Is your Dog Smart is Dog Training the Key? by Dale Stiles
If you have ever wondered why some dogs are able to get the training commands and some don't you may want to read this article? All dogs are smart. It's the method you use to train them. You can't yell or hit your dog. Just talk to them in a stern and demanding tone. If you take your time and invest into your dog training you will be surprised at the outcome. We started Lucy with crate training as she liked to chew anything she could find. This is a phase all puppies go through. We told here each time we put here in the cage it was here bed. Now all you have to do is tell her "bed" and that's where she goes. We don't even close the door now. She is older now and doesn't chew things. This method saved a lot of our items from the jaws of Lucy. The same goes for feeding here we always stopped her in the middle of eating and touch her, this will show here she could still have the food as soon as we told here "go ahead". This will help when any one goes near here when she is eating. She will just stop and not have the thought that we are trying to take her food. These little training steps have made her a well behaved Dog. She has been able to get all these little commands and has mastered them. She can do the following on command sit, stay, eat, shake hands, lay down, fetch a stick and bring it back, eat when told she can. If fact if you don't tell her she can eat she won't till you come back and say "Go ahead".
Another tip would be that any dog that has contact with other dogs and people will not try to protect you whenever they see another dog or person. This is nice if you line in the city. So remember to let your dog interact with other dogs and people. You will be very happy if they don't attack another dog or bite someone. These habits are great for all dogs that you may take out in public with you. It is much easier to take your dog with you instead of having to leave them at home where they are just stuck in the garage or tied up by the dog house. So start early when they are still puppies and they will be very people friendly. I hope these Dog Training tips will help.
About the Author
I like Puppy Dogs and that's why I built my website. My daughter has a two dogs as a result of growing up with me. If you would like to see some more articles on Dog Training NYC and Behaviors.
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In terms of dog training, house training is one of the areas of dog ownership and one of the most common dog training problems that is most subject to misunderstanding, confusion, and just plain dread boy dog owners and even dog training experts.
In today's dog training article we are going to examine and learn how to deal with two of the most common problems surrounding the issue of house training your dog:
- Submissive and excited urination
- Scent marking behavior
Common house training problem #1: Submissive and excited urination
What is it a 'submissive urinator'?
A 'submissive urinator', in dog training terms, is a dog that urinates on the floor and himself (and sometimes on you or any guests you may have!) in situations of extreme excitement or stress, like when you return home at the end of the work day or when the dog is being told off for some bad behavior.
Why does this happen?
Puppies are the most usual candidates for submissive/excited urination, but it is also not uncommon to see this behavior in adult dogs as well. Usually, these are highly sensitive and timid dogs, and/or ones from a shelter/with a history of abuse (often these last two go hand-in-hand and one of most common things we see as dog training professionals.)
When does it happen?
Situations which are likely to trigger an excited/fearful dog to urinate:
- Greeting time after a prolonged absence of owner
- Play time where a dog gets too excited
- The arrival of guests (particularly unknown guests)
- Stressful situations at home, eg arguments involving owner
- During a behavior correction such as you’re telling him off
- Sudden and unexpected loud noises such as thunder or fireworks
What can I do about it?
Luckily as dog training experts will tell you, it is not difficult to prevent your dog from doing his submissive or excited urination.
Firstly and most importantly, you should take him to the vet to make sure there is no unknown medical reason for the issue (such as diabetes or a hidden bladder infection.)
Next, it’s time to take use good dog training techniques to control the problem:
- Try to limit his intake of water to help him control his bladder more effectively, this is very important. Don’t restrict his water intake over a prolonged period of time, but if you know there is a situation coming which would normally result in a loss of bladder control, for example, you have guests coming over, or are planning on a play session soon, take his water bowl away for a period of time (maybe half an hour to an hour) before the event.
- When greeting your dog, keep it calm and mellow. The more excited he is, the harder it is for him to control his bladder, so don’t encourage him to get worked up: ignore him for the first few moments, or give him a very neutral "hello", a quick and gentle pat, and then go about making yourself at home.
- It’s important that you DO NOT punish or harshly correct your dog for this behavior. It is not something that he can easily control, and he’s certainly not doing it on purpose. Punishing a dog for this behavior can cause emotional distress and lead to more problems for you and the dog in the long run. When you catch him in the act, you can interrupt him (a firm "No!" followed by praise when he stops should suffice) but don’t punish him. Keep your cool, and try to be sympathetic: he doesn’t mean to do it, after all!
- If he urinates out of fear (submissiveness) when scolding him for another offense, try to take the stress levels down a notch by keeping a firm, authoritative, but not angry tone. Remember, you’re dealing with a sensitive, highly-strung dog: if you get angry or worry him further, the problem will worsen.
Common house training problem #2: Scent marking
In dog training terms 'Scent marking' is where a dog 'marks' his or her territory with urine. Technically this is not actually a house training problem, since it’s based on the dog training issues of dominance and territoriality rather than insufficient house training. A dog can be perfectly house trained but still feel the need to mark inside the house.
However, because – since the problem centers around the unwanted presence of urine in the house – it seems logical, in a way, to link this problem with house training. Since this is one of the most widespread problems among dog owners, we as dog training professionals thought it worthwhile to include some practical advice.
Scent marking and lack of house training: how to differentiate between the two
Your dog is most likely scent marking their territory, rather than genuinely relieving himself, if:
- The amount of urine produced is relatively small, and tends to be directed against vertical surfaces such as doors, walls or furniture.
- If your dog is an unneutered male and at least five or six months old. Unneutered dogs are much more territorial than neutered ones. If you have an unneutered dog in the house, you can pretty much expect a certain amount of scent marking as he defines his own areas. It should also be noted that unspayed females also mark, but it is much less common. Spayed and neutered dogs can also exhibit marking behavior, but it’s relatively rare but should not be discounted.
- It makes little difference how often he is taken outside for a toilet break
- He frequently targets items that are new to the house such as new possessions, guest clothing/footwear, etc that do not carry some form of his scent
- You live in a multi-dog household and there is conflict between two or more of the dogs. In this case it is a dominance issue between the two and they may both mark.
- There are other, unneutered or unspayed pets in the house
What to do about the problem?
From a dog training perspective the first thing you need to do is spay or neuter your dog(s) as soon as you possibly can. If you can do this early enough, ideally, at six months of age, this often halts marking altogether. If this is not possible or if your dog’s been marking for a prolonged period of time, he or she may continue to do so after being spayed or neutered, since a pattern of behavior will have been established.
Ensure you clean soiled areas thoroughly. Use a non-ammonia based cleaner, because it smells just like pee, and stay away from vinegar too, it smells similar to pee as well. Oxi-Clean mixed with warm water is particularly effective on these areas and there are also plenty of commercial cleaners designed specifically to lift pet stains and odors, which you can buy from pet stores and some supermarkets.
Because dogs tend to re-mark the same places, you’ll need to redefine the places that you know he's marked to prevent repeat offending.
Many dog training experts will recommend the following ways to do this:
- Feed him next to or on top of the spot
- Play with him there
- Groom him there
- Put his bed over or next to it
- Spend time there yourself: hang out with a book or sit down and work
Finally, one particular aspect of dog training that is often overlooked is if there is rivalry between dogs in the household. In this case you will need to take steps to resolve it. Any conflict is likely to be hierarchical in nature (a 'power struggle'), which means that all you have to do to stop the tension is pay attention to which dog seems to be more dominant than the other one (which one eats first, gets the toys he/she wants, 'stares down' another dog), and reinforce this position to establish the hierarchy.
So how do you do this? From a dog training perspective it is relatively simple. First, feed the dominant dog first. Pet him/her first. Give him/her a toy before anyone else gets one. This makes it clear to all dogs in the house which one really is the dominant dog. When this hierarchy’s been recognizably established, territorial and dominant behaviors like scent marking often vanish overnight.
About the Author
If you like this article, you will find much more useful dog training information on our dog training website Dog Training Success where you will find useful tips, tricks and an amazing guide that will help you train your dog with immediate results. No matter what your dog training problem there is a solution and this fantastic dog training guide will show you how to handle each and every situation in detail. Can you afford not to find our more? Click Here Now!
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