Tips To Make Bad Fido A Good Fido

A common pet among many people are dogs. Dogs make great household companions, as they are very lovable and playful. Dogs can be a great pet for anyone if they are trained properly. Use the advice in the following article if you need help training your dog.

Taking a dog on a daily walk, or even two, is an essential part of obedience training. a dog without exercise is not a calm dog, and it's very hard to train a dog in an excited state. It is best to take them out before any rigorous training exercise so that they are tired and in a submissive state when you begin to teach them.

Give your dog a clear verbal cue that means "yes" to aid in training. Certain words like "yes" are great for bridging the time between obeying an order and receiving the reward.

If your dog barks and growls at strangers in your home, do this: leash your dog, make him sit, wait until his attention is on you, and hand the leash, in full view of the dog, to your guest. Then wait until the dog is calm again, with the guest giving commands as needed. This teaches the dog that your guest ranks above him in "the pack" and he must accept them. When the dog starts to react again, repeat the exercise.

If your dog is not listening while you are doing dog training, make sure that the dog is not ill. There will be no benefits to punishing your animal if it is not feeling well, and it can have very detrimental effects afterwards. If you are unable to decide if the dog is sick then contact a veterinarian for assistance.

Always be sure to have a reward or tasty morsel for your dog when he follows a command or learns something new. You want to teach your pooch that good behavior is beneficial. This is a great way to make certain the dog grasps what is right and what is wrong.

When getting a new dog it is important to create a bond between the owner and the dog. One of the best ways to build this bond is by taking the dog on long walks at least two or three times a week. This activity creates a link between owner and pet and will also provide valuable training time.

Don't give a puppy too much information and training at once, or you'll wear him out. Puppies do not have a very long attention span and limited energy, keep it brief and positive. A training session that wears your puppy out is going to turn into an unpleasant memory, making him less likely to respond well to subsequent sessions, and more inclined to ignore what you are trying to teach him.

When you are walking your dog, be aware of and pay attention to other dogs in the vicinity. There are irresponsible dog owners and dogs who feel they need to be in charge to make up for this. This is a bad combination. If you see a dog that seems to be unsociable or defensive, you must avoid it.

A great dog training tip is to let your dog know when they're doing something right. It's very easy to yell at your dog and tell them no when they're misbehaving. It's important to let your dog know when they're doing what you want because that reinforces good behavior

One trick to remember when training your pet is that the things that you do will surely mold its behavior throughout its life. This is especially important when it comes to playtime. Do your best to lead your dog in a positive direction.

A good tip is to get a breed of dog that matches your lifestyle. If you have kids, you'll want a breed that's good with kids. Chihuahuas have become really popular over the years and many families have started buying them. They aren't great with kids however, and a lot of them are being left in shelters.

When you travel with a dog, you need to anticipate all of its needs to help it avoid unwanted behaviors or accidents. Don't forget essentials like food and water, and bathroom items. Do not fret about food for your dog, you can buy it wherever you are.

Walking should be a time for you to work on your relationship with your dog. Your dog shouldn't totally ignore you in lieu of squirrels, trees and other interesting things. Instead, keep him occupied with commands and rewards for great work. This will encourage heeling and attentiveness in your dog.

In conclusion, dogs are a common pet for people. Dogs are playful, lovable, and make great companions. When properly trained, dogs are good pets for anyone. If you remember the advice from this article, then your dog will be properly trained and a lovable companion for you.

How To Stop Puppy From Biting You

 Fear Biting

A fear-bite is a bite that occurs out of sheer panic. It’s not to be confused with dominance-aggression, which is a sign of deep-set personality problems; a fear-biter isn’t necessarily a ‘fierce’ dog. He’s just scared.

Why does fear-biting happen?

A fear-biter bites because it’s his only way of expressing his extreme fear or panic, and his only way of telling his owner that he can’t handle the situation. Almost all cases of fear-biting are actually caused by well-meaning, but ill-advised, humans: they see what’s clearly a scared dog, and – intending to either comfort the dog or to show him that there’s ‘nothing to be afraid of’ – they approach too close, and push an already-anxious dog over the edge.

Dogs can’t ask us to please leave them alone. They can’t tell us that something’s bothering them, or that they need some space: all they can do is sign the message to us through their body-language. It’s easy to tell when a dog’s feeling scared or panicky once you know what to look for. Fear-biting never just happens ‘out of the blue’: it only occurs when people ignore the signs.

Fear-biting: the warning signs

Fear-biters are submissive dogs. When faced with a new situation or unfamiliar people, they do not react with the customary effortless confidence of a well-socialized, well-adjusted dog: instead, they become nervy and on edge. A scared dog, when faced with the unfamiliar, will assume a distinctively submissive posture, and will display several marked behaviors. The more common of these are listed below.

Posture
- Tail tucked (or, if docked, the back legs will crouch down and the haunches will ‘tuck’) - Hunched, lowered back
- Ears flat against the head
- Elbows bent in a slight crouch

Behaviors
- Excessive panting (hyperventilating)
- Yawning (an attempt to reduce tension)
- Avoidance of eye contact
- In extreme cases, a dog may also urinate or defecate out of fear

What makes some dogs into fear-biters?

All dogs undergo what’s called a fear-imprint stage when they’re about eight weeks old, and another one at about fourteen weeks. During this period of a dog’s formative puppyhood, he’s significantly more prone to ‘spookiness’: being excessively startled by new experiences and situations.

If a dog has a scare during this time which isn’t properly dealt with by the owner (ie, after receiving a scare, he isn’t then taught not to be frightened of that thing), he may develop a life-long phobia towards that object. For example, if he’s been frightened by a repairman arriving at the door unexpectedly, and isn’t then acclimatized to that person, he may develop a long-standing phobia of men who resemble that repairman (men with beards, men in overalls, men holding toolboxes, etc).

Some dogs are also just highly-strung and more prone to anxiety because of their breeding. Certain breeds – typically, the more intelligent ones, and the ones emotionally dependent on close, regular interaction with humans – have proven themselves more likely to develop phobias and excessive shyness than other, more emotionally stable breeds. A few of these ‘anxious’ breeds include Weimaraners, Great Danes, and Border Collies.

A history of trauma or abuse is another major cause of fear-biting: many abandoned or abused dogs develop anxiety problems, which, without proper treatment, may progress into fear-biting.

The difference between shyness and fear-biting

It’s quite natural for some dogs to exhibit signs of shyness towards unfamiliar situations. It doesn’t mean that that dog is a ‘difficult dog’, or that he will grow up to be a fear-biter – some shyness is to be expected in almost all dogs at one point or another. Shyness only becomes a problem when it begins to interfere with the course of daily life: when a dog can no longer be trusted around strangers, for example, or if his behavior is endangering his own safety (scared dogs often bolt, sometimes across busy roads), or when your own life becomes significantly restricted by your dog’s fear.

How to cope with fear-biting

First of all, make sure your own attitude to the problem is realistic. While the behavior of a fearful dog can often be significantly ameliorated by careful training and acclimatization, on other occasions – and sometimes, despite your best efforts – a dog will remain fearful to the end of his days. You cannot force your dog to overcome his fear. Treatment requires patience, persistence, and consistency: rough treatment (anger, frustration, shouting, a take-no-prisoners approach) usually worsens the problem, because it increases the dog’s anxiety levels instead of decreasing them.

You cannot train a scared dog not to bite: he’s responding to a powerful blend of instinct and sheer panic. No training in the world can counteract these two things – as motivators, they’re just too strong. What you can do is, firstly, build up your dog’s confidence, to reduce his overall anxiety and tension levels; and, secondly, pay close attention the cause of his fear, and work to desensitize him to it.

Building up his confidence

Obedience training is a great vehicle for doling out praise and rewards: simply dispensing treats at random won’t do any good, since the issue here is drawing attention to achievement and good behavior (your dog can tell the difference between an earned and an un-earned reward!).

Start small, with basic obedience classes, and practice the commands for five to ten minutes every day. Remember to set him up for success: start off with the easy commands, and make sure he’s thoroughly comfortable with them before progressing to the next level. Always treat and praise liberally for good behavior.

Desensitizing him to the fear-object

Desensitizing your dog is all about slowly accustoming him to whatever it is that’s eliciting the fear response, at a pace that’s comfortable for him. The emphasis is on maintaining comfort levels: your aim here is to keep your dog happy and serene (as much as possible), so that he learns through direct experience that the cause of the fear isn’t actually scary after all.

So if he’s afraid of, say, the vacuum cleaner, start integrating it into daily life. Remember to move slowly and not to push him too far, too fast: start by simply leaving it out in a prominent position, where he’ll have lots of incidental contact with it (for example, in the middle of the lounge carpet). Allow him plenty of opportunity to sniff it and walk around it, Play with him near it; feed him near it. Integrate the object or the situation (whether it’s the garbage truck, strangers approaching the door, small children, driving in the car) into normal, everyday life as much as possible.

Counterconditioning

Once he’s become desensitized enough to the fear-object that he’s reasonably calm around it (so, he might be exhibiting signs of fear, but isn’t panic-stricken to the point of wetting himself or hiding), you can start counterconditioning: teaching him to associate good things with the fear-object. You can do this by dispensing treats liberally, and doling out lavish praise for any improvements in his fear-levels.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do:
- Cue your dog. He takes his emotional and psychological cues from you, so make sure you’re a good role model.
- Adopt a straightforward, no-nonsense attitude, and stick to it.
- When he’s frightened, talk to him in a relaxed, don’t-be-silly manner, keeping your tone matter of fact and direct.
- Socialize him frequently and thoroughly. Even though the most critical socialization period is from eight to sixteen weeks, it should still be an ongoing process throughout your dog’s life. The more opportunity he has to accustom himself to the ways of the world, the easier it will be for him to see that, really, there’s not much to be scared of.
- Be patient and move slowly. Don’t try to rush your dog, or force him to confront objects, people, or situations that he’s scared of – you’re trying to countercondition his learned fear-reflex, and you’re not going to do that by teaching him to associate feelings of anxiety with the fear-object.
- Pay attention to his body language at all times. Some whining and trembling are OK, but if he’s wetting himself, hyperventilating, and showing the whites of his eyes, he probably needs some space.
- Even though a fear-bite isn’t inflicted out of a direct desire to cause harm, it’s still a bite, so give him what he needs!

Don’t:
- Crowd him. Scared dogs need space, more than anything else – you won’t make things easier for him by entering his ‘personal bubble’. If he’s really scared, back off, and wait for him to approach you.
- If he’s hiding, or strenuously resisting your direction, pay attention to what he’s trying to tell you: that he’s not comfortable enough to proceed yet. Forcing him outside his comfort zone is when bites happen.
- Don’t coddle him or reward his fearful behavior with special attention. It’s great to praise, pet, and cuddle him for good behavior, increased calmness, and being brave enough to approach/sniff/explore the object of fear – it’s not good to reward him for fearful behavior.

Save the special attention for when he deserves it: remember to reward the behavior you wish to see repeated; ignore the behavior you don’t.

For further information

For more information on problem behavior in dogs, check out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a comprehensive training manual for dog-owners, and covers just about everything you could ever want to know about raising a happy, healthy, well-adjusted dog: from canine psychology to dog whispering to preventing and handling problem behaviors to obedience training, Secrets to Dog Training has it all covered. You can visit the Secrets to Dog Training website by clicking on the link below:

How Do You Stop A Puppy From Biting

You Need To Potty Train Your Dog

Whether Fido is tearing up the furniture or Fifi insists on doing her business in your favorite shoes, you are no doubt at your wit's end. Although taming your pet's wild behavior may seem like an overwhelming, impossible task at times, this article is loaded with great tips to help you get your pooch under control.

When you are training your new dog or puppy that will be living indoors a good thing to do is the crate training. The dogs first impressions of the crate are the most important. Try putting some dog treats around the crate and leading into it so that they can walk around and inside the crate. Make sure that you are positive and upbeat so that they know it's a good thing.

It is important to take a leadership role while training your dog. This does not mean that you need to try and force your animal to bend to your will. Acting as a teacher and showing him what you want him to do by rewarding his actions will help your dog succeed.

You don't want to make your training sessions go on for too long. In the beginning try not to go over fifteen minutes. Even for dogs who are accustomed to training, you don't want to go over about twenty minutes for basic training. If you notice your dog starting to lose interest, stop the session for the day. If you try and push it. you'll get to get irritated and things will go down hill. It's better to quite while you're ahead.

To teach your dog to sit, gently push down on his behind as you give the verbal command "Sit!" and make a hand gesture with your palm facing down. Each time your dog sits successfully, even if you have to help him out, give him a treat and praise him. It is important that your dog know how to sit so that you can build on this command and eventually teach him to "Stay!"

Consider moving your voice up or down in a specific manner associated with individual commands, to help your dog remember them better. Dogs are fantastic at understanding pitch differences, even more than understanding the sounds of the words. So if you alter your voice slightly when you say a certain command, the dog will be more likely to remember what to do.

Make sure you are feeding your dog high-quality food. Behavior problems are often caused by a poor diet. High-quality dog food has human-grade ingredients and an expiration date. Making sure your dog eats plenty of protein and avoid giving him "junk" food from the table. A well-fed dog is a happy, obedient dog.

If your dog suffers from separation anxiety and gets restless when you are about to leave the house, you should feed your dog right before you leave. This will keep your dog busy while you prepare and distract it from the stressful situation. This should make the separation much easier.

If your dog's barking is driving you nuts, you might try acclimating the animal to whatever stimuli is causing the undesirable excitement. It can be a sound, or being face to face with other people or other animals. Your dog should realize barking in such situations is needless.

It is important that you teach your dog proper behaviors from day one. Trying to change bad behaviors after the fact is far more difficult than teaching them the good ones right away. If an owner feels strongly that their pet should not beg for food off the table, it is important that he or she refrains from giving it to the dog in the first place.

A good dog training tip is to start training your dog while it's young. Younger dogs are more impressionable, and far more responsive to training than older dogs. Older dogs tend to be stubborn because they already have experience and behaviors that they've become used to for a while.

A good dog training tip is to hire a pet sitter to watch your dogs when you're going on vacation, instead of leaving them in a kennel. Kennels are a terrible place to leave your dog when you're away. In kennels, animals are often neglected and it's not uncommon for them to become ill.

Teach your puppy the "Leave it!" command. This command is very important in day-to-day situations. Use it if your dog tries to grab food off a table or eat rabbit poop when you are out for a walk. To get the dog to follow your command, hold a treat in your hand (have one in the other hand, also). Hold your hand open, and when he goes for the treat, close your hand as you say the command "Leave it!" Then offer him the other treat, and discard the one you told him to leave. Repeat this step a few times, and he will learn to "Leave it!" when you tell him to.

Now that you are armed with the know how, it is time to take what you have learned and use it to get your naughty pup on the road to being a pet you can be proud of. The good news is, even the most frustrating of pups can be trained with a little gentle guidance and a good dose of tough love.