The other day a client asked me why her 1.5-year-old dog urinates on her living room rug about once a month. My answer? I don’t know. Just because I am a professional dog trainer doesn’t mean that I know why dogs always perform certain behaviors. There are many possible reasons for dog behaviors and people often attribute specific reasons for a behavior, when in fact, it is difficult or impossible to prove. For instance, common reasons that I hear to explain why dogs urinate in a specific location include:
This is basic behavior modification. Prevent an inappropriate behavior and redirect it into an appropriate behavior. Rewarding for the correct behavior is also a powerful strategy because it increases the likelihood that the rewarded behavior will happen again. There are a few topics that people often label with reasons that are impossible to prove. I always recommend focusing on tried and true behavior modification techniques. Here are a few of the most common topics and my recommended training assessment and strategies. Behavior Issue: Aggression Towards Dogs Common, Unprovable Explanation My Assessment and Training Strategy Common, Unprovable Explanation Common, Unprovable Explanations
My Assessment and Training Strategy |
It is often difficult to know how a dog will react to a cat until you see them together. This topic is important if you already have a cat and might be considering bringing a dog into the family. Even though I don’t have a cat for daily practice, 2 of my 3 dogs are totally fine with the small number of cats they have come into contact with. Trooper, however, doesn’t seem too thrilled when he sees a cat on the street. If I ever needed him to live with a cat, I would work on the following exercises. To successfully and safely introduce a dog and a cat you should practice similar strategies that you would as if you were introducing two dogs, in which one or both were uncomfortable.
It could take a LONG TIME to get to a point where you feel comfortable allowing your dog near your cat. It depends on your dog’s prey drive, how good your timing is, and how much time you spend on the exercises.
Over time, the strategy is for your dog to not feel like chasing the cat, because he was in the situation many, many times and never actually chased the cat. You are doing something called desensitization and counter conditioning. You are lowering the intensity of your dog's normal reaction and countering it, or replacing it, with a different behavior. You can also improve your chances for success by doing more training such as working on Off Leash Control, Come, or Leave It (shown in the Counter Surfing video). |
Bringing a second dog into the home often sounds like a good idea, but it can also cause problems in certain situations. Here are common reasons for getting a second dog and my thoughts on why it might or might not be a good idea.My Dog is Bored You might have the best intentions for getting a second dog to act as a playmate for your first dog, but it might not solve the problem. If your first dog is bored, there is a good chance that he or she is not getting enough time and attention in the form of exercise and training. The second dog might entertain your first dog somewhat, but the new dog will not train himself. What you might end up with is having two bored dogs, with the second dog being less obedient due to your lack of time. My Dog Has Separation Anxiety If your first dog has separation anxiety, getting a second dog might help alleviate some of the problems. However, you could end up having two anxious dogs on your hands. If your dog does not like to be away from people specifically, getting a second dog will not solve the problem. Also, if your dog has high levels of anxiety the second dog might start to get anxious as well. I always recommend that people address behavior problems or training issues with the first dog before bringing a second dog into the mix. My Dog is Dog Aggressive Sometimes people think that getting a second dog will get their first dog accustomed to dogs and it will be easier to introduce him to other dogs in the future. This strategy is not recommended. If you practice a sound desensitization and management strategy you might end up with two dogs that like each other. However, depending on the level of aggression of the first dog, you might end up with anxious or injured dogs as well. My Dog is Doing Great and I Want A Playmate for Him Great! This is when you should consider getting a second dog. I always recommend that the first dog is about 90% of where you want him to be in regards to socialization and training before bringing another dog home. Assuming you have the time to devote to acclimating your second dog into the mix by doing the necessary socialization and training, go for it! I am always amazed at how often I hear people say, “Having a second dog really isn’t too much more time than having one dog.” There are exceptions to this, but it doesn’t take any more time to have two untrained dogs. But, to have two well trained, properly socialized, healthy and properly groomed dogs takes a lot of time! Before You Get a Second Dog Consider These Points Second dogs frequently receive less training and socialization than the first dog. To properly socialize a second dog (especially a puppy) he should be trained and socialized separately so he learns to be independent and well behaved on his own. I frequently see second dogs that have more behavior problems because their issues are not addressed individually. It is also important to teach dogs to be alone in crates or other areas of the house so you can train dogs individually without barking and anxiety from the dog that is alone. When you can only train dogs together, it is more difficult to focus on each dog’s individual needs. Second dogs should also be taken to training classes or taught using my videos for teaching. Working with two dogs takes more time. Other considerations are the time and expense for vet bills and food. Proper vet care can be extremely expensive, especially for puppies and older dogs. It would be tragic to give dogs less medical care because the expense of two dogs makes proper care too costly. I hope this helps you decide if it is time to get a second dog. I have three dogs and believe that they are happier because of the companionship. But, it is important to weigh all of the options before making a decision. Keep in mind that you can always take your dog to dog parks and other locations to play with dogs, but your schedule might not be as flexible to provide two dogs with the time and attention they need. It would be great if you would share your experiences with getting a second dog or why you decided to hold off. |
I get asked this question very frequently. My basic rule of thumb is that all dogs should receive at least 60 minutes per day of physical exercise and 15 minutes of training to be happy, well-adjusted dogs. This is just a starting point. The numbers can vary greatly depending on the age, breed and individual requirements of your dog. One very important factor to consider is that dogs need physical exercise in addition to mental exercise in the form of training or other tasks. I have worked with many dogs that have the proper amount of physical exercise but are still destructive or unruly because they are just bored. How Can You Tell If a Dog is Bored? Boredom usually presents itself in the form of barking, destruction, or digging. The challenge with assessing boredom is that some of the indicators are the same for separation anxiety, which is a separate issue. If a dog participates in the minimum amount of exercise per day and does not have signs of separation anxiety, I will recommend more training or physical exercise to see if that alleviates the problems. What Breeds Need the Most Exercise? In my experience, herding and working dogs historically need a lot of exercise. However, I have been surprised over the years with Pugs that have as much energy as a Border Collie, or a Visla that is really mellow and sleepy. You have to be prepared for a wide range of needs if you are thinking about getting a dog. Also, puppies of any breed require a lot more time and attention than most people realize. As they get older, the more mellow breeds often calm down by the time they are two years old, but sometimes they don’t. My List of High-Energy Dogs This list is from my experience. I usually don’t like to lump dogs into categories and risk unfairly labeling them, so please use this only as a rough guide. There are always exceptions to any list. I use this list when someone calls and they tell me they are not super-athletic or don’t necessarily have a lot of time to run their dogs in the park. I would tell them that it is more risky to get one of these breeds because of their high energy. Even though I have worked with many exotic dogs over the years, I am going to stick to more mainstream dogs with this list. Keep in mind that if you are getting a mixed breed you can use this as a rough guide, but there is no way to know for sure what exercise requirements your dog will need as he or she gets older.
This covers a lot of different dogs, and is by no means a complete list. There are exceptions to every dog as I read through the list. I have worked with really mellow Labrador Retrievers, but mostly they need a lot of running and training. In general, Bernese Mountain Dogs are often thought of as low-energy, but I have worked with my share of high-energy Berners. What has been your experience with your dog's energy level? Have you been surprised by a different level than you were expecting? Share your thoughts. |
Destructive behaviors such as chewing on furniture or digging in the backyard are one form of inappropriate behavior. Demand behaviors are also inappropriate and are another way of describing a dog that is asking for something in a way that is deemed inappropriate. Examples include jumping for attention, play nipping for attention, barking for you to throw the tennis ball, or barking to get let out of the crate.My strategies for working with dogs that exhibit destructive or demand behaviors are as follows:
The first strategy is to teach your dog appropriate behaviors and reward those. To achieve this goal, one option is to shape behaviors by rewarding anything that your dog does that is better than the demand behaviors. Keep in mind that this doesn’t have to be something really specific such as sitting or lying down.
Your list of possible appropriate behaviors might be short because your dog doesn’t know a lot of behaviors. In that case you should do more training. Options for more training include, go to bed, down, sit, roll over, take a bow, shake or high five. More training will help in a number of ways:
Notice that all of the behaviors listed above are not “training behaviors” such as “Sit” or “Down”. Chewing an appropriate toy is not something that you necessarily need to train, because it often happens naturally, but it is better than barking. What I want you notice and reward is ANYTHING that is appropriate. With demand behaviors a dog wants something from a person and thinks that the behavior that he is exhibiting will result in obtaining what he desires. You should teach your dog that the annoying demand behaviors NEVER result in him getting what he wants but the behaviors on the list of “approved” behaviors MIGHT get him what he wants. The reason I said “might” get him what he wants is that your dog needs to learn that just because he performed a behavior that is appropriate does not always mean that he will get what he wants. The next step is to teach a dog that just because he performs an appropriate behavior doesn’t mean he will always get a reward. I accomplish this by working on duration of behaviors combined with timeouts.
There are a lot of misconceptions about using the crate for timeouts. I will write another post about timeouts at some point, but for now, just don’t worry about using the crate as a timeout as long as your dog is okay with the crate. It is not recommended, however, to put a dog that has separation anxiety and panic attacks in the crate. More questions? Ask in the Forums. The final strategies can be accomplished by using my “10-minute Exercise”. I use this as a very structured way for my clients to easily practice all the strategies above. Continue reading, and you will find out a really great way to teach your dog not to be demanding.
Troubleshooting
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