Dog Puppy Behavior Training Help

My Dog Pulls: Polite Dog Walking on Leash

Stop your dog from pulling on walks! Say, I have another web site site with information about teaching a dog or puppy to walk nicely on a lead. The name of the my site is My Dog Pulls. Alan J Turner – How’s Bentley – Memphis Dog Trainer Group Dog Obedience Mini Courses Collierville, Germantown,Bartlett, TN Tweet This Post

Three Steps for Puppy Play Biting Solutions

Play biting is a stage of development. Most pups naturally grow out of the stage at about 6 months of age unless people do things that prolong the period. I’ve met some older dogs, 1-2 years old, who still nip and mouth, which poses a true problem. This is an indication that their humans did not understand play biting and unknowingly created a play biting habit. Here are three steps you can use...

Teach your Dog Inside Voice – Capture Dog’s Natural Behavior and Place it on Cue

One of the neat things about using an instant reward marker is how you can capture a natural behavior and then teach your dog to do it on cue. Here’s a recent email exchange with my client, Elizabeth, who has a 4-5 month old large mix breed dog, Big Mac. BETH’S EMAIL: Well, I taught him….Inside voice….and he acts like he is going to bark but doesn’t make a sound……Now he...

Puppy Making you Crazy? Tether that Turbo Girl!

Most of us would not walk an untrained puppy, off leash, next to a busy street. We realize the puppy is not trained, and she may wander into the street and get hit by a car.  We use a leash to keep the puppy safe. Inside the house, it’s a little safer. No cars are going to break your puppy’s legs, and your puppy can’t run away from you and get kidnapped or lost. But she can get into trouble...

Dog Fights are Scary – Interdog Aggression

It’s scary when dogs in the same household fight. The solutions can be as simple as feeding the dogs in different areas, or as complex as implementing a behavior modification plan for inter dog aggression. Your first steps are to identify triggers and situations when the dogs are more likely to fight. Manage the environment so the fights are less likely. Remove high value toys and food items;...

Your Choice- Obnoxious Dog or Well Mannered Pet

Every day, I speak with clients about meeting their dogs’ basic needs. Most of us assume our dogs are getting plenty of exercise and stimulation when the dogs are alone (or with other dogs) in a large fenced area. The dog is in the great outdoors, so she must be getting enough exercise, right? Wrong. This is not usually the case, unless you have a turbo Jack Russell Terrier, like the one pictured...

Inappropriate Elimination Questionnaire- for Dogs that were Previously House Trained and Inside Elimination Represents a Change in Behavior

Sometimes I see clients whose dogs were previously house trained, but recently started eliminating inside. The causes can range from medical or dietary issues, attention seeking behaviors,  to anxiety and fearful behaviors. You’ll  need to determine the root cause before you can fix it. Here is the inappropriate inside elimination questionnaire that I use for remote house training consultations....

Teach Your Dog Commands for Moving Through Doorways – Inside / Outside

Inside – Outside Description: The dog moves through an open door on command, on and off leash. Function: Teach the dog to move through doors on command. Prerequisites: Condition a reward marker; “Sit”, “Attention – Without Cue”; Target Here” Time: 4 Days Many of my clients complain that their dogs will not enter and exit their houses on command. The dogs ignore their owners,...

Does Your Dog or Puppy Pull on Walks? Start with the Basics. Capture & Teach Attention!

Dogs and puppies pull during walks because, from their points of view, it works. They get to move forward when they feel the pressure of the collar or harness against their bodies. Every time your dog pulls while walking on lead, he or she is learning to pull. The behavior is being fertilized! It will grow and become strong. Yikes! There are many methods and tools one might use to teach a dog or puppy...

Does Your Dog Own You? Resource Guarding of Territory, Food, Items, or People

Resource guarding is when dogs posture, growl, snarl, bark,  snap, lunge, or bite for reasons we believe are efforts to keep other animals or people away from what they consider to be valuable resources. Resources include food, territory, items and persons. Food related aggression, territory aggression, and possession aggression are specific labels for different types of resource guarding. Resource...

iPhone 3Gs Video ** Ouch, My Westie Terrier Keeps Biting My Feet!

Puppies are cute, but not so cute when they attack your sock as you try to fit one on your foot! Ouch! That puppy just bit my toe!! You really cannot teach your puppy when life is happening. Sometimes, you just need to prevent that rascal puppy from perfecting nuisance behaviors. A tether is one of my favorite tools. A tether is a rope with a leash snap attached to one end. To make a tether, attach...

Changing Bad Crate Habits – Puppy Barking, Urinating in Crate

Barking in the Crate When accompanied by eliminating in the crate, drooling, or self-injury, barking in the crate can be a sign of separation anxiety. Dogs with separation anxiety have been compared to people that have anxiety attacks. Separation anxiety is an emotional condition fraught with panic and fear. Crating a dog with true separation anxiety is never a good idea. Even if your dog...