DOG BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

At some point in time all of us dog owners need to administer some dog behavior training (or dog behavior modification).

There are loads of dog behavior problems, they can affect all dog breeds, at any time throughout the dogs life. I’ve listed some of the more common dog behavior problems below, and importantly some proven dog behavior training methods to correct them.

General Principles For Dog Behavior Training

- A great number of puppy and dog behavioral problems are a result of separation anxiety.

- Many behavior problems (such as barking, biting & digging) stem from a lack of communication, or miscommunication between you the owner and your dog. Simply put, your dog is not aware of what is expected of him/her (I’ll just say him from now on to make it easier).

- Applying some proper obedience training at an early stage is a most effective technique to correct any behavior problems, and also to prevent any future problems. The fact that you are reading this article possibly means it is too late for this tip!

- Set boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior for your dogs, and stick to them. Be consistent, make it simple for your dog:

- Be clear that you are always the alpha dog in your owner-dog relationship.

- Make it clear to him what is unacceptable behavior – every time.

- Make it clear to him what is acceptable behavior – every time.

- Even though it may seem as though your dog is behaving poorly to spite you or annoy you this is not the case. In the vast majority of problem behavior cases there will be a cause or trigger which sparks the behavior. Identifying these triggers is the crucial first step towards solving the problem.

- Be careful you are not inadvertently rewarding the behavior you are trying to eliminate. An example of this would be if your dog is barking excessively outside, you then go to the door and call him inside. You’re encouraging and rewarding the behavior, and he is sure to do it again.

It’s a sad fact of life that the vast majority of dogs that end up in animal shelters (or worse) are because of a bad behavioral problem. It doesn’t have to be this way, most problems (like aggression and destructive behavior) are at least manageable through proper dog behavior training.

If you repeatedly apply the proper training techniques, add some commitment and patience, you will achieve a positive result.

Discover how to train your dog the right way, at home.

How do I correct certain behavior in odd dog?

I have a 2 yr. old Westie. She is generally EXTREMELY well behaved. Which is good, because on the rare occasion when she’s naughty, nothing works to correct the behavior.

I’ve tried squirt bottle – she likes it
Sternly saying “NO!” and giving her a stern look ~ she thinks it’s funny!
distracting her and giving her a treat when she’s doing the correct behavior ~ I’m positive she isnt’ getting the association

The main behavior I’d like to correct is when she sees a dog outside she starts barking insanely and doesn’t stop for 10 minutes! I’m just afraid the neighbors will complain, heheh… thoughts?

Answer
The problem with positive reinforcement training (which is quite popular right now) is that it is often misused by most people.
Although I must say that correction is often misused as well so I would rather have people misusing positive reinforcement!

Let me give you an example:

First Reward.
I was walking my dog up to a red light where a Shnauzer and his owner were waiting. The schnauzer is pulling and yanking to get at my dog. The owner is saying “no, sit”
THe dog is completely ignoring him.
The owner gives the treat to the dog to distract him from the behavior and the dog stops to eat it.
In the short term the owner gets what he wants but the dogs barking and pulling was reinforced with the treat. He did not give the desired behavior to the owner, but the owner rewarded him with a treat anyways, what is the dog going to do next time?

The second reward

Your dog is well behaved in other situations so this may be why she is behaving this way.

She sees a dog coming so she barks frantically, the dog goes away. She THINKS that her barking is chasing the dog away, this is her reward so she continues the behaviour.
In dog training, we call this a “life reward”
Dogs bark at the mailmam and chase cars for this reason.

How do we solve the behavior so that it stops happening?

This is the lure method:

it starts at home.
Practice the “watch” command.
have your dog sit in front of you and take a tasty treat out. Say “watch” and swing the treat in front of your dogs nose and up to your face.then give your dog the treat.
work on lenthening the time and distractions for this command.
The idea is to get the dog to associate the word watch with treat and looking at you.

This is how to properly reward with treats.
You need to keep your eyes peeled!
If you are out for a walk, you should see a dog coming before your dog does.
Have your dog sit,and do the watch command while the dog passes you. Keep a nice distance from the dog passing by, dont ask to much too fast.
You lure the dog BEFORE he barks or looks at the other dog. If he doesnt follow the command, he gets no treat!

The correction method:
I always talk about a scale of your dogs naughty behavior.
Think of her looking at the other dog 1and barking frantically 10. Never let the dog get to number 10!
Aways stop the behavior at ONE!!!
When you are walking your dog,and you see a dog coming, dont get anxious your dog will feel that.
when your dog turns her head, perks up her ears to bark lightly jerk the leash and say in a confident, calm tone “leave it” and walk quickly past the dog.
WHen I say jerk the leash, I dont want you to hurt the dog. I only want you to get her attention. (if you watch the dog whisperer, you will see Cesar Milan snap the leash with those dogs, try it the same way he does)

THe most interesting technique and probably the right one for you since you specifically mentioned this happens in your home is the two reward system.

Here is an article that says it all but you have to tailor it you you and find a volunteer. It is work, but worth it.

http://www.cappdt.ca/public/jpage/1/p/Article2RewardSystem/content.do

You giggle when you spray her dont you???