How To Stop A Puppy From Biting

Whilst having a puppy is such a rewarding experience, without proper training your puppy may never grow out of the habit of biting. Time and time again people come to me to ask how to get a puppy to stop biting. There are many techniques on how to stop a puppy from biting, but what you must remember is that puppies bite and chew a lot at a young age. It is only when this natural behavior escalates into something out of hand that you should think of addressing how to get a puppy to stop biting.

The first method of how to stop a puppy from biting involves simple obedience training with water. This method can work, but only if you are around the dog enough to identify the bad behavior and act when it is taking place. If you can’t be around when it is biting but you still want to know how to stop a puppy from biting this method is not for you. However, if you are often at home and are quick to act this can be a very effective way of how to stop a puppy from biting. To achieve this you must get a water gun, hose, or iron sprayer and simply spray the dog lightly when it is doing something wrong. Although many dogs like water, catching them off guard with a quick spray of water is a very effective method to stop your puppy from biting. Make sure you catch the puppy whilst it is in the act of biting (for example chewing up your shoes), otherwise the puppy will not understand.

Another approach that addresses the question of how to get a puppy to stop biting is the yelp approach. If the problem is the puppy biting you or other people in your household, (not items around the house), this method is far more effective than saying “NO” or getting angry at your pet. Since puppies play like this with their pack, if you yelp when they bite you, the puppy will think that they bit you too hard and will stop biting (as it is usually a game for them). If you use the yelping technique you will find it very effective in addressing the problem of how to stop a puppy from biting, as it doesn’t intimidate the dog or confuse it, it is using pack mentality in order to stop the puppy.

A third and final approach on how to get a puppy to stop biting is the orange peel method. Dogs hate orange peel, so if you put orange peel on whatever the dog is biting, it will instantly turn the dog away from the object. After a while the dog will realize that biting and chewing things is wrong if they cannot achieve this. White pepper is also sometimes used for this purpose. Both of these can be effective. But overall, remember that if you are asking how to stop a puppy from biting it is probably just a passing phase; most puppies soon grow out of this and with a little training won’t continue biting in later life.

Want to know how I stopped my dog biting in 2 days? Read My Dog Training Tip and learn about my favorite Dog Training Book at http://trainyourdoggie.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jane_MacKenzie

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A Simple Technique To Stop Your Dog From Jumping On People For Good

Most dogs very expressive and affectionate social animals. That is why they jump when they greet. The main reason why most dogs jump is simply out of excitement: its an enthusiastic greeting, reserved for times when adrenalines running high and the dogs happy about something.

Jumping is also encouraged by a lot of dog owners when the dog is a puppy. They reward the jumping puppy by reacting with exuberant affection, hugs and kisses. The puppy learns a fast lesson: jumping is a good thing, because it results in plenty of positive attention and physical contact.Your dog doesnt understand the difference between a jump as a small, cute puppy, and a jump as a huge, hairy adult. If you want to stop your dog from jumping on people,youll need to take matters into your own hands, and make it perfectly clear to your dog that jumping is not acceptable any more.

Most trainers agree that the most effective way to stop your dog from jumping on people is also the easiest: all you have to do is simply ignore him whenever he jumps. The idea is to give him the cold shoulder: withdraw all attention, even negative attention (so no yelling, shoving, or corrections).

Heres how to implement this training technique: whenever your dog jumps up on you, turn your back straight away. Since dogs understand body language a lot more clearly than they do the spoken word, youre going to be using your posture to convey the message that such behavior isnt acceptable here: fold your arms, turn your back from him and look away.

This is where a lot of people make a mistake: they confuse ignoring the behavior with ignoring the dog. Youre not ignoring the behavior - i.e., youre not carrying on with whatever you were doing as if the jumping wasnt happening; youre ignoring your dog. Youre still going to react; but your reaction is for you to actively ignore him.The cold shoulder is a really effective way of communicating your displeasure to a dog - hell catch on in no time.

If you apply this technique consistently and tell all the people that are in contact with the dog to do the same, you will quickly stop your dog from jumping on people.

Some dogs jump on people because of dominance or aggression issues. If this is the case you will need to address this problem separately.

If you want to learn more advanced techniques about how to stop your dog from jumping on people and to help you with other very common behavior problems, check http://www.squidoo.com/sitstayfetch_review where you will be able to get a free 6 day mini course.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sophie_Da_Costa

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How To Stop Your Dog From Barking Using Positive Reinforcement

Is your dog barking too much? It could be that youre inadvertently training him to bark by giving him attention whenever he barks. Yelling at him counts as giving attention, as does looking at him or kicking him. You know who you are! Dont do it.

Even if youve got a pup from the Hound group (who is hereditarily hardwired to bark while hunting, such as a Beagle, you can still win this battle -- peacefully) practice both the long-term and short-term solutions here, stay consistent and practice daily, and you can solve this barking problem.

First and foremost, the thing to remember with a barker is the same thing with any other behavior issue:

When a behavior is reinforced, it will increase in frequency.

When a behavior is not reinforced, it will decrease in frequency.

Long-Term Bark Stoppers

These are to be practiced continually whenever you are not doing the short-term exercises.

§ Keep all departures and arrivals very low-key. This is very important. When you or family members come home from school or work, quietly let the dog outside and dont greet him in any way whatsoever until at least 5 minutes later. This is hard for kids or anyone owning a puppy, but its crucial to avoid emotional displays which announce your comings and goings. Making a big deal when you leave or come home will increase the likelihood not only of owner-absent barking, but bona fide separation anxiety

§ Ignore all barking unless you are certain that the barking is signaling something extremely important. Ignoring does NOT mean saying "Quiet Rover" when he barks - it means remaining quiet yourself when he barks!

§ Do not even look at your dog or turn your head toward your dog when he barks. Doing so reinforces the behavior! Hes just looking for some way to get your attention and believe me, hell notice your eyes moving because hes watching you.

§ Praise "Good quiet, Rover" and walk over to him to give him a little treat several times during the day when he is just sitting around not barking. He can be doing just about anything else, but if he is quiet, praise him and call it what it is. Believe it or not, hell figure out what hes doing right sooner than you think, and his "quiet" behavior will increase.

§ If you got a breed known for barking (Hounds such as beagles) accept it and modify your expectations. Be realistic about leaving him alone inside or outside when you cant hear him; if hes bothering the neighbors, you may have to get him into a daycare.

§ Exercise, exercise, exercise: 2 hours of brisk walking (or running) daily is a minimum for barkers, who need an outlet for their energy. He should be walked on a leash away from your home and/or run in a safe area away from your home. Not only does this tire him out, but it desensitizes him to the sights, sounds and smells of your neighborhood - rendering them less "barkworthy" than when they were unknown.

§ Playtime and obedience in your yard. If youre not playing with him for at least 30 minutes daily, start. Fetch, chase, tug, and hide & seek are all great games to play with your pooch and will tire him out and enhance your relationship.

§ If you have to leave your dog outside while youre gone, give him a digging pit, a wading pool, lots of toys and agility-type obstacles that will keep him busy and happy. Installing a stockade fence through which he cannot see will also reduce the barking.

§ Never leave your dog tied up outside. Youre just asking for noise (and possibly aggression) anytime anything happens in the vicinity.

§ When you can communicate with your dog and learn to give him attention for the good things he does, hell be less frustrated, more responsive to you, and much less likely to bark. Enroll in an obedience class at a positive reinforcement facility (see the Trainer Search at http://www.apdt.com for ones in your area).

If youve already taken obedience, try agility, flyball, tracking, or Canine Good Citizen to stimulate his mind and body.

§ Dont bother yelling at your dog for barking. Some dogs interpret this as your attempt to join in the barking chorus! And all dogs know that getting yelled at is getting more attention than they were getting before they barked!

§ Bring him to a cage-free dog daycare once or twice a week. The staff there are very likely to practice barking control, but more important hell learn quickly that proximity to other dogs is not necessarily reason to vocalize.

Short Term Bark Stopper: Put the bark on command

If you train your dog to bark on cue, youre in control of most of his barking. And if you can concurrently train him to Quiet on cue, youre happy! Youll need a helper for this exercise, and youll need to practice it several different times on different days , maybe 20 minutes each time. Your helper may be different or the same each time as long as they can follow your directions.

First, tell your helper to go outside your front door. Instruct him that in 5 seconds he should ring the doorbell. Close the door with you and the dog inside. Count to 4 seconds and command your dog to "Speak!". If your timings right, your doorbell will now ring, setting your dog up for his predictably barking frenzy. You have now started to associate the command "Speak" with your dogs barking.

After a few seconds of barking, command "Quiet" while holding a treat right in front of your dogs nose. He will stop barking in order to eat the treat. You may praise him "Good quiet" while he chomps on his treat.

Now youve not only associated the command "Quiet" with him ceasing to bark, but youve also associated being quiet with something yummy, along with your verbal praise which he also loves. This starts your dog on his long and happy relationship with being quiet when told to do so.

Repeat this exercise 5-10 times in each daily session. You should be in control of your dogs barking within only a few short days!

If you cant get him into a group class, order a good positive reinforcement training video such as Positive Puppy Training at http://www.dogdaysusa.com/positivepuppy.cfm and practice as much as you can.

For more great puppy and dog training and behavior articles, including jumping, chewing, separation anxiety and housetraining, go to http://www.dogdaysUSA.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzanne_Harris

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Cesar Millan Dogs that are scared from Soldiers

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Are You Harming Your Dog with Their Dog Food Health Concerns Stemming from Commercial Dog Foods

By Cindy McKie

Do you like eating foods laced with preservatives, fillers and potentially dangerous chemicals? I’m going to take a safe guess and say no—but most dog owners serve this to their beloved pets every day.

Death Due to Dog Food

Commercial dog food health concerns are being raised as more and more people are exposing the potentially harmful practices of commercial dog food manufacturing. On Friday March 16th a major dog and cat food recall was announced by Menu Foods, the company that makes 48 brands of pet foods including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba pet food. The Menu Foods recall was announced after it was discovered that 10 dogs and cats died and an unknown number affected from kidney failure as a result of eating these pet foods.

Do you know what’s in Your Dog’s Food?

The truth is many commercial dog foods have ingredients that would shock you.

Your Dog’s Food Could Contain:

Worms

Rancid Animal Fats

Diseased or cancerous meat

And…

Sodium Pentobarbital used to euthanize animals!

Yes, I’m sorry to tell you but dead animals could be in your dog’s dinner bowl. According to author Ann Martin, author of “Protect Your Pet” and “Food Pets Die For” it is a common practice that euthanized animals are routinely rounded up from veterinary clinics and sent to processing plants to become your dog’s food.

Now tell me—would you knowingly feed your beloved pet this type of food? Of course not! But commercial dog food health concerns stem from the fact that the manufacturers don’t have to tell you what happens to the meat before they get their hands on it.

Discover How To Feed Your Dog a Healthy, Life Enhancing Diet

The key to providing dog food health benefits is to feed your beloved pet the nutrients and vitamins they need—without the preservatives, fillers and tainted meat. Just as you take care to cook healthy meals for you and the rest of your family, you can easily create healthy recipes for your dog. Making homemade meals for your dog isn’t expensive, it isn’t difficult and it will dramatically improve the health and well being of your dog.

On the days that you may not be able to “cook” for your pet you can substitute a safe brand of kibble. You will have to study up on your pet food labels but there are a precious few commercial dog foods on the market that are designed with your pet’s health in mind…but you need to read those labels to be sure you’re giving them the correct brands.

Feed your dog a healthier, chemical free diet and they will:

Have stronger immune systems

Suffer less skin conditions

Better all over health including less chance of heart conditions and kidney failure

Live much longer

If you have a dog you know what a cherished member of the family they become. What you may not know is that you may be putting them at risk for disease and a significantly shorter life span every time you serve them their dog food. Health and happiness for your dog can be as simple as taking the time to learn the truth about commercial dog foods and learning how you can better feed your four legged friend

Cindy McKie is a freelance writer and owner of a 15 year old Bichon Frise named Molly. Learn how to start feeding your dog a healthier diet today with the 5 Free Tips to a Better Dogs Diet mini-course.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cindy_McKie

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