Separation anxiety is problem that is common for most dogs to develop. It is considered to be an anxiety disorder, that happens when the dog finds himself isolated bring on a state of intense panic brought on by separation from his owner(s). For example it can occur when an owner leaves for work in the morning, the dog is develops a condition of nervous anxiety which will intensify very quickly.

Dogs require plenty of company and social interaction to keep them happy and secure. They are social animals just like most humans. Dog do not like to be left alone for long periods of time, but some dogs and even some breeds fare much worse than others, and these are the dogs most prone to suffer from separation anxiety.

It is known that some dog breeds can be genetically predisposed towards separation anxiety, something to take into consideration when deciding which breed to choose from particularly if you’re going to be absent for long stretches of time. Some of these breeds include Weimaraners, Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds, and Airedales.

There are a number of contributing causes to dog’s separation anxiety, for instance dogs from shelters are more likely to develop separation anxiety, since ‘shelter dogs’ have experienced quite a bit of trauma. For instance if they have been abandoned by previous owners and therefore find it hard to trust new owners.

Sometimes dogs that were separated from their mothers and siblings too early have been shown to be prone to separation anxiety. An example of this are puppies from pet-stores since they are usually taken from their mothers as early as age 8 weeks, and then they are confined to a small glass box in the pet-store for up to two months. This early weaning, along with lack of exercise and affection from their mothers, will likely be very traumatic for the dog.

The biggest cause of separation anxiety in dogs is neglect, since your dog need your companionship if he is to be happy and content. Neglect inevitably occurs, if you are separated from your dog more than you’re present in his life. The dog will learn from your routine when you are leaving the house. The dog then starts to become anxious, following you from room to room, whining and crying.

These are the symptoms of separation anxiety.  When you’ve left, the anxious behavior manifests itself within a half an hour, with the dog incessantly barking, scratching and digging at windows and doors to try to escape and find you. He might chew inappropriate items, or urinate and defecate inside the house. Some dog have been known to engage in self-mutilation by licking or chewing the skin until it’s raw.

Many owners on their return, will encounter a dog that is excessively excited, and will leap around in a frenzy of delight. But this is misleading because this behavior is actually an indication of a psychological disorder. You are not seeing the behavior while you are gone.

There are a few things you need to do to minimize your dog’s separation anxiety. First exercise your dog enough to wear him out. The longer you think you will be gone for the day, the more exercise your dog should get before you leave. You dog must be distracted from his boredom, loneliness, and anxiety by giving him an alternative to whining, crying and pacing.

If you are interested in finding out more information when it comes to dealing with your dog’s separation anxiety, you might will want to check out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a great learning tool for anyone who wants to learn how to deal constructively with their dog’s problem behaviors. It deals in great detail with all of the common dog behavior problems, and there’s a great section on obedience commands and tricks.

Want to know the secret to solving your dog’s separation anxiety? – click here!

Many people today have started to get their dog or puppy to a dog training school. There are a lot of aspects that are gone over in dog training classes. Unfortunately, one part of dog training that is not gone over very well in dog training classes is chewing.

It is hard to go over a dog chewing problem in dog training classes because dogs often have nothing to chew on or destroy while in the class!

Covering this dog behavior problem in dog training is necessary for dogs both young and old. Many people think that this part of dog training should be more geared to puppies. But older dogs need to be exposed to this type of dog training because they also like to chew up things while their owners are away!

Before beginning dog training, you should first realize that all dogs chew. In fact dogs need to chew. So when you expose your dog to training, make sure you have several things that are ok for your dog to chew on. Then begin dog training by making sure to keep all of your dogs chewing toys in one location.

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This will hopefully result in your dog will learning to associate this location with his chew toys. You must do this in order for this type of dog training to work. Try to have the dog toys in a “toy box” for your dog.  During this dog training period however, never spank or hit your dog if you should catch him chewing on something it is not allowed to. Instead, for effective dog training, give you dog some praise and pet it when it chews on what it is supposed to chew on.

It has been shown many times that dogs will respond much better when they receive positive praise and are exposed to positive dog training. If you find that your dog continues to chew on things that he shouldn’t, verbally reprimand him. Your tone of voice will be enough punishment and is the only punishment necessary for this kind of dog training.

Another method of dog training you can try out is to put a taste deterrent on any items you don’t want your dog chewing on. This Dog Training chew deterrent is called “bitter apple” and it should be available at most pet stores.

These are one of the most effective means of dog training  that can teach your dog not to chew on inappropriate things. If you follow all of these methods, then your dog training should go more smoothly and be more successful.

Dog training can be a fun and rewarding experience for both you and your dog.  Just make take the necessary steps to make sure that all of your favorite things aren’t chewed up in the process! By being calm, and most of all, patient you should be able to achieve good results.

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Your adorable, cute new puppy has arrived.  You are very pleased to have him and he is happy to have a family like yours.  But before long you see that there are 2 dog behaviors you need to deal with almost immediately – jumping on people and biting.

As for jumping on people this is a problem that you or others might tend to overlook at the beginning.  After all he is so little and cute, that little tail is wagging and, besides, isn’t socialization and getting used to people important? 

Of course socialization and getting used to people is necessary but just allowing him to jump on people is not the best way to do it. Imagine your cute, little puppy as a grown up 80 – 100 pound adult dog.  Will he be so cute then when he jumps on people?  No andit could potentially be dangerous if he should jump on children or small adults because he could easily knock them down.

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The best time to do puppy training, when while he is still a puppy.  When your young puppy starts to jump up on you or someone else, gently place the puppy’s feet back on the floor. While he remains standing there, make sure to praise him extensively. 

Give him an alternative to jumping up on someone. 

The reason why puppies jump up on people is to express their enthusiasm, and so this makes it important to redirect this energy in a more socially acceptable direction.  Try teaching the puppy to give someone his paw instead of jumping up on them. 

When teaching the puppy to not jump up on people, you must make sure to be consistent.  Consistency is important in any training program, and all members of the family as well as friends must understand that the puppy is not permitted to jump on them – ever.

Biting is one of those things that almost every puppy seems to do, and they must be taught not to do it.  Like many dog behaviors, such as jumping up on people, biting and nipping might appear cute when your puppy is small, but certainly not when he getsolder, larger and stronger.  Many times, most puppies learn to control their biting reflex from their mothers and from their littermates. When the puppy becomes overenthusiastic, like during nursing or playing, the mother dog, will be sure to quickly issue a correction.

Of course, sometimes this type of natural correction can be lacking, especially when many puppies are removed from their mothers when they are still quite young.  It is therefore up to you to take over this important process.

Socializing the puppy with other dogs and puppies is one of the best and most effective ways to teach the puppy the appropriate, and non appropriate way to bite,and to curb the biting response.

You will find that some communities and many pet stores sponsor puppy playtime and puppy kindergarten classes, which can be greatplaces for puppies to be able to socialize with each other, and with other humans and animals too. 

While the puppies play with each other, and they will naturally bite and nip each other.  If one puppy starts to become too rough or bites too hard, theother puppies will quickly respond by correcting him.

When the puppy is young is the best time for his socialization to take place.  It is important that every dog be properlysocialized, since a poorly socialized dog, or one that has not been socialized at all, has the potential to become dangerous and even neurotic. 

Many experts agree that puppies should be socialized before they have reached the age of 12 weeks, or threemonths.

Another reason for early socializing of the puppy is that many times mothers of young children may be somewhat reluctant to allow their young children to play with older or larger dogs.  Since socializing the dog with other people is just as important as socializing it with other dogs, it is best to do it when the puppy is still young enough to be non threatening to everyone.

It is important that the puppy be exposed to a wide variety of different stimuli during the socialization process.  This process should include letting the puppy be more exposed to a wide variety of other animals, including other puppies, adult dogs, cats and other domestic animals. 

Also you should make sure that the puppy be introduced to as wide a cross section of people as possible, including young children, and older people.  While this is very important in providing the puppy with life lessons and preventing him from biting, you can also give the puppy appropriate things to play with and bite. This is another good way to control inappropriatebiting. 

Providing a variety of chew toys, ropes and other things the puppy can chew is important to preventing boredom, keeping his teeth polished and keeping him from chewing things that he is not supposed to chew.

So it is important to be consistent when teaching your puppy not to bite.  You need to encourage each member of the family, as well as close friends who may visit, to try to discourage the puppy from biting.  If only one person permits the puppy to chew on them while everyone else does not, the puppy can become confused, thus making the training process that much more difficult.

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One of the most biggest misconceptions that most people have is that their own dogs won’t bite. While it is natural that everybody feels some level of respect for a big, growling dog we are becoming too nonchalant about our own dogs.  So how can you be sure that your dog will never bite anyone?

A dog bite injury can lead to some serious, even life threatening injuries, some even requiring corrective surgery.  There is also the problem of psychological, emotional, and physical scars from the dog bite injuries that will need to be overcome.  There can also be staggering financial and legal costs as well.

While some dog biting is fairly common in young puppies while playing or teething, you need to start to train your dog that biting is not acceptable.  In puppies this is called ‘mouthing’ and this is something to keep in mind since puppies have sharp teeth and while they are playing it is inevitable that he will use those teeth.

Preventing these dog bite injuries is a necessity both medically and legally, and this is why dog owners have to be responsible for their dogs. A dog owner has to recognize that any dog of any breed is capable of biting someone, and even a ‘nice’ dog can suddenly snap and bite if he becomes frightened, or hurt in any way.

Obedience Training

One way to help to prevent these dog bite injuries is to invest in a good dog obedience training program. Dogs that are not trained or not trained well are much more likely to bite. Get him socialized early with other puppies, and under calm and positive circumstances, allow him to also meet and interact with other people, including children.  This is because all dogs are descendants of dog packs and where dogs often exhibit aggressive behavior having to do with dominance.

Spay and Neuter your Dog

Another good preventative for either minor or devastating dog bite injuries is to spay or neuter your dog as this will eliminate or reduce aggression levels in both male and female dogs. This will also prevent many health problems later in his life.

Why do Dogs Bite?

Learning why dogs bite can make it possible for you to understand some behaviors and to avoid them.  You can also learn to train your dog to prevent possible dog bite injuries.  Despite what many people may think, dogs don’t bite because of aggression, but because of fear and surprise. This is why socializing your dog when he a puppy is so important to get him used to other people and other dogs.

Other Things You Can Do

Be sure to take your dog to the vet on a regular basis and also make sure that all his vaccinations are kept up to date. Get your dog licensed and also keep his paperwork up to date.

Don’t allow your dog to wander freely, in fact he should be contained on your property and you should be able to control his access to the street.

If you follow these common sense steps you can greatly reduce an attack or dog bites by a lot.  Just be a responsible owner and start working with your puppy or dog today.

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The best dog is a well-mannered dog, and to get to a well-mannered dog by teaching him the basics such as sitting, heeling, and sitting is easier than you think.  Read on for some tips that can get you started.

Being a dog owner can certainly bring you a lot of joy and your dog is after all can give you much companionship.  But why is it that one dog can be so obedient and other isn’t, one can heel or comes when his is told, while another is so undisciplined?  If your dog is more like the latter dog, you will need to look for and invest in some good dog training advice especially when it come to some basic dog training. 

Beginning to expose your dog at a young age to dog training is an example of good dog training advice.  Training at this time will be crucial as the first few months of your dog’s life is when you will have the best chance to mold and shape him into the dog he is going to become when he becomes a fully grown adult dog.

Remember that good dog training advice can help make any dog training improve the bond between you and your dog, and bring about mutual respect.

Where can you go to get good advice in dog training?  Well first there is the Association of Dog Trainers or ADPT.  Their website provides information on where to fine dog trainers, as well as advice on how to select a dog trainer, education events, dog trainer tips, and so many other areas of dog training advice.

I recommend Secrets to Dog Training as a good resourse on dog training.

Another good resource for dog training advice and obedience training is the American Kennel Club.  Their site provide information on dog training resources.  They can also provide information on clubs that can help assist you in training your dog.

If you go online you can also find information on specialized training, obedience clubs and organizations listed by state.

 Some general dog training advice is contained in the following:

• Always reward or praise your dog for doing what is told correctly.  This is something you must do consistently when training your dog.  Rewarding can include just giving praise, petting him, or even just giving him food.

• Never punish or scold your dog during training as this can create negative feeling in your dog.  Punishment can lead to aggression and other behavior problems. Instead use positive dog training which consists of ignoring a dogs bad behavior and rewarding the good behavior.  Positive dog training puts the attention on what the dog is doing right.

• You can penalize your dog when he does something that he shouldn’t.  Don’t confuse the word ‘penalize’ with ‘punish’.  An example of a penalty could be a jerk on his leash when he starts to stray on a walk.

Training your dog should also be fun for you and your dog, it does not have to be such and ordeal each day.  Also do not forget to reward your dog and yourself for all the “hard” work you both enjoyed!   It should be fun for you and your dog, and not have to be hours and hours each day, it can just may be 5 minutes or so. 

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It is obvious that many dog owners really don’t know the first thing about how to train dogs.  Not long after they buy their first dog they soon discover that as soon the dog starts to grow that he goes from a lovable pup into a full grown liability. With out proper dog obedience training, many end up with a dog that just up and wanders off, never coming when called and turning into a real problem dog as time goes on.

Unfortunately many dog owners tend to treat their dogs as like if they were four-legged friends, not realizing that the dog would naturally see them differently. They need to understand dog behaviors so they can understand how to train dogs. They fail to grasp that dogs are pack animals and they are acutely aware of their position in the pack.  The dog owner and his and family are in its pack, no matter if it is just the two of you.

Understanding some dog psychology as a help in how to train dogs can certainly help find out how to train dogs, plus you make both you and your dog happier. It is important to make it plain to your dog that you are the Alpha male or leader of the pack and what he say goes. An owner must lay down ground rules for his dog.

The dog must see that the leader of the dog pack eats first, so don’t feed the dog tidbits from the dinner table.  At the same time the dog should be in his basket while you eat, and he only gets fed after everybody else has finished.The dog should be trained to sleep in his basket since he see that as you are the leader that you sleep in the best spot.

The Alpha male won’t pay attention to more subordinate dogs yelping around him when he returns from a hunt. When you make it a point to consistently act as the pack leader then you are helping to communicate to your dog in a language he can understand.

When you first come home, do not give any attention to the dog’s attempts at getting your attention until he calms down.  Then and only then do you praise him.

Your dog should realize his lower place in the hierarchy of the pack and behave accordingly. Before long you will see that your dog greets you more quietly and can more quickly settle down as he’s has been able to figure out that this is when he receives praise from you.

It is apparent that in understanding how to train dogs can you can do lot to make your dog a happier dog.  The reason is that from your dog’s view of things, he is living in a confusing human world with so many things and behavior he can’t understand.  So he will naturally feel that it is his place to take charge. But this just causes more confusion, causing your dog to be stressed, having to make sense of an overwhelming world it cannot understand, and this results in an unruly and confused dog.  This is why it is necessary to teach your dog his place in your pack.

By you taking command as leader of the pack, you relieve your dog of that responsibility. As a well-trained member of the family, he will be happy knowing his place, his role in the pack and what is expected of him.  Your dog will be more than happy to defer to your leadership knowing you’ll take care of the important things.

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