Excessive Barking (Part 3): Train Your Dog To Stop Inappropriate Barking In Less Than 7 Days

Every day, all over the world, dog owners are making the mistake of supporting their dogs behavior problems, such as excessive barking, and then punishing the animal for its actions.

Excessive barkers are created, not born. And as you know, loneliness and the need for attention are the most common causes of such behavior problems. The secondary cause of excessive barking his simple misunderstanding. In other words, a dog is practicing a particular action because he thinks that what he is doing is what is expected.

Regardless of the cause, or the motivator, a barking dog must be quieted. You may have heard on the news recently about a woman who threw boiling water on her neighbor's dog that would not stop barking at night. Other dogs have been reported to have been shot with BB guns, yelled at by angry neighbors, turned in to the police, kidnapped, and worse yet, even beaten up and killed.

Everyone Is To Blame

The previous examples of what angry people will do to a neighborhood dog that barks constantly could definitely be described as inhumane, to say the least, but if you think about it, whose actions are inhumane? Is it the dog's action because of its incessant barking? The angry neighbor, by way of his tortures? How about the dog's owner, who does nothing and seems oblivious to the problem at hand?

Most responsible dog owners have the desire to quiet down there excessive barking dogs. While they do not want to squash that natural protective instinct that a dog has (who wants a silent dog when the house is getting robbed?), at the same time you do want your family dog to understand when to bark and went to be quiet.

Your Dog Can Learn

Did you know that it takes less than a week (on average) for a dog to learn a basic principle? In this small time frame anyone with the desire and patience can teach their dog that excessive barking is definitely an inappropriate behavior. You can make your dog understand that there are some occasions when barking is permissible, but that it must be "turned off" when given the proper command.

The secret weapon to getting this point across to an excessive barking dog is by communication. Communication simply means "finding a way that your dog can understand exactly what your desires are." When we communicate to another person, we just say the words we mean and it is automatically understood, but with a dog you must resort to methods which are backed by action.

Dog Crates: Consider Purchasing A Soft Side Dog Carrier For Your Needs

Dog crates used to be available in only two styles: wired or plastic. Nowadays there are numerous designs, colors, and different material that make up a wide range of dog crates to choose from. Each dog carrier model has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending upon your needs.

Soft Sided Dog Carriers

One very popular type of dog crate is called the soft sided carrier. Soft sided dog carriers are easy to move around and extremely lightweight. Most models can fold up like a small suitcase whenever it is not in use. There is plenty of ventilation due to the mesh panels that are on the sides and front of the carrier. The floor is typically padded and the doors are shut securely by a zipper.

Soft sided dog carriers are great so long as your dog is inside while you are around. Otherwise, because of the material used, many dogs have been known to completely chew or claw their way out of the plastic mesh sides. If your dog gets a little rowdy with the tendency to chew and claw when left alone, then you may want to consider a different type of crate.

What Size Should You Get?

Soft sided crates are no different than any other type of dog crate when it comes to choosing the correct size. Just make sure that it is large enough so your dog can stand up on all fours without hitting its head. He must be able to turn around, stretch, and lie down.

Any size larger than that is not recommended, especially if you are still working on housetraining your dog. Having too much room inside the dog crate will cause your puppy to use the bathroom in the back without worrying about the mess. Remember that the point of crate training as used to housebreak a puppy is to give him no choice but to wait to be released from the crate in order to use the bathroom in the proper location.

You can certainly purchase a crate that is a little larger than what your puppy requires, but for maximum effectiveness you will need to adjust the space inside. Simply block off the back of the crate by inserting a block of wood or a box that is cut specifically for the area. Many crate manufacturers provide divider panels with their crates for those dog owners that may want to use the same crate for different sized dogs.

Car Chasing: Why Do Dogs Risk Death With The "Thrill Of The Chase"?

The brakes squeal, the car swerves, the inevitable THUD of wheel meeting dog is followed by the sickening crash of the careening, out-of-control automobile. The victims? The dog, of course. The occupants, presumably. But who was at fault? The dog's owner!

Whether legally guilty or not, the responsibility for the dog's actions rest solely upon the shoulders of the dog owner, just as surely as a parent is responsible for the actions of his child.

Are We To Blame?

There are many reasons for such offensive behavior in dogs. Foremost, is simply the thrill of the chase. The instinct is strong in canines. Many mothers have warned their children to "never run from a dog" because it triggers an instinctive drive in the dog to pursue, overcome, and emerge victorious.

The wild canine ran down his prey. Nature gave him the instinct and the speed with which to accomplish the task. Chasing prey in the wild was serious business, and necessary for survival. And of course, there always was the thrill of the chase.

The domesticated dog no longer needs to chase prey for survival, but the thrill of pursuit still is a part of his natural instinct. Man capitalizes on that instinct with sporting dogs in the field. Man exploits the instinct in greyhounds by making them "racing dogs", chasing a mechanical rabbit. And, combat tracker dogs chase an elusive enemy through the jungle.

An instinctive protectiveness is responsible, in many cases, for dogs chasing cars. They chase only the cars approaching "their territory." What's needed here is communication. It would be quite easy if we could just sit down with our dogs over a cup of coffee and say something like "Look buddy, we have a problem here..." but unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. And even if your dog responds to your verbal command of "NO" or "STOP" as he sees a moving car, he will always dash after the car in your absence.

Minimizing The Thrill

A way must be found to minimize the thrill and emphasize the disastrous consequences of chasing moving vehicles. While the thrill of the chase is instinctive and never can be entirely erased, it can be minimized, and made less important than the consequences of the behavior.

Most dogs learn to avoid situations where they can relate a negative experience to that situation. However, for those dogs that have been hit by cars, and survived, they typically will not retain the experience. The reason for this is because the shock of being struck by an automobile is usually so sudden, and so severe, that the dog just isn't able to relate the pain to the automobile, or his behavior prior to the chase.

But along with the instinct to chase, mother nature also implanted something else; the ability of the dog to learn by association. He is capable of learning by associating his actions with pleasing, or displeasing results. You must successfully educate your dog to let him know that cars and bicycles are deadly.

For many centuries now, humans have totally domesticated dogs. We have brought them into our society and, in most cases, expected them to act like us and to be a regular part of our families. We should accept that fact that, in doing so, we have caused some of our own human emotions to develop in our dogs. Dogs have learned to become jealous, neurotic, spiteful, hateful, and bored.

In adolescent dogs, between the ages of six to sixteen months, we find that these emotions cannot be controlled as easily as the same emotions in adult dogs. The same can be expressed by a human teenager's capability of exercising mature restraint when affected by the same emotions.

Can You Spare 15 Minutes?

The most common cause of chronic chewing is boredom, and if every dog owner would spend a little more time each day giving his full attention and love to his pet, much of the "boredom chewing" can be eliminated. Fifteen minutes a day is all it takes, it's just that easy!

The Spiteful Boxer

Spite, another motivating factor, should also be considered. A story about a twenty-month old Boxer would be a great example in this case. Ever since he was a puppy, this Boxer had been an "only child" to a couple who spoiled him with lots of love and attention. The dog went along with them shopping, running errands, and visiting friends. He would walk gracefully and loved tagging along with his parents.

Then, a new baby had arrived and things changed. Suddenly, the dog found himself left in the car during errand trips. On one occasion, mom and dad returned to the car only to find the entire interior completely destroyed! The car seats, the padded dashboard, the upholstery, all ripped to shreds, totally obliterated.

The Boxer dog was venting his wrath the only way he knew how. This is a case of spiteful chewing, not jealousy. The canine was not jealous of the new baby in the family, but he was not willing to give up his former position in the family and go back to just being a dog.

Replace The Dog's Target

The next time you catch your dog or puppy chewing a sock, shoe, or other object that he's not supposed to, take the object away from him, followed by a firm "No!" The object should be replaced with his own chew toy. The toy will take his mind off the object that he was chewing and won't make him think that you are taking something away from him.

And should your life suddenly change, while altering your dog's life in addition (like having a new baby in the house), like the Boxer up above, be sure to pay attention to the new schedule and adjust your focus to avoid your dog's destructive chewing. Your pet will need a little extra care and training to prevent such behavior and to settle in with the new changes.

Dog Crates - Why Using A Crate Is An Invaluable Dog Training Tool

Having the right dog crate when you start raising a new puppy is essential for various reasons. Some puppies do not yet know how to cope with large open spaces since they are new to the home and a perfect size dog crate can help calm him down. Dog crates are also a fantastic way to easily housebreak a puppy. All in all, a good dog crate is an invaluable training tool regardless of what type of puppy you have.

Dog crates are also a perfect solution to puppies that become overexcited. All you have to do is put your puppy inside the crate in order to help him relax. If your dog has to be left in the house unattended for a few hours, then having a crate is a stress-free way for you to be gone from the house and not worry about your puppy getting into trouble around the home or soiling the carpet.

Dog crates are also a great way to feed your puppy in case he becomes easily distracted. Simply put his food bowl inside and off he goes in an enclosed area where he can focus on eating his meal.

And here are a few more tips when it comes to using a dog crate:

1. Make sure that you get the appropriate size crate based on your dog's height and width. This is especially important if you are housebreaking your puppy with a dog crate. If the box is too large then your puppy may use the bathroom on one side, but keep sleeping on the other side, which defeats the purpose of crate training in terms of potty training.

2. If you have a fast-growing puppy, then consider buying a large crate that is meant for an adult dog but that has a divider built into it. This way you can divide the crate in half so that your puppy will be able to lie down comfortably and still be able to turn around if needed. A divided dog crate can also be used for your larger puppies by removing the division bracket.

3. One last aspect of using a dog crate that you should consider is the type of bedding that you place on the floor. Some dog owners have noticed that their puppies still use the bathroom inside even though the crate is the appropriate size for potty training. In most instances it turns out that the bedding that they laid down was a little too thick and had a tendency to induce urination in dogs. Instead, try to lay down less comfortable bedding that your dog does not consider to be used for urination, like newspaper for example.

People often think of clicker training as a fast and easy way to teach basic obedience commands, such as "sit" or "come," but it can also quickly shape puppy behavior in ways that establish a productive and happy relationship, right from the start.

"Puppies understand very well and quickly that a click means something good, and that something the puppy did made that click happen," says Kevin Alexander, a leading clicker training specialist from Kansas City, Kansas.

Kevin once taught an entire litter of 3-week-old Golden Retriever puppies to lift their paws on cue in just a few minutes. "When the puppies figure out that they're getting clicked for a randomly lifted paw, you see the light bulb go on, as if they're thinking, 'Wait a minute, if I do this, that huge creature gives me food. That's a good thing!'

Clicker Training can be used for much more than marking any single behavior. Mr. Alexander teaches pet owners how to use the clicker to teach incremental moves that can be shaped into desirable behaviors, such as going to a mat, standing nicely for grooming, or any number of fun tricks.

Lifting a paw, for example, can be transformed into a high-five trick, shaped into teaching the puppy to ring a bell when it needs to go outside, or even as an offering of the paw for nail trimming. As tricky as these behaviors may sound, the clicker makes them easy.

"When puppies understand what you want, they start doing things on purpose, making eye contact, and suddenly, these tiny puppies wake up and smell the coffee, and think about the universe in relation to themselves," Kevin says. "It's just a wonderful thing for puppies to learn."

Clicker training is particularly useful for dogs that aren't traditionally known for their skill at basic obedience. Perfect examples are Hounds, terriers and other traditional non-obedience breeds. These breeds do especially well with the clicker because it gives them a clear reason why they should do something they might not see the reason for otherwise.

Dogs that tend to have a "Why should I do this?" type of attitude really buy into clicker training (although it does work with all breeds). In fact, the best age to bring a clicker into your dog's life is early, as young as two to three weeks of age.

Dog Training Methods: How Dog Training Has Evolved Over The Last Few Decades

When you look down at your brand new, small and tender puppy peacefully sleeping in its little bed, it's hard to think that in just two to three months it may grow to be 40, 50, or even up to 100 pounds depending on the type of breed. And although its behaviors may cute at the moment, like jumping up and putting his front paws on your body, these actions will be far less enjoyable when your dog is all grown up and literally knocking you over.

Your best bet is to start training your puppy from day one so that he can learn proper manners as he grows into adulthood. Puppies that are not trained in this manner end up learning all of the wrong stuff and their owners wonder why they cannot seem to get their dogs to behave as they age.

Many years ago, when dog training methods used more punishment oriented (using harsh methods to train puppies), dog trainers typically required all puppy trainees to be at least six months old. The reason was partly due to the fact that such physical correction protocols used could not be done with dogs that were too small or too young.

What is ironic about dog training in the old days is that by the time most puppies are six months old they are big enough and mentally stubborn enough to ignore commands and are altogether tough to train.

New Times Bring Better Training Methods

Over the last 20 years or so, the dog training profession has embraced more friendly and loving training tactics for their puppy clients. Most trainers now except puppies that are as young as 8 to 10 weeks old. They are typically enrolled in socialization classes and puppy kindergarten.

Positive training is now used instead of the old-school methods of negative reinforcement. Puppies are taught to walk politely on the leash. They learn the basic commands of sit, stay, lie down, and come. In addition to these simple instructions, other useful techniques are learned by puppies such as how to relax, give and take their paw, and polite greeting.

Dog Owners Are More Involved With Training Nowadays

Another interesting aspect of raising dogs that has been noted over the last couple of decades is that more and more dog owners have taken it upon themselves to train their puppies.

This is partly due to the fact that so many dog training publications and manuals have been written. Modern dog training programs are based more and more on scientific principles and psychological studies of animal behavior and temperament.

Simple puppy training programs have taught dog owners to utilize techniques such as clicker training and luring.

Clicker training involves the use of a small mechanism that makes a clicking sound when pressed. When a dog hears the sound it will associate the click with whatever reward you give him. This tells the animal that something good is coming and he should repeat whatever behavior or action you have been teaching him.

Luring training is simply using food such as a dog treat, or even a toy, to induce the dog to display a specific behavior in order to follow the lure in hopes of getting the reward.

I know I know, you probably think any sort of training will interrupt the wonderful relationship you share with your dog. Sure it does yell rather annoyingly when you take it out on walks, and you do have to lock it up during dinner parties given how it snarls and growls at your friends four year old, but that's all ok, because that's what dogs do right? Ummm.not really. Sorry to burst your bubble but in spite of not being a human being your dog too is expected to be polite. Sure his antics might seem adorable to you, you might think it's cute when he jumps up at neighbors and scratches up doors, but your dog's victims sure as hell wouldn't agree with you.

You might think you do not want to exercise the sort of authority required to tell him to behave any better, and that's all quite all right really. Being the owner of a dog doesn't require you to suddenly transform into a whip swinging ring master and you are right in denouncing the pathetic idea of establishing who the boss is when dealing with an animal.

Where you are wrong, however, is in your basic understanding of dog training. You need to realize that training your dog is not about proving how much better you are than it, you are not trying to teach it human rules' and thereby attempting to make it more human', training is not a method of humanizing' a dog. What it is, in fact, is a way of improving the relationship you share with your pet, and of course a means of making it more sociable.

What's the point of that?' you might ask. Well, here is the thing. Most of us spend the larger fraction of our daily lives toiling in office, drinking our instant coffee, reading those balance sheets. The little time we get with our family and pets we try to merge with some sort of socializing. We go to the park for a stroll on a lovely evening after work, or to a friend's house to watch a movie. If our dogs are unfriendly then on all these occasions we keep it back home, alone, such that in no time it's in no way a part of our life at all.

Now, like human beings your dog too gets lonely, it gets lonely and depressed and awfully sad especially when it's left all alone in a dark house where there isn't anyone to pat his tired little head.

So you see ultimately due to your aversion towards training you keep your dog from enjoying the sort of company and activities it would like to.

Obedience training is a means of letting your dog cope better with it's immediate environment. It grants every dog an easier life and makes them easier to live with. Training your dog will give you more opportunity to spend more time with your beloved pet, no matter where you are going and who you are going with.

So get in their and give your dog a nice pat and take it out for training. A few magic words like heel', down', stay', come' and sit', will change your relationship with your favorite companion forever. Good luck.