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When dogs encounter a stressful situation, such as having company over, they get wild. From a dog’s point of view, these are either “intruders” or friends that cam to play. Eventually, by following your body language, dogs will calm down when new people come over. But for that 30 minutes or so, it can be embarrassing, irritating and sometimes dangerous. Another reason these type of “chill pills” are used is for separation anxiety if your dog chews on everything when you leave the house. What can be done? The first thing to emphasize is that no kind of human prescription drug should be given to a dog without a vet’s assurance that it is safe. Further, no vet worth her degree will prescribe a tranquilizer for day-to-day events like having company. They are too strong and risky. The good news is there are several products on the market than can...
Continue reading » Behavior, Dog ProductsNo Comment Every dog is a descendant from wolves. They have an inherent need not only to be part of a pack, but also to have safe place as their den. This is where crates come in. While some owners find crate training to be essential, others may not. It’s important to remember that crate training, though helpful for the dog in many respects, is not a catch all solution for things like separation anxiety or house training. Reasons to Crate Train Crates give dogs a place of their own, to sleep, to take refuge during an upsetting incident (like a thunderstorm or when a stranger enters the home), and to give them a safe, confined space to inhabit if they have to stay home alone for any stretch of time. And while crates cannot immediately solve issues with anxiety, bad chewing behaviors, or house training, they are a good jumping off...
Continue reading » TrainingNo Comment Dogs are great, and we love them. But one difficult behavior to control is digging; especially if your dogs has separation anxiety and is left home alone during the day while you are at work or school. They key to controlling digging is to understand digging from your dog’s point of view. Why are they digging? It may be for entertainment (dogs get bored when left alone) or it may be because they are after a critter of some kind. Burrowing animals are irresistible for a dog. Stop them, and the digging will stop. Here are some ideas: Gopher Proof Your Yard: Burrowing animals, like gophers are very hard to kill. They are elusive and smart, making them even more irresistible for dogs. One way to stop digging is to make your yard inaccessible to these critters. The first thing is to scare the gophers away for a few days...
Continue reading » Behavior, TrainingNo Comment Barking dogs have become so synonymous with danger that owners will often get nervous just hearing their hound let off a yip. In reality, dogs bark for a myriad of reasons, only one of which being when they feel threatened. It is how they communicate, not only with each other, but also with you. For example, my dogs always bark when I get home from work. It is how they show excitement and recognition. Greeting Barking As with my dogs, many dogs will bark as a greeting. If you take your dog to a dog park, for example, you will see dogs barking at each other in a very non-threatening way. They are just saying hello and acknowledging one another. Dogs may bark when friends or strangers come up to the house (keep in mind that they cannot always immediately tell which is which), or even just in excitement seeing...
Continue reading » Behavior, PlanningNo Comment If you’ve ever come home from work and found the legs of your chairs and table torn to pieces, you know how frustrating it is to have a dog who chews. You leave him alone for an hour and when you return, he has destroyed three pairs of shoes. We love our dogs, but a dog with a chewing habit can be a menace. Some people will simply give up and drop their hound off at the nearest shelter, citing that he is just too troublesome to keep around the house. This isn’t fair to your dog, however, who probably doesn’t even understand that he’s doing something wrong. Whatever your dog chews on, from wooden furniture, to pillows, to clothes, to shoes, to your children’s toys, you can correct these behaviors once you understand the underlying cause and how to encourage your dog not to chew on your prize possession,...
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