Dog Aggression To Visitors – How To Stop It...

We want our dogs to defend our home, alert us to strange noises, deter burglars, and yet be friendly to all our visitors. Not surprisingly, they sometimes make errors of judgement and do not always differentiate.

Territorial behavior develops as puppies mature. Therefore, if your puppy does not bark when the doorbell rings, do not think you have to teach him. You could be encouraging undesirable behavior that is difficult to control as he grows up. Most dogs show some degree of territorial behavior. Barking when someone comes to the door is usually seen as acceptable, provided the dog stops when we want. If we then take control of the situation and open the door, the dog should allow us to make the decisions. If we are happy with this person, so should he be.

Possible causes:
• This is natural and it is often desirable, unless it is completely out of control.
• Dogs who practise the behavior and bark at passers-by may feel that they are rewarded. As with all behavior that is rewarded, the behavior gets stronger.
• Dogs may have been encouraged by their owners. Owners saying ‘who’s that’ in an excitable tone to their puppy when the doorbell rings may find that their dog develops a higher territorial response.

Prevention:
• Socialise your dog. If he loves people, he has far less reason to want them to stay away.
• Ensure that the arrival of people means rewards for your dog, such as fuss, attention, treats and games.
• When your puppy is young, carry him to meet postmen, workmen and so forth as they come to your door. Ensure he has good experiences.
• Do not allow your dog to bark at passers-by. Remove him from his vantage point if necessary.

What to do if problems have arisen:
• For safety’s sake, keep him away from certain visitors. The man who has come to read your meter probably has no desire to help you train your dog.
• Seek expert help.

This problem is especially seen in:
• Dogs of guarding breeds.
• Nervous dogs, who may want to avoid close proximity to strangers.
• Rescue dogs, who may have practised this behavior in kennels.
• Active dogs with insufficient stimulation, who find the arrival of visitors highly arousing.

Dogs should be encouraged to enjoy the company of other people, so that they do not see them as threatening or unwelcome.

How To Stop Dogs From Chewing...

It is natural for dogs to chew, it’s a completely normal canine behaviour. Dogs will chew to explore, they use their mouths like people use their hands. Destructive chewing can be a real problem though as it can be very expensive AND dangerous if your dog was to choke on something!

How to stop dogs from chewing:

Prevention
Generally, most destructive chewing will happen when the dog is left alone in the house. If you have chosen to keep your dog in a crate then your house will be protected but if your dog has full use of a room or even the whole house then you need to remove the temptation to chew!

Keep anything of value out of reach. Don’t leave wires hanging around, your dog would love to have a chew on those! For items that you can’t move, such as your sofa or dining table, use a chewing deterrent such as bitter apple spray. Just spray this on the item and your dog won’t go near it because they hate the taste of this stuff!

Entertain
Most dogs chew out of boredom so you need to figure out how to stop dogs from chewing the wrong things. If your dog is alone, he needs to have something to chew. Never give your dog an old shoe to chew on as he will then think he has the green light to go and chew ALL of your shoes!

Make sure your dog has a variety of things to chew in different shapes with different textures. Kongs are great as you can fill them with goodies such as marmite or biscuits and your dog will be entertained for hours trying to lick the stuff out!

If your dog is a puppy and he is teething, put a wet cloth in the freezer and give it to him. The cold will feel great against his sore gums!

Reward
If you really want to figure out how to stop dogs from chewing, it’s up to you to teach them wrong from right. Your dog loves to learn and will want to please you!

Always use a sharp “NO” or other command when you find your dog chewing something that he shouldn’t be. Don’t shout at your dog or hit him.

It’s important to reward your dog when he is chewing something that’s ok. But don’t interrupt his chewing session!

This should help you on your way to figure out how to stop dogs from chewing!

Ways to Stop Dog From Biting...

Stopping your dogs from biting is an absolute necessity. Preventing your dog from learning how to bite is best accomplished when the dogs are actually puppies. Puppies are full of energy and yearn to play with people and things. However, puppies are very easily taught right from wrong. If you are able to be patient and consistently enforce good and bad behavior patterns, then they will be able to learn that the biting pattern is a bad thing.

Toys being made available within quick reach is a must. Puppies love to play games. Your job is to make sure that these games to do not include a puppy being taught to aggressively interact with a person. If you toss the dog around and wrestle with it, then it causes the dog to reinforce fun with aggressive playing, and possibly biting.

A common response tactic when a puppy nips at a human is for the person to yell: “Ouch!” and to respond dramatically and loudly so that it startles the puppy. This is a natural tendency of puppies to respond that way. Why? When puppies play with each other and one hurts the other a little too hard, the one responds with a loud yelp, or whimper, and it lets everyone know the playing was a little too aggressive. If you do the same, your dog will know you are hurt, and that it crossed the safety line.