Understanding your dog and knowing how to control him, develop his potentials, and resolve behavior problems, emotional conflicts and frustrations are no less important than love and respect – Micheal W Fox. Training a dog for basic obedience is one way of making sure that your dog does not develop unwanted behaviors along the way. Physical force should never be used in dog training as it may turn a normally mild-mannered pooch in to a fearful or skittish dog who can become aggressive as well. Use positive reinforce-rs such as praise, toys or treats to train your dog in a manner that creates trust and a positive bond between you and your canine.
Some of the common puppy behavior problems are:
1. Barking
Most dogs bark, howl and whine to some degree. Excessive barking is considered a behavior problem. Before you can correct barking, determine why your dog is vocalizing in the first place. Also teaching your dog to be “quiet” can be very useful at such times
2. Chewing
Chewing is a natural action for all dogs. However, chewing can quickly become a behavior problem if your dog causes destruction. When you are not home, keep your dog crated or confined to an area where he is safe and busy with the chew toys that you have left behind. Another important thing to do is to make sure that he gets plenty of exercise before you head out.
3. Separation anxiety
Separation anxiety is one of the most commonly discussed dog behavior problems. Manifestations include vocalization, chewing, inappropriate urination and defecation, and other forms of destruction that occur when a dog is separated from his owner. True separation anxiety requires dedicated training, behavior modification and desensitization exercises. Medication may be recommended in extreme cases, but this should be a last resort.
4. Inappropriate Elimination
Inappropriate urination and defecation are among the most frustrating dog behaviours. They can damage areas of your home and make your dog unwelcome in public places or at the homes of others. It is most important that you discuss this behavior with your veterinarian first to rule out health problems. Inappropriate elimination is unavoidable in puppies, especially before 12 weeks of age. Older dogs are another story – many require serious behavior modification to rid them of the habit.
5. Begging
Begging is a bad habit, but many dog owners unfortunately encourage it. This can lead to digestive problems and obesity. Dogs beg because they love food – but table scraps are not treats, and food is not love! Yes, it is hard to resist that longing look, but giving in “just this once” creates a problem in the long run. In a pack setting, a subordinate would never beg from alpha dogs without reprimand. When you teach your dog that begging is permitted, you jeopardize your role as pack leader. Before you sit down to eat, tell your dog to stay, preferably where he will not be able to stare at you. If necessary, confine him to another room. If he behaves, give him a special treat only after you and your family are completely finished eating.
6. Chasing
A dog’s desire to chase moving things is simply a display of predatory instinct. Many dogs will chase other animals, people and cars. All of these can lead to dangerous and devastating outcomes! While you may not be able to stop your dog from trying to chase, you can take steps to prevent disaster. Your best chance at success is to keep the chase from getting out of control. Dedicated training over the course of your dog’s life by teaching him to come while being called is the best solution.
7. Jumping Up
Puppies jump up to reach and greet their mothers. Later, they may jump up when greeting people. Dogs may also jump up to exert dominance. A jumping dog can be annoying and even dangerous. There are many methods to stop a dog’s jumping, but not all will be successful. Lifting a knee, grabbing the paws, or pushing the dog away might work for some, but for most dogs this sends the wrong message. Jumping up is often attention-seeking behavior, so any acknowledgment of your dog’s actions provide a reward! The best method: simply turn away and ignore your dog. Do not make eye contact, speak, or touch your dog. Go about your business. When he relaxes and remains still, calmly reward him. It won’t take long before your dog gets the message.
8. Aggression
Dog aggression is exhibited by growling, snarling, showing teeth, lunging and biting. It is important to know that any dog has the potential to become aggressive, regardless of breed or history. However, dogs with
violent or abusive histories and those bred from dogs with aggressive tendencies are much more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior towards people or other dogs. Canine aggression is a serious problem. If your dog has aggressive tendencies, consult your vet first – it may stem from a health problem. Then, seek the help of an experienced dog trainer. Serious measures should be taken to keep others safe from aggressive dogs!
9. Fears and phobias
Dogs can harbor fears and phobias just like we do, though often to a greater extent. Common phobias often include vacuum cleaners, dryers, thunder storms, fire crackers etc.As a puppy is growing up he will naturally come across a wide range of new and potentially frightening, even terrifying, situations. But with the reassuring presence of his mother, brother, sisters, and eventually his owner, the young dog can get used to dealing with them. Any dog’s future depends on his early experiences and training, as does his capacity to assess situations more or less likely to cause fear or distress
10. Basic Obedience Commands
Some basic commands which every puppy must know are Heel ( walk without pulling), sit, down, stay, hold/leave, speak/quiet, a game of fetch and paw shake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNaHDIGENSA
This is all you need to do to have a puppy turn in to a well behaved obedient dog a source of pride and joy for you. With positive training methods you and your dog will bond better. One must remember that for a dog to be happy he just does not need to be loved and looked after but also needs to respect his alpha which is you as a pet parent to know his place or role in your pack structure ( family).
This post brings back memories of when we got our first puppy! Great tips ? Ree love30
Thank you for the visit Ree 🙂
We have a dog so we know how to handle the situation even if is not all so simple like it seems…. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for the visit 🙂
My Mom is a good dog trainer. I remember when we have a dog (Roger) who keeps on barking and its kind of annoying. Then Mom trained him to limit his barking by scolding him like a human adult! Hahaha I felt pity with Roger coz you could see in his face that he looks sorry… from then on, he minimize barking and became very attached to my Mom.
Thank you for the visit 🙂 . Im glad your moms method worked for her
Great tips, I can’t wait to have a dog. I used to have one for a year to train it to be a guide dog. It is just too hard to have a dog because I travel too much 🙁
http://www.adventurefaktory.com
Then fostering is the way to go for you
It’s incredibly difficult owning a pet, it requires time and dedication. I have a dog but although I love the little thing, training is actually hard work, even if it’s fun 🙂
Yes, training is hard work with its rewards
This is such an important post for all puppy parents. Recognizing these signs is essential because they often indicate puppy is not happy about something. I have a cat myself and cats are similar, they let you know how they feel by acting in certain ways. Nice Post!
Yes they always give out cues
I don’t usually like having pets around but I am pretty sure that these tips are apt. I will pass on these to my sister who is an animal lover
It’s nice that when you have a puppy you can teach / guide him or her in all these things. It’s very important I agree with you. Sometimes with older dogs, you notice they didn’t learn one of these things. Later on is harder to learn.
Training is best started as early as possible and yes an old dog can learn new tricks
Great tips! i don’t have a dog right now but i will have it soon so this was a really useful read!
So funny – we had to re-learn some of these when we adopted puppies a few years ago. Up until that point we had adopted older dogs, with one exception (12 years earlier another puppy). It’s like riding a bicycle – really the training is for the humans, and once we get our own internal self-practice down the dogs will follow! Great post!
Thank you Rebecca, training dogs is easy it is the humans that need quite a bit of work
Great tips and so important. Thanks for ideas and love the way they are in 10 commandments, cool.
Thank you, just trying to create awareness so commandments- signifies the importance
Terrific roundup of tips for puppy peeps. Thanks for sharing, this will be so helpful to the folks with new fur-kids.
Thank you Amy
These are some good tips for first-time dog parents.
Thank you Nichole
Excellent tips! I see too many people who have never trained their dogs, and have no clue how to handle any of the issues they’ve created. Sadly many either lead frustrating and unhappy lives, or get dumped. I hope they take your advice seriously.
Thank you, i only know too well how most pet parents will complain away but will not take the time and effort where training is concerned. Fortunately that is changing now
I am horrible when it comes to our Lyla’s begging! I have such a hard time not giving in but I know how horrible human food is for her with so much salt and fats. Since I KNOW I can’t resist her pretty puppy eyes my resolution for this was to get a small bowl of frozen carrots and a few frozen peas, her favorite treats, and feed them to her a little at a time while we eat our dinner. I know she still smells our food and wants it, but at least it helps mama’s guilt of eating in front of her while she begs. Not the best way I know but I failed to teach her early in her life and am paying for it now. At least this way Lyla’s health is not paying for it.
This is a good strategy too Layla’s mom and you shouldn’t beat yourself about it
All good points that let owners know the difference between what is “normal” behaviour and what is unacceptable or a behaviour that needs medical attention.
Thank you Kelly for stopping by
My dog arrived (from his third home) with a lot of behavour issues, most stemming from a lack of exercise. (Boy, have we fixed that. I actually had to join a gym to keep up). Begging wasn’t one of them. Then I stupidly fixed that too by rewarding his ‘oh so cute’ face. Dumb, I know. But the plus side is most of the really bad stuff as stopped.
Wow you really put in a lot of work with him. As long as most of the bad behaviors that bothered you has been dealt with – you are sorted 🙂
Mr. N knows “enough” which is his cue to stop barking.
Fantastic clever Mr N and his Mom too !!
I think you covered them all! Table scraps are a big problem when my in-laws come over lol
That is always a problem after all training the dog is easier the humans that is another ball game altogether
A good summary of problem puppy behaviours and so important to deal with them in a positive way early on. We have found it much harder later with our little rescue dog Kilo and we still work on these every day.
I am sure you will get there with Kilo just keep at it using positive reinforcement training techniques and be patient
Puppy training is so critical and learning to recognize the difference between appropriate behaviors like barking, which is a form of communication for dogs, and inappropriate behaviors like excessive barking or, what I like to call “unnecessary” barking is really important. No puppies in the house right now, only older dogs but the training never really ends 😉
True, training needs to be done on a daily basis and it never really ends
Great post and points 7 and 9 we have a bit of a problem but its getting better all the time
Training is always work in progress
One of my dogs is a barker and she can get the other two riled up, so I need to work on that with her.
Yes teach her to “speak” and go “quiet” on command make sure the commands are not said in a loud pitch cause that will only cause the dog to think that my mom also wants to bark and has joined in the fun
Sounds like a plan! All very important steps to take for a well rounded dog.
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Yes Cathy 🙂
It’s been a long time since I had my last dog (40+ years) but I remember working with my Collie.
That is quite a while ago wow but the only way to bond better with your dog is through training