Behaviour & Training Tips

Games for Hyperactive / High Energy Dogs and every Dog that just loves to play!   The majority of games that you can play with your dogs are versatile enough to be both inside and outside games.   Often it is just a slight adjustment or simple modification between setting up for playing inside or outside. […]

It is most important that you do not punish your dog for growling. Growling is a very crucial means of communication for your dog. No one likes a growling dog but to the dog this is his first line of communicating that he is unhappy with something. By punishing him we are teaching the dog that this growling warning that he is about to “snap” does not have the desired affect and this can then induce him to escalate to a state of aggression, namely a full on bite.

By and large, leash-pulling masks the real problem: without a leash you would probably be without a dog. It is indeed a sobering thought to think that most dogs prefer to forge ahead to sniff the grass or other dogs’ rear
ends than to walk by their owner’s side. There are some dogs who simply don’t want to walk beside owners who keeping yanking the leash. However, regardless of why your dog pulls, all dogs need to be trained to walk nicely on leash. If not, they are unlikely to be walked at all.

Puppies are naturally noisy and hyperactive. Puppies are exuberant when greeting, playing, and when expressing friendliness and appeasement. However, adult dogs are noisy and hyperactive because they are untrained and have unintentionally been encouraged to act that way. For example, eagerly jumping puppies are petted by people, who later get angry when the dog jumps up as an adult. The dog’s only crime? It grew!

Your new puppydog needs lots of attention (companionship, education, and play), but also to be taught how to entertain himself appropriately and how to thoroughly enjoy his time when left at home alone.
Otherwise, a social vacuum can be a very lonely place. Puppies and dogs predictably develop house-soiling, chewing, digging, and barking problems if allowed too much freedom and too little supervision and guidance during their first few weeks at home.

Many people have unrealistic expectations about dog-dog social behavior. Dogs are expected to behave perfectly and get along with all other dogs, even though people have difficulty being universally accepting and friendly. However, although people may often disagree, argue, and sometimes resort to pushing and shoving, very few people inflict severe injuries. When tempers flare, extreme physical aggression is strongly inhibited. Really, dogs are not that much different.

Socializing a puppy to people is the easiest and most enjoyable aspect of raising a dog. On a regular and ongoing basis, puppies need to meet, play with, and be handled and trained by a wide variety of people, especially including strangers, men, and children.

Dogs dig to bury bones, and later to dig them up again. Dogs dig cooling hollows in the summer, and warming pits in the winter. Dogs dig after eavesdropping on private ultrasonic conversations of subterranean critters. Bitches dig dens when they are pregnant. Dogs dig out of boredom, and dogs dig to escape. But by and large, most dogs dig for the sheer fun of it.

Chewing is essential for maintaining the health of your dog’s teeth, jaws, and gums. Puppies especially have a strong need to chew to relieve the irritation and inflammation of teething. Dogs chew to relieve anxiety and boredom, as well as for entertainment. Your dog’s jaws are his tools for carrying objects and for investigating his
surroundings. Essentially, a dog’s approach to all
items in his environment is “Can I chew it?”

Leashless-training methods are essential for pet dogs, because they are usually off-leash indoors. Lure-reward and reward-training techniques make training quick, easy, effective, and enjoyable for dogs and their owners. Reward training is as owner-friendly as it is dog-friendly. Since reward training depend on brain rather than brawn, the techniques are easily mastered by all dog owners, including children.
Weigh out the puppy or dog’s daily allotment of kibble and put it in a container for family members to use for all of these exercises. Every piece counts as an individual lure and reward. Use kibble to train throughout the course of the day.