A puppy that nips ( not BITES ) is commonplace.  However, a puppy nipping and jumping on a youngster is dangerous and intolerable.  Unfortunately, little boys and girls are the ones that are the most susceptible to puppy nipping and jumping.  Puppies tend to look at the younger members of the pack as play toys. Due to the combination of being smaller in and having higher pitched voices, young boys and girls have a more difficult time  establishing their position in their pack.  Yet, it is imperative that the dog respects the youngsters in the family and that there are boundaries placed as to what is acceptable behavior and what is not.  One wrong nip and your playful pup could find its way out the door, heading to a shelter.  Keep in mind approximately 70% of dogs in shelters are there because of families unable or unwilling to keep their dog.  A vast majority of those dogs are there due to “bad behavior”.  ( Usually the fault of poor training and communication on the owners part, not the dogs. )

To help overcome this “weak link” issue, I suggest the family work together in training the new puppy/adult dog.  Let your child work on some basic exercises with the dog with an adult supervising.  Have your son or daughter at feeding time do some down/stays and sit stays before putting the food down.  Show your child how to act when the puppy is jumping on he or she. Children should also be involved in the daily walking of the puppy.  Make sure your child understands no rough- housing is permitted!!!!  Have them learn to pet the dog in a calm, soothing manner.  Additionally, try to have as many children as possible interact with your puppy.  This will help the socialization between youngsters and the dog.

While a nipping happy puppy may learn quickly to control it’s bad manners with the adult members of the Pack ,it will take time ,patience, and management to make sure everyone is on the same level.

For more information concerning puupy chewing and nipping read my book

The same goes for training methods.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned while working on communicating with dogs is that each dog requires their own style of training.  Any dog trainer that says their way always works is full of bull..dog.  Alpha rolls to establish dominance may work on certain dogs, while with others it is sure to create a worse problem in fear aggression. ( By the way, I don’t espouse to this approach )  Treats can be effective lures with some puppies while others respond better to praise.  Be creative when working with your dog.  Use whatever tools you have that work.  Case in pont.  In one of my group classes there was a high energy golden doodle that was a huge jumper.  All the basic corrections weren’t working, so we upped the ante and started using the SSR methodology.  SSR simply means startle, redirect, and reward.  The concept being to break the dog’s focus on the unwanted action, in this case jumping, give him/her a few minutes after changing the focus, perhaps redirect to a sit/stay and then reward.  The only problem was nothing I did could interrupt that golden doodle’s jumping.  The “eh-ehs”  didn’t work, the clapping of my hands didn’t work, telling him “off” didn’t work.  Both the owner and I were getting a bit frustrated when the owner said to me”the only thing this dog responds to is when I whistle.”  Well, the lightbulb went off and I asked him to do his whistle.  Turns out the owner was a world champion calibre whistle blower and when he let loose a blast, the dog stopped his jumping and looked around to see where that noise was coming from.  We had solved the re-focusing issue.  That’s a perfect example of using whatever tools work and adapting to the situation.  Remember, no one knows your dog as well as you do.  By learning to communicate, training will be an enjoyable learning experience for both you and your dog.

The first thing to realize is that  a lot od dogs dog out of boredom.  Putting your puppy/adult dog in their backyard for “exercise” is not the the same as taking long walks or running with the dog.  Dogs left alone in the backyard will more timers than not be totally bored and could start digging out of sheer boredom and/or frustration.  This ties hand in hand with not giving your dog adequate exercise as I’ve discussed in previous articles.  A tired dog is a happy dog!!!

Some breeds such as terriers are prone to digging.  The word terrier comes from the Latin word “terra”, meaning earth.  Terriers, dachshunds,malamutes and other similar breeds were bred to root out burrowing animals.With these dogs, you need to redirect their natural need to dig to appropriate designated areas so your entire back yard does not get destroyed,  Trying to stop these dogs from digging entirely may not be possible.  To keep one of these diggers happy, get a kiddy sandbox and instead of filing it with sand, fill it with dirt,  Bury some treats and favorite toys in the dirt.  Praise, pet, and/or reward when the dog digs in this specified area.  If your dog starts digging in one of the forbidden areas, a loud whistle or some sort of loud noise can be used to startle him   ( not scare him ) and correct and refocus the dog.

Sometimes your dog can be digging out of loneliness or anxiety.. This is easily remedied by letting your pooch be part of the Pack.  Let him spend more time in the house when the family members are around.  Remember, each dog is a unique ”individual” and needs to be assessed accordingly.

Getting a puppy or an adult dog should not be an impulse decision.  The time you spent thinking about what kind of dog suits your lifestyle is well worth it considering you’re going to live with your decision for hopefully 15-20 years.  Depending on your family environment, first decide do you want a puppy or an adult dog.  While the  tendency is to acquire a pup, there are advantages to adopting an adult dog.  Most likely, an adult dog is house broken already and less susceptible to the nipping and jumping associated with puppy’s.

Once the determination has been made as to the age of your new soon-to-be best friend then start doing some research on the different breeds, if the plan is to get a purebred .  I strongly advise considering  a mixed breed puppy/dog that is just waiting to be adopted into a loving family.  There are so many wonderful dogs in the shelters and animal rescue centers that need a home, it’s really worth consideration.

If your heart is set on a pure breed, than read up on some general characteristics of that specific breed.  Terriers are typically high energy dogs.  Herding dogs as well.  When bringing home that cute little mound of fluff, remember that it will soon become a young puppy and will require exercise, attention, as well as love.  Another tidbit.  All dogs are different, just as all people are different.  Just because a dog is a certain breed, do not assume that your dog with act in any certain manner.  Example-” I would never get a pit bull since they are usually vicious. Meanwhile, some of the biggest mush balls I ever seen are pit bulls. I have also seen aggressive golden retrievers ( rare but possible ).

When going to pick out your dog, don’t fall for the first one that comes to you. I know, easier said than done.  If you can, see the dogs playing together.  See if your choice plays aggressively ( potential dominance issues ) or is excessively shy.  In both cases, you might be better off steering towards a different pick.

Most importantly, consider the energy level in the dog and your life style.  If you like to run, swim, hike,etc, a high energy dog wold be great for you.  On the other hand, if you like to curl up with the NY Times on your weekends, you might want to think again,  There are many other factors to consider when bringing a dog into your life, but these are some of the main ones,  If you have any further questions, please feel free  to contact me.

In the wild, the pack leader often provides discipline and leadership with a certain look or stare.  When the offending member of the pack sees that icy stare or hears a growl from the Alpha, it’s often enough to correct the problem.  In our society, you are ( or should be the pack leader ).  As the pack leader, you too can discipline and correct with a stare  and a”eh-eh”.  However, for this to happen your puppy has to look at you when you call his name ,  Therefore, the second part of the exercise is the ” Look” or “Watch Me.” Show your puppy  one of his/her favorite treats until you have his/her attention.  Bring the treat slowly up until it’s in front of your eyes.  If your puppy follows your hand up to your eyes and is locked  on, say “look” or “watch me” and immediately treat and praise.  Do this repeatedly until you can say your dog’s name followed by the command and your dog is looking into your eyes.  Once you have that down, real obedience work and /or behavior issues become a lot easier to handle.  Also, like everything else we do, it helps establish you as the calm assertive leader that you want to be.

Another part of being a dog person is you tend to be a little bit nuts on how you relate to your dog. Case in point.  my wife and I.  How could our poor affection- starved dogs ( see picture at top of the blog ) start their weekend without  my wife making them scrambled cheese eggs mixed in their regular Ribble for breakfast?I mean, our little bulldog. Rosie, would be malnourished ( again, see picture on top ).  There’s a reason why the pet industry is a 5 billion dollar per year industry ( and growing even in this recession ). We tend to spare nothing when it comes to our pooches.  So as I get prepared to go teach  my new puppy class I leave you with this. Dog people rule and I feel sorry for those who don’t “get it.”

Talk about creating an unpleasant experience for your puppy and adding to the potential of agressive behavior!!!  None of my training tips will ever involve force, intimidation, or punishment.  All of my methods are based on two concepts, positive reinforcement ( rewarding the dog for doing the exercise by giving him/her treats, praise, favorite toy,etc.) and negative punishment ( taking something away from the dog that he/she wants) .  Never, never, never use force or hitting when working with your dog!! 

In the “down” exercise, start your dog in the sit position.  Typically, take a food lure ( treat) and hold it to the dog’s nose, bringing it down to the floor.  Once you have the dog following the lure to the ground, slowly stretch out the treat until the dog lies down.  Think of using the treat to form an “L” shape.  The trick is to keep the dog’s nose attached to your hand holding the treat as you bring your hand straight down and then, keeping the dog in a sit position, move your hand slowly away on the floor.  Most dogs “get” this exercise easily.  Once the dogs butt hits the ground, praise your dog, give him/her treats, and tell him/her what a great dog he/she is.  Practice and within 3-5 days, you should have your puppy able to do the down exercise every time.  Any questions or comments,  feel free to ask.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/nyregion/03debark.html?hp

It seems that veterinarians are performing de-barking operations on dogs when their barking issues can’t be corrected by their owners. These operations are done by cutting the dogs vocal cords.   Are you kidding me!!!   Words like inhumane and barbaric spring to mind.  How about working with the dog to find out why your dog barks?  After all, that is how they “talk.”  Why not try to hear and understand what they are saying instead of maiming them?  Instead of destroying something that nature gave dogs, why not listen to them.

Uncontrollable, frenzied, barking can drive even the most avid “dog person” up a wall.  There are all levels of barking.. from yipping to the deep woofs.  Most, if not all barking, can be addressed through consistent training concepts. Constant barking typically is a result of pent up energy.  If your dog is crated and left alone too long, he/she will start barking.  If  your dog doesn’t get out much and sees you reach for the leash, he/she will invariably start running around in circles, barking  their head off.  The answer– MORE EXERCISE,  I do not mean opening the door to the backyard and letting Fido out while you go inside to finish watching the game.  By exercising the dog. I mean putting a leash on him/her ( only when they have calmed down ) and going for a nice 30-40 minute walk, what I call a “power walk.”  This emulates the concept of the hunt with you as the leader.  If done correctly, not only is it a good workout for you and the dog, it’s a great bonding tool between the two of you, helping again in you taking on the role of the assertive leader.   Another type of common barking- territorial barking.  All dog owners have experienced the sheer joy of the delivery person or UPS man coming to your house and ringing the doorbell and immediately turns your calm peaceful dog into a raging lunatic.  That too can be worked on with proper consistent training methods. The first thing to do when this occurs is NOT start screaming at your dog ” Quiet”!  That does nothing but excites him/her even more.  What works in a lot of cases is to calmly praise the dog ( after all, he is protecting his home from the “bad guy” on the other side of the door ) and then use a food lure ( ie. treats ) to distract him from the door and have him/her do a sit/stay.  Praise and reward with the treat.  It won’t happen the first time, but by being  CONSISTENT eventually you will be able to tell your dog ” thanks for protecting me, but you go sit and stay, I got it from here.”  After all, you are the leader, not the dog.

There are many reasons for barking and there are many techniques for dealing with it.  However, to cut one’s vocal cords to shut them up is not one of them.  If anybody has specific barking dog issues, let me know.