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Bad Dog Behavior
Where Do I Start!
When I first brought my puppies home I overlooked some bad dog behaviors and allowed bad habits to begin forming. "Plenty of time to start training"! RIGHT?
WRONG!!!
Before I knew it they were peeing (and worse) all over my house, chewing everything in sight, jumping all over my guests AND barking incessantly.
Regaining control would take forever (I thought), and I didn't want to be mean or abusive. I'm a "dog lover", but I don't BARK and they don't TALK! I had to learn to become
ALPHA
in my own house.
I was afraid it was too late to correct what I had allowed them to do!
I had to get control ASAP!
Time To Start Training Dogs
"I work hard all week long; I don't want to spend my free time Dog training."
"I just want to play with my dog and have fun."
"I keep trying to get him to stop; but he doesn't listen to me."
Imagine being able to go for walk with your dog, and truly enjoy it or, experience being able to control your dog when other dogs are present.
This is just a very small example of my thoughts and questions, then I realized these all came from stress, frustration and lack of knowledge.
I made a list of these bad dog behaviors and started to observe my dogs actions or lack of actions and I saw that my dogs were suffering from the same things, stress, frustration and lack of knowledge.
Then I learned all these behaviors were not "bad dog behaviors", but, "bad owner behaviors".
The behaviors I termed bad were just a natural progression of behaviors I had allowed to form. I had been a lazy dog owner, even though I felt I was doing my part in feeding and loving them, I left out the most important part. They needed a "pack" leader.
Becoming Leader of the Pack
I started with "becoming alpha" then on to
Basic Obedience Training.
Obedience training is a must for most dogs.
They must behave in a way that makes them pleasant to be around.
I needed to establish the house rules and then establish that I was now Alpha and each human member of our household was also Alpha. Then I needed to assure them that they indeed held a secure position within our family "pack".
Once I got the basics done it was time to move on with the training.
Where To Start?
I had to set my priorities:
This is a list of my priorities, you may have your own. With 6 dogs, each individuals, even though 4 are of the same breed, I needed help fast and lots of it. I looked for every resource to make our home run smoother, and not just be training camp.
Teaching My Dogs Tricks
I found you can change a difficult, out of control dog into a calm-mannered best friend by working a few simple, fun tricks in your daily routine.
Tricks like:
- Find you the TV guide to see what's on
- Answer your funny questions with Yes (one bark) or No (two barks)
- Do magic tricks (I'm not kidding!)
- Switch on the lights in the evening
- Go to play hide and seek with the kids whenever they're bored
Teaching your dog these tricks and commands goes far beyond fun and comfort, they absolutely love the attention they get.
In Hollywood, dog trainers use a technique called "shaping" to get a dog to do almost anything, including some bad dog behaviors (only for fun). It works by starting with a small part of a trick (like "Touch the door handle") and then you teach him additional actions (Like "Pull it towards you", "Walk through the door", and "Pull it shut").
If your interested in learning and teaching these techniques
Click Here!
Another advantage is teaching him what are call "traffic commands", where you can keep him 100% safe while waiting to cross the street, riding with him in the car or heeling on a busy street.
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