave and quiet means you return. When he is quiet for 10 to 15 seconds, approach and praise him followed by a treat.

Owner-Absent Barker: What if your dog barks since he is bored and stressed when left at home alone? Unfortunately, our canine friends are frequently left alone for long periods of time. Being social animals, it is tough for dogs to know why their family leaves them. Nevertheless, you can train your dog to bear and even enjoy your absence. First, train your dog to spend time alone when you are home. Most dog owners make the error of spending all the time they are home with their dog at their side. While this may appear to be a kind and loving act, it only serves to make matters worse. Your dog will become used to steady companionship and be more likely to fall apart when you leave. Instead, teach your dog to have quiet moments by himself while you are home, so he will feel more confident when you are not there. Regularly and for short periods of time, detain your dog to another room, his crate or on a tie-down and provide him a well-stuffed chew toy to occupy his time.

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Apr 16

Helping A Battered Dog Gain Confidence By Using Nonphysical Methods

A dog that has been over-punished lacks self-confidence. Thus, such dogs must be permitted to succeed. This is luckily an easy process with dogs. They are significantly quick to learn from people when trained by nonphysical methods. Even a simple 3-part work out, performed every day, can bring about a behavior change in a few days. All that is required is to bend down, say “Rover, come,” and heartily praise when it responds, even if it simply looks at the owner. If the pet urinates on the way, the praise have to be continued. The wetting generally disappears as confidence improves. When the dog comes all the way, it should be petted, preferably on the throat and chest to eradicate fear responses that may be caused by hands over or on top of its head. Most shy dogs generally come readily to a crouching figure.

The “Sit” command is simple, once the pet comes dependably. A hand is held up over the dog’s rump as the words “Rover, sit” are vocal. The dog generally looks upward, and should be praised by gladly saying “Good, sit,” but without bending down or petting. If this is patiently continual a few times, most dogs will sit down. The spoken praise should be followed by petting. It is important not to bend over from the waist to pet shy dogs, as this movement frequently signals potential punishment. Crouching avoids bending over, and is welcoming and reassuring. Pushing down on its rump, holding, or or else manipulating the pet have to be avoided. Physical force is at the root of most obedient behavior and interferes with efficient learning.

The second part of therapy requires that owners avoid punishing the pet. If other behavior problems exist, these have to be determined using nonphysical methods and as light as possible. Self-control is a main challenge to most dog owners; nevertheless, after they see the development typically achieved in a few days, their feelings that the pet “needs to be told it has done wrong” generally crop up. Any backsliding on the owner’s part is rapidly reflected by weakening in the dog. This feedback provides an efficient control mechanism to which most owners are very sensitive.

A third step in improvement is used for dogs that react obediently to people outside the family. If a few friends are gathered to support the owner’s teachings, the dog typically responds satisfactorily. Correction in most cases requires simply a few minutes on 2 or 3 occasions. Older dogs with a determined problem may need longer training periods. This approach to correct excessively submissive behavior in shy dogs assumes the pet is healthy, so that no potential organic influence interferes with the learning capabilities of the animal. Total treatment can be estimated in 6 weeks when the method is carried out every day.

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Apr 09

Discipline Your Dog Instead Of Punishing Him

Too often, dogs do not know why they are receiving punishment or which behavior created the punishment. Dog owners attribute unrealistic reasoning abilities extreme beyond the animal’s mental capability. The owner may believe the dog knew what he was doing wrong since he had the “guilty” look on his face when the owner yelled, “WHAT IS THIS ON THE FLOOR!” while pointing to a mess. The idea that the dog knew better incites the owner to brutally punish him in spite of the fact that the demolition occurred several hours before the owner got home. The dog connects the punishment with the owner coming home, not with the misconduct that took place some hours ago. The next day, the owner is ready to find a mess, and the first thing he or she does upon arriving home is investigate the house for evidence of dog damage.

The posture of an owner searching for a pile of unmentionables is not at all gracious and loving. The owner’s hunched over shoulders and wiggling nose, searching for a mess, make the individual look mean and distorted. The verbal greeting may go something like, “So what did you destroy today?” The “guilty” look is the dog’s response to the owner’s strange behavior.

The dog is remembering previous bizarre punishment. In his mind, greeting the owner at the door will consequence to punishment. The dog forgot about the mess that he made hours ago. Punishing your pet long after the fault has been committed, rather than during or instantly after the act, has no reason other than to puzzle or make the dog afraid. Many owners report that they do not even suspect a difficulty when they walk in the door, and yet the dog still looks guilty. Perhaps there have been enough messes for the dog to comprehend that a mess on the floor is a good sign that a correction is approaching when the owner gets home. Nevertheless, the dog simply does not have the capacity to connect that refraining from chewing at noon will stop a punishment at 5:30 pm.

There is no evidence to advise that dogs intentionally misbehave to make their owners angry. Dogs misbehave since they were not taught appropriate behavior, or they are bored, irritated, and anxious, to name a few reasons. Dogs chew, bark, etc., to gratify their instant needs and emotions, not to spite their owners. Dogs want to delight their owners and not spite them.

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Apr 03

How To Help Your Dog’s Storm Phobias

Many dogs that fear storm activity also fear other spiky percussive noises, such as gunfire, explosion balloons, or low frequency sounds from a sound system capable of rattling the windows. Since storm noises originate outside, any attempts to imitate storm noises or other loud sounds should originate there. These can be tested and used with a practice which involves a single hand clap, followed instantly by praise and introduction of some toy or other incentive the dog connected with happiness.

These staged performances must be continual until the dog acts pleased in reaction to loud noises, without use of the above routine. After this phase, it is still suitable to follow the similar steps necessary for dogs that do not react to staged percussion. If gunfire is to be used in these sessions, the shells used have to be hand-loaded, low-powder blanks. The gun should be fired outdoors into thick, soft material, such as an old pillow. Only adults experienced with firearms should be implicated. Also, neighbors should be forewarned of training sessions.

If the dog does not react to attempts at recreating storm sounds, the solution becomes more tricky, as one cannot summon up storms at will. Nevertheless, one can watch the weather forecasts vigilantly and make planning at least 3-4 hours before a storm is due. This long lead time is needed since many phobic dogs start to show nervousness as falling barometric pressure indicates approaching storms. In these situations, the training schedule must be applied at the first sign of nervousness in the dog, and then reapplied until the dog shows positive behavior instead of the former anxiety, without any need for the schedule.

Sedatives: If the owner cannot be present to apply these actions before and during storms, sedatives and tranquilizers may be used to decrease the dog’s anxiety. Nevertheless, without behavioral therapy, such drugs have not been efficient over the long term.

Desensitizing With Sound and Light: Although numerous authorities have suggested playing low-level thunder recordings and slowly increasing the volume as the dog accommodates to it, others in this field have not been successful with this method. For years trainers have tried using recordings of thunder, coupled with flashing strobe lights, without success. This is perhaps because of 2 factors unique to storms. First is the lack of barometric pressure changes. Second is lack of the intense (to the dog) percussive effects of low-volume thunder recordings.

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