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As a dog trainer working with many apartment-dwelling clients, housetraining is an important, sometimes messy topic. Many people adopt a dog or puppy, or get one from a breeder, with the assurance that the dog is housetrained. But minutes after bringing their bundle of joy home, Rover starts leaving housewarming presents on their handcrafted oriental rug.  Click Read More if you don't see the text below.
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Does the doorbell send your dog into a frenzy? A simple management solution will keep your dog from going bonkers when he hears that irresistible “ding-dong!” I describe the steps below in AKC TV's Ask the Expert.
When teaching your dog polite behaviors, you have a choice: training or management. Training doorbell etiquette involves teaching your dog to do a polite behavior like a sit-stay instead of running and barking at the door. It’s a great skill but requires methodical implementation on the owner’s part, plus high impulse control on the dog’s part. Click "Read More" below if you don't see the text below. Puppies are cute for a reason. Those fluffy little jowls are hiding a set of razor-sharp, flesh-searing teeth, and between those floppy ears is a brain that is hard-wired to chew on everything in sight. Teething puppies simply cannot help themselves. Most puppies have an insatiable urge to chew whatever they can get their paws on, and when they play, they have little regard for your delicate human skin. Children under ten or so, as well as people with long hair or flowing clothes, are the most vulnerable to these petite predators, but really, no one is safe from puppy teeth. It takes months for a dog’s adult teeth to come in, so it’s important to have a plan to combat biting and chewing as soon as your puppy comes home. Here are ways to ensure your puppy will learn to be polite with his teeth. Click "Read More" if you don't see the text below.  Such purity, such innocence, such... insanely sharp teeth.  Jacob and Finn practice "reward for attention." Do you walk your dog, or does he walk you? If your dog drags you from shrub to shrub, or launches himself at every dog he sees, it’s time to brush up on his leash walking skills.
It’s no wonder that leash walking problems are the number one complaint I hear from my dog training clients. To a dog, leashes are completely unnatural and unnecessary. Dogs are designed to wander in this-or-that direction, following a scent or investigating things in their environment. A six-foot leash just can’t allow such freedom. But since leashes are necessary for safety and required by law, we have to teach dogs how to walk politely while tethered to you. Why Dogs Pull There are numerous reasons why dogs pull. Hint: none of them have to do with dominance. Do any of these reasons apply to your pup? Click Read More if you don't see the text below.  To some dogs, everything is a chew toy. If your dog or puppy has an appetite for destruction, it’s important to address it sooner rather than later.
While most of us humans see our home decor as something to preserve for many years, our dogs may have a different opinion. To them, nothing is more exhilarating than ripping a pillow apart, and chomping on an antique table leg is a great way to pass an otherwise boring day. Click Read More if you don't see the text below. You love your dog, that’s a given. But do your neighbors feel the same way? Make sure your dog has neighbor etiquette both indoors and out, so he brings a smile to everyone’s face. Well-behaved dogs are made, not born. To ensure your dog is a pleasure for everyone in the neighborhood to be around, a little training and management will go a long way to prevent bad habits from forming. Here are some ways to get started. Read the full article here on petguide.com, or click "Read More" if you don't see the text below. (Photo by constantism.com. Check him out!)  Susu is nailing her polite greeting, with the help of a little string cheese. Does your dog bark when left alone? Eat your furniture to pass the time? Constantly demand your attention? Save your sanity by turning your pup’s mealtime into playtime. All kinds of dogs can benefit from food-dispensing toys, if chosen carefully and used properly. Here are five ways to add these toys to your daily routine to encourage good behavior from your best friend. Click "Read More" if you don't see the text below. Treat & Train, developed by Dr. Sophia Yin and owned by PetSafe, is a multi-purpose training tool that is most frequently used to help with problem behaviors such as barking and jumping when people enter your home. It can also provide a ton of rainy-day indoor fun for your dog by making him work for his food, burning both physical and mental energy in a small space. (See the video below.) The device includes a food-dispensing container with several options for dispensing treats, a remote control so you can activate the machine from far away, and a target stick. Sound strange? It’s actually brilliant. Here are some ways you can incorporate it into your routine. (Click "Read more" below.) Feeding your dog from a bowl is like using a Blackberry… there are infinitely more useful options out there. For the overworked urban owner, feeding a dog in a food-dispensing toy is an effective way to help him release some energy (especially “mouthy” energy) and engage his brain while you’re busy doing other things. While never a substitute for training or exercise, these toys add a little fun to your dog’s day without any extra effort on your part.
One of my go-to toys is the oddly named -- and oddly-shaped -- Kong Genius Mike. This tube-like, rubber toy has slits at both ends, which you can fill with treats or kibble. I use this to feed both my dogs their evening dry food; I put the dogs in separate rooms and shut the doors, giving them 5-10 minutes of alone time to work independently. In turn, I get a few minutes of peace and quiet while they’re busy getting all the pieces out. This toy is also suitable for training treats or other hard goodies, but not for wet or sticky food. When your goal is to modify an unwanted behavior, whether it’s from your dog, your kids, or yourself, you always have two options:
Problem: My dog gets underfoot while I’m cooking in the kitchen. Management Strategy: Block his access to the kitchen. There are several ways to do this.
Training Strategy: Teach him to go to his bed while you cook. Teach your dog a Place cue, which is a behavior that is incompatible with kitchen scavenging. (If his butt is firmly on the dog bed, he can’t be walking around the kitchen.) I prefer teaching an alternative behavior like Place to simply telling the dog, “No!” or “go away”; shooing him away simply tells your dog what he shouldn’t do (and that’s if he understands it at all), whereas Place tells him what he should do instead. It’s a win-win. For almost every undesirable behavior, it’s wise to consider both management and training, as they can often complement one another. In the example above, until your dog has learned a solid Place (which will be discussed in detail in future posts), the management strategy can keep the problem from exacerbating. Stay tuned for future posts outlining management and training strategies to address a number of urban dog issues. Got a request? Email me! |
Welcome!Kate is a certified dog behavior consultant, certified dog trainer, certified Fear Free professional, certified dog parkour instructor, and award-winning author.    Categories
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The views expressed on this website belong to Kate Naito and may not reflect the views of the agencies with which she trains.
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