Dog Training – Problem Training Your Dog? Try These Tips

Stop Dogs From Digging — Uncover These Five Secrets to Prevent Dog Digging

Let’s face it, while dog digging behavior is completely normal, it’s irritating to see your lawn and garden pockmarked with holes.   All canines have the instinct to dig, although some breeds are more prone to it than others.   Is there anything you can do to stop dogs from digging?Why Dogs Dig HolesBefore you address the problem, you need to understand why dogs dig in the first place.   There are several reasons for this behavior.  In the wild, canines had to hunt for their food.   If they couldn’t finish it all off in one sitting, they would bury it so that other animals wouldn’t eat it before they could get back to it.   Even though your canine friend doesn’t have to hunt his own food any more, this instinctive behavior persists even now. Digging holes is a way your pup provides himself a cool place to escape the summer heat.   If he’s outside in the winter, he’ll dig into the ground or into the snow to provide a snug warm place for himself.   And, of course, wild canines dig dens for themselves and their offspring. Certain breeds are more inclined to dig holes.   Terriers dig to hunt for rodents and other creatures living in the ground.   Retrievers and hounds are prone to digging, too.   Plan ahead when choosing a dog breed if you want to prevent dog digging problems. Five Ways To Stop Dogs From Digging1. Keep your canine buddy occupied.   A dog that’s bored will find ways to amuse himself that won’t amuse you.   Digging holes and excessive barking are two common dog behavior problems caused by boredom.   Lots of exercise will tire him out and use up excess energy.   Giving your pet lots of time and attention, and providing him with toys to play with goes a long way towards preventing dog behavior issues. 2. Provide him with his own digging pit.   It can be as simple as letting him have a corner of the yard to call his own.   When you catch him digging someplace that’s off-limits, redirect him to his own spot.   Praise him when he excavates his own area instead of yours.  3. Provide shelter for your canine.   He needs a warm, snug doghouse in the winter, and a cool shady area in the summer.   During really hot weather, you may want to provide him with his own wading pool.   Not only will it help keep him cool, but he’ll also enjoy playing in the water. 4. If your pooch is always digging in the garden when you’re not there, set up a sprinkler, and put it on a timer so that it goes off when he doesn’t expect it.   This is effective because he thinks the garden is doing it to him, not you.   Set the timer to come on at a different time each day.  5. You can discourage him from digging around your shrubs by watering them with a mixture of chili powder and water.   Spraying them with Bitter Apple can help too.  You Can Prevent Dog DiggingTo conclude, this dog behavior problem can often be prevented by thinking ahead and providing your dog with lots of things to do.   Spending at least ten minutes a day training him will keep his mind occupied.   Dogs like to learn new things too, and he’ll enjoy the extra attention from you.

Do You Make These 4 Common Mistakes in Dog Training?

Everyone begins training a dog with a number of unknowns. First, no one can truly know how a dog will react to training and even if you know the breed, there can be differences with each individual breed. Another unknown is the type of dog training that you use. Some dogs do well with food based reinforcement and some do not and owners will need to learn as they go along. While most of the unknowns with dog training can be overcome quickly, many owners make some pretty common mistakes while they are training your dogs. To avoid those dog training mistakes, it is important to be aware of them and that is exactly what I will be doing in this article; alerting you to common dog training mistakes that every owner has or will make at one time. Mistake #1: Not Setting Firm and Consistent Rules: One of the most common mistakes that owners will make actually has nothing to do with the physical act of dog training and is actually a daily occurrence that usually plays in the background. As every parent will tell you, children require rules and dogs are no different. There should be rules set in place the moment that a dog is brought home. This means that if you have a rule for no dogs on the furniture, then you need to stick with it, regardless of how cute a puppy is. Not establishing those rules right from the beginning can lead to long term behavior problems and your puppy will quickly learn that he can ignore the rules and eventually simply ignore you. It is important that you avoid this dog training mistake right from the start and make sure that everyone in your house will follow the same rules with your dog to ensure the best success. Mistake #2: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat: Okay, this may be a little confusing since dog training consists of the repetition of an action but while repeating an action over again is fine, repeating a command is not. When it comes to dog training mistakes, I would say that this is the biggest mistake that owners will make and I have been found guilty of this little offense myself. It is only natural to repeat a command when a dog doesn`t listen but it is something that you should train yourself not to do. When you repeat a command, you are teaching your dog that he doesn`t have to listen to a command every time. This means that a command stops having any affect on the dog and you end up having to retrain with a new command, which can take time and can be very frustrating for both you and your dog. Mistake #3: Rewarding Bad Behavior: Although there are several types of dog training available, most trainers and owners will use positive reinforcement training, which consists of treating your dog, usually with food, whenever he does something positive. While this is an excellent way to train your dog, many owners make the mistake of treating the wrong behavior and end up reinforcing bad behavior. Bad behavior in dog training is anything that you don`t want your dog to do. So, for instance, your dog is in the kitchen while you are cooking a meal. At first it may not seem like he is doing anything but spending time with you and that may have been the case in the beginning but when you drop your first bit of food, or you toss him a little snack, he will quickly learn to beg whenever you are in the kitchen. Fast forward a year and you have a full grown dog under foot whenever you go to the kitchen simply because you have reinforced that begging in the kitchen is okay. To avoid rewarding a dog for a bad behavior, don`t praise him, comfort him or treat him when he is doing something you don`t want repeated. So if he barks at the door, don`t praise him for being a good guard dog and if you drop some food on the floor, pick it up yourself and take it to his dog bowl if you want to give it to him. By controlling the environment, you can quickly stop yourself from rewarding his bad behavior. Mistake #4: Saving it for a rainy day: The last common dog training mistake that I am going to mention is the desire to put off training. Many owners feel that dog training should be done after a certain age but it has been shown time and time again that the longer you wait, the harder it will be to train your dog. Dog training should begin as soon as you bring your puppy home. It starts with establishing rules and house training first and then it quickly moves to basic training such as sit, down, stay. Puppy socialization class usually begins around 11 weeks of age and from there you will quickly start dog training. Never leave training until your dog is 6 months of age or older since many negative behaviors are established by that time. In the end, if you are aware of the dog training mistakes that you can make, you will find that you are less likely to make them and your dog will quickly respond to dog training with only a small amount of fuss.

Dog Training Basics – Avoid These Five Common Mistakes

Dog training mistakes are always human mistakes. Surprised? Don’t be. Many pet owners get frustrated when puppies “have accidents” or grown dogs bark like crazy at the doorbell, while, in fact, these and other problems cannot be faulted on the animal. If people don’t know what they want their dog to do instead, like sitting instead of jumping, going to their bed (when the door opens) instead of bolting out the door, dig in a sandbox instead of the garden, chewing appropriate objects, etc. , the dog can’t figure it out either. Mistake #1: Not Socializing a Dog Properly Proper socialization is one of the kindest acts people can provide for their dogs. Natural by-products of proper socialization are activity, time with your dog, mental and physical stimulation. A dog that has been taught to socialize properly can adapt to changes in the environment and should be able to deal with a variety of situations. Lack of socialization early on in the life of an animal can lead to fear, anxiety, and aggression. The better adapted a dog is to his environment, the less likely he is to engage in unpleasant behavior. Mistake #2: Giving Up Too Soon Being impatient is one of the major problems owners face. Although it’s unrealistic to expect a puppy to be completely housetrained in a few weeks, many owners anticipate just that. It takes time and patience for a dog to understand the basic concept of sitting or staying; it takes even more time to change previous behaviors (such as jumping on the counter) or control urges (barking, digging in the garden, etc). Dogs get the short end of the stick in many situations. People think they should learn things very quickly, but do not always spend the time teaching them. The first step is to be calm and patience when teaching dog training basics. If you’re calm and enjoying the process, your dog will too. Don’t make the training a chore. If you feel yourself getting frustrated or angry, walk away and come back to it later. Mistake #3: Making Training a Chore Owners are not the only ones that get frustrated during training. Long or repetitive sessions can also be tedious for the dog. A bored dog usually stops paying attention and will have a harder time learning. Keeping the training sessions short, from 15 seconds up to five minutes a session. Practicing many of these sessions throughout the day is much better than doing one or two long sessions everyday. If you focus on making the session a fun activity instead of a chore, dogs will pick up on tricks faster. Some breeds are more prone to boredom than others, but to be safe, concentrate on making the training session as dynamic as possible. Mistake #4: Being Ambivalent Consistency is very important in training. If, at the beginning, of teaching a new cue, sometimes you say “Come” and other times you say “Come over here” you can cause confusion. On the other hand, dogs can understand the meaning of numerous physical and verbal cues to mean the same thing. It is important to teach one cue and then add more later. Confusing your dog will lead to failure. When you stick to a specific command or word, your dog is likely to grasp the concept better. It all has to do with the memory process. Repetition forms a “grove” of sorts in our brain which allows information to flow and connect. The deeper the groove, so to speak, the easier it is for the information we’ve stored through repetition to be accessed. Mistake #5: Using Physical Punishment Do do use physical violence ever on your dog! Treat dogs with the same consideration and respect that you would treat your children, grandparents and themselves. Positive reinforcement is the key to success. Training your dog out of fear is wrong! Nonviolent animal training is also more effective than earlier techniques. You can change behaviors such as destructiveness and excessive barking by finding what your dog is doing right and praising him for it. When your dog engages in negative behavior, you can choose to ignore him and hold back praise. Dogs usually pick up on it really fast. Nonviolent dog training allows you to create a partnership with your dog using gentle persuasion based in kindness, respect, and compassion. People who are too busy or too lazy should reconsider getting a dog or any other pet in the first place. Getting a dog that’s too difficult to handle, either because of breed or size. Some breeds are easier to train than others; some breeds are naturally more submissive. Getting upset and screaming are not appropriate. The last thing you want is an animal that’s scared of being around you. Joining a class and then giving up after the first lesson because you didn’t like the trainer. Not every trainer is a good fit for everybody. Some trainers are better with smaller dogs while others are experts at managing larger animals. Before signing up, ask to observe a class, see how the animals interact, the trainer’s attitude, etc. I believe nonviolence fosters nonviolence. Because of the link between dog and human behavior, positive dog training contributes to helping build a world of peace for humans and dogs. When people, especially children, are successful using nonviolent methods with animals, they feel good about themselves and they are encouraged to have a kinder, more positive attitude with their friends, family, and the environment.