Dogs and humans have one thing in common hands down; we are both guilty of being creatures of habit.  We settle into our routines doing the same things day in and day out.  Routines are behaviors and some behaviors become habits.  As we all know, habits can be hard to break.

Many dog owners wish that they had never let their dog or puppy “start” doing certain things.  What early on may have been cute or funny is now undesirable and seems difficult to correct.  Issues such as dogs on the furniture, begging for “people” food, and barking for attention are just a few examples that quickly come to mind.

Dogs are considerably more adaptable then people give them credit for.  When modifying any behavior, consistency is the key to success.  A replacement behavior needs to be identified and taught to your dog.  You do this by simply replacing the undesired behavior or action with the new desired behavior. 

For example, if you do not want your dog to get on your bed then you need to change the habit.  Tell your dog “No” and remove him every time that he gets on the bed.  Redirect your dog to the new spot that you want him in, such as a dog bed or rug next to the bed.  After you have successfully redirected your pet to the new allocated location, calmly praise. 

Changing your dog’s old habits will involve some behavior modification for you as well.  Being consistent is reinforcing the behavior every single time.  You cannot walk by and pretend you do not see your dog on the bed because you are busy.  This also means you cannot wake up in the middle of the night to find your dog on the bed with you and simply roll over because you are tired. 

Consistency, consistency, consistency!

Basic obedience commands are also helpful and important when doing behavior modification.  If your dog comprehends “No” and “Good Dog” in a training environment then those phrases will mean more when you use them to change habits.  Obedience training also places you in a position of leadership which will help your dog or puppy respect you as a superior.  The more your dog respects you, the more likely he is to diligently follow the new rules. 

If you have more then one behavior that you would like to correct and are feeling a little unsure or overwhelmed, do not give up before you get started.  Pick one unwanted behavior to work on at a time.  Once you have modified the unwanted behavior into a desired behavior you will have tasted success, built up your confidence, and earned respect from your pooch.  Changing additional behaviors should become easier and happen more quickly. 

Consistency, replacement behavior, and some basic obedience training are the elements needed to change Fido’s bad habits into a well behaved family member.  You can do it!

Everyone who has ever had a dog as a pet knows how wonderful and rewarding the relationship between a dog and its owner can be.  Often we feel so close to our dogs that we treat them as though they are humans, or like children, and can do no wrong.  Indulging your dog may be meant with the best of intentions but it will contribute to current problems and lead to future problems down the road of a happy co-existence.

We have all known or met dog owners whose dogs seem to be in charge of them instead of the other way round.  These owners constantly find themselves apologizing for their dogs’ behaviors.  If this is the case, both the dog and the owner need some dog obedience training.

Owners may put repetitive bad behavior habits down to their dog’s breed, past life, or something else, because they often don’t understand dog behavior.  Often, such owners will tell you how they have tried to tell their dogs not to do this or not to do that and they’ll say that their dogs completely ignore them.  These dogs ignore their owners because they do not respect their owners.  Like love and trust, respect is a two way street that must be taught and earned.

Dog obedience training is needed for both the owner’s sake and the dog’s sake.  Owners need to learn and understand the basic aspects involved in dog training through books, videos, at-home training programs or structured training classes.  Owners must implement and follow through with their new found knowledge to become the leader of the family pack.

If a dog’s behavior has dramatically changed from what it once was, a precautionary step is to have it checked out at a veterinary clinic before beginning any training.  This is to ensure that the change in the dog’s behavior is not due to pain or a medical condition.  Once an owner is assured that their dog’s health is in good condition, they can then confidently began obedience training.

Obedience training will strengthen a relationship between a dog and its owner.  The rewards to having an obedient dog are many.  Most importantly, an obedient dog will bring contentment both in and outside of the home.

New dog owners or prospective dog owners need to think about whether or not they will train their dog and how they will train their dog.  Training a dog is not a mandatory requirement for owning a dog but at a small amount of training will eliminate bad habits and set boundaries for your dog.  If your dog has a particular problem then it is absolutely essential that training be implemented to correct the behavior.

Training a dog can be overwhelming and intimidating to many but it does not need to be.

Dog training basics do not change regardless of the age of the dog, the breed of the dog, the manners you want to install in your dog, or the behavior you want to change in your dog.

To successfully train a happy, loving dog remember these 7 Dog Training Basics.

1. You are the leader.
2. Your dog needs to understand its place within your pack structure.
3. Your dog cannot implement behaviors or change undesirable behaviors if it does not understand what is expected of them.  You must train and show them what you want and then reward them appropriately.
4. Never reinforce negative behavior you want to change with attention.  Yelling at your dog is attention and negative attention is still attention.  Instead ignore your dog or walk away.
5. Always reinforce the desired behavior with positive attention such as verbal praise, treats, toys, and calm soothing petting.
6. Lots and lots of patience.
7. Consistency, consistency, consistency!  Did I mention, be consistent?

A well trained dog will feel much more secure in your home when it knows it’s boundaries and respects them.  A dog in the wild will have some sort of enforced boundaries of behavior by the pack structure that naturally evolves and exists.  When you bring a dog into your home, your dog is part of your “pack”.  You need to establish that you are the pack leader and this can easily be accomplished through some basic training.

Any method of dog training that you choose needs to be approached from the perspective of “positive reinforcement”.  This simply means that you reward your dog with verbal praise, treats, play or all of the above for any positive behavior that is exhibited.  Success will come quickly to anybody who praises a dog for good behavior.

For example – If you ask your dog to sit and it does, you give your dog a treat.  From your dog’s viewpoint, sitting when told to equals a treat. Yum!

What if you tell your dog to sit and when it doesn’t, you punish it?  In your dogs mind you have just dished out a random punishment for nothing. This will only serve to confuse your dog and lead to mistrust.

Remember:  Positive reinforcement is the key.

A typical mistake that dog owners make is to inadvertently train their dog into bad habits.  Common examples include barking, face licking, and jumping up. Let’s look at each of these.

Barking – Dog’s bark, that’s a fact.  It’s WHEN a dog barks that determines whether it’s normal behavior or a bad habit.  If your dog barks when somebody comes to the door this is normal territorial behavior.  Your dog is warning you, as a member of its pack, that there is potential danger at the door.

If your dog spends the best part of its waking life barking at just about anything and everything including you, then this behavior has formed into a bad habit.  Do not despair, do not hide from your neighbors, and do not buy stock in earplugs.  Correct the behavior.

The first natural responsive mistake most people make is to shout “Quiet”, “Shut Up” or “No” at their barking dog.  The main reason why this does not work is simple.  Your dog barks, then you “bark”. From your perspective, you are shouting above your dog to be quiet.  From your dog’s perspective, you are barking along and enjoying the noise.

To correct this behavior wait for a pause in your dogs barking then heap lots of verbal praise and a treat upon your dog.  As soon as the barking starts again, ignore your dog or walk away.  DO NOT pay your dog any attention when they nuisance bark or you are reinforcing the unwanted behavior.  When the barking stops, its treat time again.  It won’t take long before your dog puts two and two together.

Face Licking – Face licking is a result of your dog’s puppy days.  Face licking is a way for a puppy to get its mother to regurgitate food for them in the wild. Puppies and dogs will also lick the face of a higher member of the pack to express and accept their submissive status in the pack.  You and your family members are higher in the pack rank which is why your dog wants to lick you.

Face licking should be avoided for many reasons but top on the list is due to health concerns.  Never let a dog lick a baby or toddlers face.  This could expose the infant or toddler to germs that their immune system may not be equipped to handle.  Also, if your dog has worms, has been investigating other dogs feces or been grooming itself, the last thing you want is for your dog to come and lick your face.  Discourage this behavior by using positive reinforcement.

When your dog approaches your face, firmly say “No!” but do not shout. If your dog does not back off, push it away from your face.  When your dog first responds to the “No” phrase, it’s time for a treat.  Be consistent and your dog will realize face licking is unacceptable.

Jumping Up – Dogs jumping up on people can be dangerous especially if children are involved or if the dog is a large breed. Your dog will not understand that jumping on you is okay but jumping on children is not. This will just confuse your dog so you need be consistent.  Stop this behavior by telling your dog “Off!” every time it jumps up on you or others.  Give a treat when your dog first responds to your verbal command and every time thereafter.

If your dog is not responding to the verbal command alone then proceed to the following:  Anticipate your dog jumping on you and as they begin their lunge firmly state your command “Off” and at the same time raise your knee bent parallel in front of you.  DO NOT forcefully or swiftly “knee” your dog as this can cause physical harm to your friend.  Instead place your knee out in front of you to block your dog from making full contact with you.  The key is to time the command and your knee before your dog has made full contact with your body.  If your dog beats your timing and makes contact with you, do not punish or scold your dog. Wait for another opportunity to enforce the desired behavior. When your dog begins to respond to this method use verbal praise and treats for positive reinforcement.  When this method has proven itself successful take your knee out of the equation and revert back to the verbal command along with verbal praise and treats.

Do not use the word “down” for jumping because “down” should be the command for “lie down”.  Keep these two commands separate or you will create confusion for your dog.

When dog training is broken down, there are a lot of simple ways to train your dog.  These are just a few.  There is no need to tolerate bad habits or undesired behavior in your dog because they can be easily remedied through positive reinforcement, patience and consistency.  If you have rescued a dog or have an older dog do not believe that they are “set in their ways”.  They may take a little longer to correct the behavior but remain patient and you will be rewarded.  Ultimately most dogs want to please their humans and be accepted into the pack.

Separation anxiety is a common problem encountered by many owners and their dogs.  Simply defined, separation anxiety is when a dog is very anxious when left alone. Separation anxiety can present itself in many different ways including chewing, destroying property, excessive barking, self destructive behavior and inappropriate urination and defecation.

Dogs suffering from separation anxiety often whine, bark, cry, howl, dig, excessively lick themselves, have housebreaking accidents, chew and scratch at the door the entire time their owners are away.  Well meaning owners often unknowingly encourage this misbehavior by rushing home to reassure their dog, but it is important for the well being of both the dog and the owner that the dog learns to deal with extended periods of separation.

Teach your dog to be independent.  Do this by discouraging your dog from constantly following you around like a shadow.  Train your dog to remain in a down stay position while you move freely around the house. Start off by leaving the room your dog is in for a few minutes and then returning.  Slowly lengthen the times that you are in a different area of the house separating you from your dog.  This will help with separation anxiety because you are building your dogs confidence. Your dog is learning to be alone yet he still has the reassurance that you are nearby and will return shortly.

When you do leave your house, how you go about leaving the house often contributes to separation anxiety issues.  Do not make a big deal about leaving or returning home.  If you act apologetic about leaving your dog, this can actually make your dog more anxious.  A long and drawn out farewell with kisses and tearful goodbyes can makes matters worse by making your dog feel even more isolated when you finally do leave.  Long farewells can also get your dog excited and then leave them with lots of excess energy and no way to work it off.  Excited, isolated dogs often work off their excess energy in destructive ways such as chewing furniture or digging in the yard.

Excess energy is often mistaken for separation anxiety since the results are often the same.  If you think that excess amounts of energy may be the problem, try giving your dog more exercise before you leave and see if that eliminates the problem.

If separation anxiety is the true problem, it is important to address the root causes of that anxiety. To prevent separation anxiety from occurring, it is important for your dog to feel happy, safe, secure and comfortable while you are away for the day.  It is also important to give your dog plenty of things to do to stay occupied while you are away.  This means providing lots of toys such as balls, Kong’s, or chew toys.  A pet companion can also be effective at relieving separation anxiety.  Giving your dog a playmate such as another dog or a cat is an alternative to help your dog cope with the stress of being left alone.

Schedule play time or exercise before your departure and give your dog your undivided attention.  Providing your dog with sufficient attention and exercise is a proven way to avoid a stressed and anxious dog.  Be sure that you give your dog some time to settle down after playtime or exercise before you leave.  A happy dog that has been well exercised and well conditioned will generally sleep away the time that their owner is away.  A tired dog is a good dog.

For dogs that are experiencing separation anxiety and associated misbehaviors it is important to get the dog accustomed to your leaving gradually.  Leave your dog home alone for periods of time starting immediately.  Practice leaving and returning at irregular intervals several times a day.  If possible, start out with short departures and increase them gradually.  Ideally, if possible, gradually build up to the full amount of time you will be away due to your work or school schedule.  Doing this will get your dog accustomed to your departures and help them realize that you are not leaving them forever.  Dogs that have been previously lost or those who have been surrendered to shelters and readopted often have the worst problems with separation anxiety.  Part of treating this disorder is teaching your dog that you leaving is not permanent.

If you return home to accidents or damage to your house, this can be upsetting and the clean up will rank very low in the fun department.  It is very important to not discipline or scold your dog for the behaviors committed while you were out.  If you do, the separation anxiety may become worse because now your dog is worried about you being gone and worried about you returning home.

If your dog is crate trained, use your dog’s crate to deal with separation anxiety.  Crate training is particularly useful if your dog chews or gets into mischief while he is home alone.  For more information about crate training please review the article titled “Crate Training Your Dog”.

Remember, it is always much easier to prevent unwanted behavior then it is to correct bad behavior.