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 Email to a Friend Kristi September 25th, 2007

by: Niall Kennedy

A poorly trained dog can embarrass its owner and offend other people - or even make them feel threatened.

Teaching your dog some manners is just common-sense. You did it with your children and your parents did it with you. If you had never learned right from wrong you would be behaving badly so why expect to be able to raise a dog without any coaching? He has lots to learn.

There’s a popular saying among dog trainers: “There’s no such thing as a bad dog.” While that may be true, any trainer will admit that there are dogs with very bad habits. When a dog acts or reacts to a situation in a way that has a negative impact on her owner or others, the behavior is considered to be “bad.” Yet, to the dog, it’s just what she does. Stopping bad behavior requires training to give the dog a new behavior, or habit.

A great example from this article about a specific behavior is one that I work with all time.

One of the most common bad behaviors is jumping up on people. This habit is established when a dog is a puppy. Puppies jump at their mother to get her attention so she will feed them. Dog owners find it adorable that their puppy works so hard to get their attention as she jumps. The naive owners come down to the dog’s level or pick the puppy up, not realizing they have just rewarded the dog for jumping and barking. A sharp ‘NO’ will stop the jumping. Also, ignore the dog and avoid eye contact when she jumps to discourage such behavior.

For the following behavior problem I use a “Bitter Apple” spray. It works very well.

Another unpopular behavior is chewing. Destructive chewing is most often an indication your dog is bored. If your dog chews up the couch cushions or destroys a wicker chair while you are at work, it is probably because she had nothing else to do. If you look up from a book or television to find your dog chewing on your favorite shoes, realize that she is releasing pent-up energy. Give your dog the chance to exercise her body and brain. Plenty of physical exercise will tire her out so that she naps while you relax. Pet supply stores carry a variety of toys that provide mental stimulation-doggie puzzles to keep your pooch busy while you’re away. Also, if your dog is a chewer, make sure you give her chewing toys of her own. It is never a good idea to give your dog an old shoe or sock to chew on; she can’t tell the difference between your favorites and your discards and they all smell like you.

For the full article see: Puppy News

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• Dog Training , Dogs , Pet Training
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