How To Stop Dogs Biting

Does your dog make you feel like a giant chew toy?  Chances are, if you have a puppy then there are times that he may take a nip at you.  Sometimes it happens when you’re playing together but it can happen at other times.  Maybe he chews on your toes and fingers.  Even some adult dogs continue this bad behavior if they haven’t been stopped as pupsters. 

The reason puppies and dogs engage in biting and chewing on people this way is because they haven’t properly learned “bite inhibition.”  This is a different behavior from aggression-motivated biting where your dog may growl at you or bite because you remove a toy from him or make him get off the couch.  That’s a guarding or dominance behavior.  With bite inhibition your puppy or dog has failed to learn something that he should have learned from his mother and from you.  Fortunately, you can still teach your puppy or dog to curb his biting and nipping problem. 

When a puppy is in the whelping box with his littermates and his mom and he’s getting his sharp little teeth, he engages in all kinds of rough biting and play.  However, his littermates and his mother quickly teach him that if he bites too hard or plays too rough that they won’t put up with him.  Littermates will get up and stop playing with him.  His mother may nip him to make him stop.  When he bites a brother or sister too hard they may bite back harder or walk away.  Your puppy is supposed to learn that if he bites too hard or plays too rough there will be no more play and he will be outside the group.  And that’s the last thing any puppy wants.  This is how a puppy learns bite inhibition in the litter. 

When your puppy comes to you you should continue these lessons — without biting your puppy, of course.  When your puppy plays too rough you should stop playing with him.  Call a time out.  If your puppy nips you the best way to handle it is the same way his brothers and sisters handle it.  You need to make a big fuss about it and stop playing with him.  Yell out loudly to let him know it HURT!  Then stop playing with your puppy for a minute until he has calmed down.  If he can continue playing calmly you can go back to playing with him.  But, if he is still playing too roughly, you should leave the room and stop playing with him for a while.  Let your puppy learn that if he nips or otherwise plays too roughly that there won’t be anymore fun. 

You should do this every time your puppy nips or tries to chew on you.  YELP!  Make sure that he knows it hurt.  Even if it doesn’t hurt much or not at all you need to make a big fuss about it so that he knows he went too far.  If your puppy even touches his teeth to your skin you should give a yelp.  Make sure that everyone in your household is doing the same thing so your puppy doesn’t single out someone that he thinks he can play with roughly. 

If you follow these suggestions your puppy will soon learn that it’s unacceptable for him to bite or chew on people.  As always, make sure that you provide your puppy with plenty of good things to chew on and toys to play with.  When he has good alternatives to play with he will be less tempted to chew on you.

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How To Stop Dogs Jumping

As much as we love them, dogs do lots of things that drive us crazy.  One of the things that people complain about most frequently is dogs jumping on them.  Have you come home from work, tired and irritable, only to be met by a frenzied, happy dog knocking you down at the door?  Or maybe you let your dog in the house and she jumps on your clean clothes with big muddy paws?  Or, how about you have company over and your dog is so excited that she goes from person to person leaping on them?  They are not amused.  They came for dinner.  They thought your dog was better trained. 

How embarrassing. You love your dog and you know that she is just very happy to see you and other people.  But you want her to stop jumping on everybody!  Luckily, there are things you can do to teach your dog, gently, to stop the jumping.

There are several approaches to teach your dog some better manners when it comes to greeting people.  They range from ignoring her to teaching her what she should do instead of jumping.

Ignore your dog

This first approach is just what it’s called:  ignore your dog.  It’s based on the idea that your dog jumps on you to get attention.  “See me!  See me!  See me!”  Whether you pet her or push her away, you are giving her attention.  So, when your dog jumps on you, you must ignore her completely.  Don’t speak to her, don’t pat her, don’t touch her.  Don’t push her away.  You must completely ignore her until she is calm and standing on the floor the way you want her to behave.

This approach only works if every single person in the household also ignores the dog when she jumps on them.  If your five-year-old daughter giggles when your dog jumps on her, it won’t work.  This approach doesn’t work for everyone because you can’t always control how other people in your house will react.  But, if you and everyone else can ignore your dog completely when she jumps on you, she will eventually stop jumping because she is not getting the feedback that she wants.  She is only getting feedback when she is calmly standing on the floor.

Hold Paws

This approach is good for big dogs.  When your big dog jumps on you, you grab hold of their front paws.  Keep them standing long after than want to get down.  The idea here is that jumping stops being very fun for them.  In fact, it gets boring.  Obviously, this doesn’t work for small dogs or some medium-sized dogs because you would have to bend down to hold their paws.

Step on leash

Some people suggest stepping on your dog’s leash when she jumps on you (you have to prepare for this exercise by having your dog wear her leash).  When your dog jumps up, just at the moment she is at her highest point, you step on the leash to bring her back down.  The important thing here is that she should connect the pull-back with the leash instead of with you (which is a little sneaky).  This is a version of leash correction.

Sitting

You can also teach your dog to greet people politely by sitting when they come to the door instead of jumping on them.  You need a friend to help you with this exercise and your dog needs to already know the “Sit” command.  Your friend will knock at the door or ring the bell.  Your dog may go bonkers, as usual.  When you let your friend in through the door you should tell your dog to “Sit.”  She may or may not obey you, even if she normally would, because she is very excited about someone entering the house.  If she obeys you, you should praise her lavishly and reward her.  Tell her what a wonderful dog she is!  If she doesn’t obey you and she jumps on your friend, don’t be surprised.  You should ignore her and repeat the exercise.  You may have to repeat several times until your dog actually sits when you ask her to do so.  If she knows “Sit” she will eventually sit when your friend comes in the house.  This exercise takes some practice because it’s very hard for your jumping dog to obey you under these circumstances.  Keep practicing and she will learn to sit when people come in the house.

These suggestions have helped people teach their dogs to stop jumping on people.  Choose one which you think will work in your situation.  If one doesn’t work, try another.  Your dog should soon get the idea that she gets more praise and rewards when she doesn’t jump on people.  Don’t skimp on the praise and rewards!

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How To Stop Dogs Barking Excessively

Do you have a barker?  A dog that keeps the neighbors up at night, making you the most unpopular person in the neighborhood?  Or maybe a dog who barks his head off at squirrels or birds while you’re at work?  Or just a dog who won’t shut up sometimes?  It can be very frustrating.  It seems like your dog won’t listen to you at all.  However, there are some good ways to get your dog’s attention and teach him to be quiet.

It’s important to remember that barking is a normal way of communication for dogs.  Whether they are communicating with each other or communicating to us, barking is how they express themselves.  It’s only when it becomes excessive or when we don’t want to hear it that it becomes a problem.  So, it’s important to understand the reasons why a dog may bark.

Dogs bark for the following reasons: 

• To give a warning
• To get attention
• When they’re playing or excited
• To identify themselves
• Because they’re bored
• When they’re lonely or anxious
• When they’re startled

Some of these barking behaviors are very desirable.  If the house is on fire you definitely want your dog to bark to let you know!  It’s only when they are continued for too long that they can become a problem.  You probably don’t want to suppress all of your dog’s barking (and that’s not possible).  Instead, you would like your dog to listen to you and stop barking when you ask.

There are some general tips for dealing with barking dogs.

1.  Do all that you can to socialize your dog from the time he’s a puppy.  Well-socialized dogs are less apt to be startled by strange things.  They are more likely to take things in stride.  They are far less likely to suffer from separation anxiety when you have to leave them at home.  All of this means that your dog will be more relaxed and less likely to bark.  The more he knows about the world outside his home, the better adapted he will be.

2.  Always make sure that your dog has plenty of toys and things to chew on, whether you are home or away.  Dogs that have things to amuse them and keep them busy are less likely to bark.  When dogs are occupied and mentally stimulated they have less time to look for things to bark at.

3.  Make sure that your dog gets plenty of exercise and the proper food.  Dogs that get regular exercise — not just a trot around their backyard — are more likely to rest during the day.  They spend less time pacing the fence and barking at squirrels or birds.

The “proper” food doesn’t necessarily mean the food that has the highest protein content.  If you are feeding your dog like a racing Greyhound and he has no way to run off that energy, he will most likely spend the day on edge, looking for things to bark at.  Feed your dog a good food that is appropriate to his age, condition and level of activity.

4.  Sometimes dogs bark for a reason.  If your dog is barking incessantly you should see why he’s barking.  Is it possible that your neighbor’s cat is smugly sitting on the other side of the fence?  Has his favorite toy gotten stuck in a bush?  Very often dogs who bark repeatedly are barking out of frustration because they can’t reach something they want.  Sometimes a quick trip to see why your dog is barking will put an end to it.

You can also teach your dog to be quiet on command.  This is not as hard to do as you might thing.  First, though, you need to teach your dog to “Speak” which is easy to do.  When your dog barks, praise him and say “Speak.”  Reward him.  Do this until he gets the idea that when you say, “Speak” you want him to bark.  He should soon be barking on command.  Next, when your dog is barking, and he stops, say, ‘Quiet.”  Reward him and praise him for being quiet.  Your dog may be surprised to get treats for being quiet!  Alternate this exercise with the “Speak” exercise.  If you practice these two exercises together your dog should get the idea.  It will take patience and a lot of work to get your dog to obey the “Quiet” command when he’s in the midst of barking outside, but when he does stop barking you should give him a great reward and lots of praise.  Tell him what a great dog he is!  If you stick with this training your dog will stop barking on command.

Remember that barking is natural for a dog and that many times your dog has a good reason for barking.  Although excessive barking is annoying you shouldn’t always assume that your dog is just being a nuisance.  Once you have your dog’s barking under control you will probably find that he still barks at things.  Take his barks seriously.  They can give you important information.

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How To Stop Dogs Digging

Have you ever looked out at your yard and despaired at seeing all of the holes your dog has dug?  Have you been mowing and cracked your ankle in one of those holes?  Or, worse yet, does your dog try to dig his way under your fence?  If you have a dog who digs like a gopher then you know what a problem this can be.  But don’t give up or bury your dog in one of his holes!  There are some good solutions to stop dogs digging.

If your dog likes to dig random holes in your yard you can fill those holes in with gravel or rocks.  Most dogs don’t like to dig gravel and rocks since it hurts their paws.  You can cover these spots over with topsoil or sod to make them look more attractive.  This will stop your dog from digging in some of his favorite spots.

If your dog likes to dig at the base of bushes or trees you can fill them in with dirt and cover the ground around the base of the bushes and trees with chicken wire.  It’s hard to see from a distance, so it’s not too much of an eyesore, but it will stop your dog from digging in these places since dogs don’t like the feel of it on their paws.  You can spread mulch on top of the chicken wire to hide it.  Your dog probably won’t bother it much with the chicken wire beneath it.

If your dog is prone to trying to dig under your fences you can also use the chicken wire at the base of the fence.  Bury it along your fence line after securing it in place.  Again, it doesn’t hurt a dog at all, but most dogs don’t like the feel of it on their paws when they try to dig since it’s a thin wire.

If your dog is a more determined escape artist you will have to take other measures, such as having concrete poured along the base of your fence or having the fence itself buried lower into the ground.  But these are extreme measures.  Most dogs dig along a fence line for fun — they find a soft spot in the ground along the fence and can’t resist the urge to dig there.  It almost comes as a surprise when they find themselves on the other side of the fence.  At least the first time.  It may become a bad habit after the first time or two.

If you have a terrier breed or a Dachshund or other dog that was used in the past for hunting animals that “went to ground,” i.e., animals that burrowed under ground, then you may have more than your share of problems when it comes to digging.  These dogs have been bred to dig in order to find their prey.  It’s a natural instinct for them.  In fact, when they dig in your yard they may be smelling a mole or some other creature under the ground.  It’s hard to blame them for something that they have been bred to do for centuries.

If you have a dog that loves to dig you can make him happy (and save your yard) by providing him with his own special digging area.  All you need to do is set up a large sandbox-type area in your yard, set off by landscape timbers or two-by-fours.  Fill it with sand.  Sand is better than topsoil because it won’t hold water or get muddy when it rains.  This is your dog’s private digging area.  It’s okay for him to dig here all he wants, as deeply as he wants.  You can get him started by half-burying a few or his favorite toys in the sand, leaving parts out for him to see.  This digging box should make your digging dog very happy.

These tips should help stop your dog from digging where you don’t want him to dig.  Remember that digging is a natural behavior for all dogs.  Try to discourage it where it can cause problems and encourage it where it will make you and your dog happy.  Once your dog knows where it’s all right for him to dig that should be the end of those holes in your yard!

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