How to Stop your dog Bad Behaviour
Bad behaviour in dogs can consist of many problems.
Does he bark all night long and keeps you from sleeping? Are you afraid he is going to keep biting? Does he chew everything except his toys? If the answer to any of these questions are yes you need to invest some time into a little bit of dog behavior training. A little training will go a long way.
Dogs that bark can be extremely irritating but the main thing is not to loose your cool,
if you shout at him he will try to shout louder than you. Try and find out the cause of his barking. Is he barking because he is afraid? Is he happy? Is there someone out there? If you can’t find the reason for the barking then he is doing it because he doesn’t know it is wrong to bark all the time. This is where dog behavior training comes in. There are lots of products available to help dogs with constant barking, there are special collars which gives them the tiniest of electric shocks so they know that it isn’t good to bark.
A biting dog is maybe one of the more serious behaviour problems,
especially now that the laws are tightened and any dog that bites someone is more than likely to get put down. Teaching your dog not to bite is one of the most important teachings you can give him. This is where you have to be firm and stick to your guns. When playing with a young dog they will automatically nip and gnaw at your hand this is because when dogs play together they play with their mouths. When teaching your dog not to bite stroke him with one hand while offering something which is acceptable to be bitten with the other hand, something like a chew toy or a raw hide treat. Your dog will soon realize that hands aren’t there for biting. This process has to be done repeatedly for it to take effect.
Dog behaviour training is simple enough for the experienced dog lover
but when it comes to beginners all the help available is needed. Accept help from friends and family and maybe even enroll in a dog behavior training class, this will help you to meet other people, having the same problems with their dogs that you are with yours. You are not alone when it comes to having trouble with dog behavior problems. Every dog will get them, it’s just a matter of how you fix them.
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Preparing For Agility Competitions
One of my favourite activities is dog agility, it keeps you fit and makes you feel good picking up those trophies at the end of each competition.
Dog agility training is somewhat harder than other training options,
but I find it the most fun. Firstly if you haven’t heard of dog agility it is a sport for dogs and owners. It is extremely popular in the UK and now there are reports of it happening in the USA and down under in Australia. It comprises of a main event, of which there are lots of different courses for your dog to run. In the courses there is a set number of obstacles. 26 is the average. Your dog has to complete the course without getting any faults in the quickest time to win. Sounds easy? Think again.
There are certain obstacles included in the course which need much training to master.
There are two different types of courses, there are jumping and there are agility courses. Jumping courses are exactly what it says on the box, they are courses full of obstacles which your dog is to jump over, things like jumps (two stands which face each other that hold a pole, the pole stand is around 4ft high) which your dog has to clear without knocking the pole down, there are weaves (the weave is a straight line of poles. They can be 6,8,or 12 poles in length, your dog must weave through this) which your dog must not come out of before the end. In agility courses there are contact points on obstacles which your dog must touch with their paws. This requires a lot of dog agility training.
To run your dog in a show you must be registered with the Scottish Kennel Club (SKC) (or the AKC,
the American Kennel Club if you are from the USA) and be part of an agility club. The members of these clubs meet up once or twice a week and train together, they set up practice courses, or just do certain obstacles their dog needs practicing on.
Dog agility training is not allowed in a club before your dog is one year old.
Most agility enthusiasts have some equipment at home so they can start their dog from as young as six weeks, of course the poles from the jumps lay on the ground, and they don’t make their dog do anything dangerous. There are companies such as Jax which make obstacles and also training obstacles.
A lot of dog agility training must be done before you enter your first show. Your dog must be able to run a full course.
Forgive me for making dog agility sound like hard gruelling work, not the fun it really is. It is spectacular. The people, the atmosphere, the fun! The dog agility training is just what you have to endure to get there!
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Potty Training Your Dog
Unless you have a sixth sense you can’t predict when and where your dog is going to do the toilet, that is why dog toilet training is necessary. Dogs need to learn to “hold it” and go where he is supposed to as they don’t know any different. In the wild dogs can go when and where they please, but this is not the wild and they need to be taught the difference.
Dog toilet training can be something of a difficult task.
Every day needs to be the same and you need to give him constant attention when you can; this will make the toilet training procedure a lot easier. Your training process will take longer if you are working out of the house quite often as your dog will need to go and the house is the only place that he can.
When you start out dog toilet training you need to give him a place of his own,
maybe a corner of your back room. That should be where you put his food and his bed and his toys and cover the whole floor in newspaper. When you leave the house make sure he is in that room and can’t get out.
When you are gone he will obviously need the toilet and will go where he is standing,
but over time he will pick a place and start to do his business in the one place, when he starts to do that you can then start to remove the paper from the area furthest away from his chosen spot. Gradually continue this until it is only a small space available for him to go, if he misses the paper then you are moving a little bit too fast and need to go back a step or two until you get to as little papers as possible. When he gets older he will be able to control his bladder movements a lot easier.
When you are at home spend as much time with your dog as possible.
Dog toilet training will be much easier if you do. Every 45 minutes or so take your dog outside and whenever he does the toilet outside make sure he is praised very happily and excitedly with lots of enthusiasm, and do this every time that he “goes” outside. He will realise that this is where he needs to go to the toilet and when he can control his bladder a little better he will wait until you come to let him out. It does take a lot of time and patience though.
Never scold your dog for doing the toilet in the house as he does not know any better.
We did the toilet in our nappies until we were potty trained because there was nothing else we could do about it, when we needed we went, well dogs are the same. No dog is properly toilet trained until he is about 6 months old so it is a lengthy procedure but a great one when the end results start to show!
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