Some dogs act like they were born to chew and get a great deal of enjoyment out of chewing on things; other dogs seem indifferent about chewing and rarely do it unless they get bored.

Destructive chewing in dogs might be a phrase that sounds redundant to you. You’d be right, of course, because by its nature, all chewing is destructive. Your dog’s jaws are strong and full of sharp teeth, and just about anything she chews will quickly start showing evidence of damage. So, when I mention “destructive chewing in dogs,” what I’m really referring to is inappropriate chewing. You know the type I mean – destructive chewing in dogs that is inappropriately directed toward your personal possessions and household items instead of your dog’s toys and chews.

Most Dogs Chew for One of Three Reasons:

1. Almost all dogs are born with an urge to chew. Chewing keeps them entertained, helps them pass the time and prevents boredom from setting in. Basically, they enjoy chewing, so they do it. And some things taste good when they’re chewed.

2. Chewing provides an emotional outlet for bored, lonely or anxious dogs. The repetitive act of chewing can soothe the nerves of some distressed dogs. Think of chewing as the canine equivalent of human comfort food.

3. Chewing lets dogs work off excess energy. Basically, it gives them something to do.

How to Prevent or Stop Destructive Chewing in Dogs

Dogs are intelligent, and by putting in a little time and effort you can teach your dog not to chew your personal possessions. Here are some tips to prevent or stop destructive chewing in dogs:

1. Take control by dog-proofing your home. Don’t tempt your dog, even if she’s a model of good behavior.

Remember, dogs don’t have hands, so they investigate everything using their mouths. Dog-proofing your home involves making your personal possessions inaccessible to your dog. You’ll need to take into account your dog’s size and physical abilities while you’re putting things out of her reach. If your dog is large or capable of jumping up onto things, you’ll need to move more of your possessions than you would if you have a short dog that’s not very agile.

Typically, dogs are tempted to chew on objects like shoes, clothing, eyeglasses, books, garbage, cell phones, remote controls and the like. You should also put all food out of reach. For example, don’t leave any snacks lying out on tables or kitchen countertops. Put all food into containers or back into the pantry. You should also rinse any dirty dishes to remove scraps of food before placing them in or near the sink. You’d be surprised by what your dog can reach when some food is up for grabs!

2. Prevent your dog from experiencing the enjoyment of chewing on inappropriate items. The more times your dog manages to chew on a table leg, shoe or some other “illegal” object, the more times she’ll want to do it again. Preventing her from chewing your possessions makes it much easier for your dog to learn what you expect from her. Until you’re certain your dog understands what is permitted and what is not, you should keep her in a dog crate or another dog-proofed location in your home when you’re not available to supervise her behavior.

3. Make it easy for your dog to learn. Setting clear boundaries between what’s acceptable for her to chew (her toys) and what is unacceptable (your possessions and household items) makes it easier for your dog to learn. For example, if you let your dog chew on some of your old shoes or socks, you’ll be setting her up for failure. How can she tell the difference between old socks and new?

4. Give your dog appealing alternatives to chew. You can’t blame your dog for chewing on your stuff if you haven’t given her alternatives that appeal to her but are also more acceptable to you. Keep in mind that although most dogs need to chew, a puppy or dog that is under three years of age will probably want to chew even more than an older, more mature dog. Go shopping and buy a fair number of chews and toys for your dog, then let her play with them two or three at a time. If you rotate your dog’s toys and chews once or twice a week, they’ll keep her entertained.

5. Supervise your dog. Although you might be able to confine her in the yard or in her crate, that’s not much fun for either of you. You got a dog to be able to interact with her, right? Otherwise, you could have gotten some fish. And, your dog will never learn what you want her to do (and not do) if you keep her confined in a dog-proof area all day long. In order to learn she has to be able to explore the boundaries you’ve set. That’s the only way she can learn the difference between what’s appropriate to chew and what’s not.

6. Catch her in the act. Whenever you catch your dog chewing on an inappropriate object, stop her by clapping your hands or making some other startling noise. As soon as she stops chewing, give your dog a chew toy and praise her as she takes it. This strategy will teach her that she’ll be praised when she chews her toys but she’ll get in trouble if she chews on anything else.

Be Realistic and Have a Positive Attitude

When you want to stop or prevent destructive chewing in dogs, making sure your expectations are realistic is one of the most important things you can do. No one’s perfect, so there will probably be at least one occasion where your dog chews on something she shouldn’t. This is particularly likely to happen while she’s still learning her boundaries.

Destructive chewing in dogs takes time to eliminate, so it will be a while before your dog can be trusted to leave your stuff alone. And, even after she learns the “chewing rules,” she might chew on something inappropriate if you leave her alone too long or she feels abandoned or neglected.

Spending time with your dog will help her learn faster. Remember to keep your things safely out of her reach until she understands the rules.

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Everyone loves to have pets in their homes especially puppies. It can be difficult to control the aggressive nature of some dogs like chewing, digging and other intolerable activities. Don’t feel irritated with the habits of the dogs because proper training can make them obedient. Dogs are enjoyable companions and obedience-training can makes them much better behaved. Excellent Dog training in Houston is offered to your pets to make them obedient and polite. Training classes are offered to your new dog for improving the interactive and obedient nature of your new small friends. Houston Dog Training centers train the dogs to learn good manners and to obey the dog owners. How nice it will be if your dog shows a polite greeting when guests enter your home? They will be impressed with the nature of your pet.

Trained dogs to obey the commands of the dog owners, accompaniy you to your friends’ and relatives’ houses, play with kids and more fun. It is so easy to train your dog, no matter what its age is, its normal behaviors like biting, chewing and other irritating activities are changed and your little companion will be made adjustable to live in any environment. If your dog is trained in the right way with Dog Obedience Training Houston, not only the behavior problems are solved but your dogs will also learn activities like swimming and other sports. Such centers provide the dogs the comfortable environment for training and encourage them to learn good activities in little time. Large play areas and places for training with all facilities are available in these centers for your loved ones to get trained comfortably. All necessary amenities with quality rooms for stay are offered to the pets and so they would feel as if they are at home.

Experienced training staff of dog training centers takes care of your dogs with balanced food and regular exercises both physically and mentally for them to get trained effectively. Centers providing Dog Training Houston offers training programs for the dog owners also to get known to the psychological nature of the dogs. This would be helpful for you to making your dogs obedient in homes. Any breeds whether small puppy or adult dogs, these training centers could train your pets with knowledge and obedience.

Essential care and attention is given to the dogs with high standard training classes. What fun it would be if your dog obeys your commands? Don’t you feel happy if it plays with you? Houston Dog Obedience Training makes these possible along with training of many more activities. Your kids will be surprised with the way your puppy plays with them. Get rid of the aggressive habits of your lovable companions. Enjoy the fun with your new little friend.

Dog Obedience Training Houston is offered for your pets to train them with good manners and habits. Extra care and attention along with various programs is provided to your pets by Dog Training Houston. The author is an expert in writing articles and has written numerous articles on the benefits of dog training.

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Clicker Dog Training Your Cocker Spaniel

Behavior and basic commands are easily learned by your Cocker Spaniel with clicker training. Highly rated because it is a gentle and sensitive method, which is what you need for Cocker Spaniel training. It is very effective and impressive for controlling and dictating your cocker’s behavior. Clicker dog training your Cocker Spaniel will speed up the process of teaching your dog basic commands and tricks. Once you get the hang of the clicker it will take very little time to master this technique.

How Clicker Training Works

The clicker training system is very easily learned by your Cocker Spaniel as it learns to associate commands and can hear up to twenty yards away. It’s the goal of the training to spot desirable behavior and the reward the pup with the sound of the clicker. This is the key factor in clicker dog training your Cocker Spaniel.

It’s important to know that clicker dog training seldom starts with a clicker. You must first teach your dog that the clicker is a reward for good behavior. A two dollar clicker and bag of treats is all you need to get started.

There are a number of reasons why the clicker is important to use in the instance. To start with, a dog will never hear that clicker for any reason other than to tell them they did a good job and that a treat is on the way. Verbal commands alone might be given in certain situations. However, the relationship in the dogs head may not be strong enough. With clicker training, your cocker will associate the behavior you wish to mark as desirable.

How Clicker Dog Training is Done

Here are three basic tips to start your clicker dog training your Cocker Spaniel so that the dog will respond to the clicker. Behavior is first – get your dog to do something you deem desirable. It can be anything like simply sitting; rolling over doing or a trick you want to teach. Reward you dog after the sound of clicker with a reward. This should only be done after the dog has performed the desired behavior.

Your dog will quickly learn the behavior it did to earn a treat and start repeating it. The reason clicker training works so well is because the dog will respond quickly to be rewarded while the command or trick is being instilled in their minds. Verbal commands might take a little more time.

Once the dog has done the behavior and received their reward, continue doing it to reinforce the behavior as much as possible. It is not necessary to give a treat every time. Eventually praising and letting your dog know what a good it is and heavy petting will replace the treats.

Transitioning to a Command

It’s important that the behavior is learned well by the dog before transitioning to a verbal command. Only then will you be able to give a command and get the response you want without the clicker. Whenever you are about to use the clicker, say the command, allow the dog to perform the behavior and then click, followed by the reward. The Cocker will quickly learn to associate all three.

Eventually, with good clicker dog training, a dog will respond to a verbal cue and praise for their action and then they will simply learn it. The need for treats or praise will be gone and the dog will simply know that the action pleases you.

There are many applications for clicker training. For example, agility trainers have been using clicker training for many years. Training your dog is much more effective and easier is many ways. You can reinforce nearly any action with a command or hand signal you can mark.

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Clicker dog training is widely considered to be one of the most effective methods used today in controlling and managing a dog’s behavior. When it comes to teaching them basic commands, it really takes very little time to grasp the principles and techniques of clicker training, and when utilising a good quality clicker, you will be able to see results in a very short time, regardless of the kind of dog you’re training.

How Clicker Training Works

The general principle behind clicker training involves creating an association between the clicker sound and a particular command, and teaching your dog to recognise this association. When the dog responds correctly to any given command, they are rewarded with the sound of the clicker. The result is that specific, desirable dog behaviors are then marked.

Obviously, you first need to teach your dog that the clicker symbolises a reward for their good behavior and this can be helped along with the use of dog treats, and of course, a clicker purchased from your local pet shop.

An important note to mention here is that your dog should not hear the noise of that clicker except to let them know that they have done a good job and that they are about to receive a treat. In the early stages of training, if you use a verbal command at other times without use of a clicker, they may not respond as quickly because the association is not as strong between command and reward as it is between command, clicker and reward.

Clicker Dog Training – How It’s Done

Clicker dog training comprises of 3 basic steps. Initially, you need to get the dog to perform the correct behavior, in other words, convince them to do what it is you want. This may involve getting them to either sit, stay, come, roll over, or whatever trick you know will be easiest to get them to do first. As soon as they perform this behavior, immediately mark it with the clicker and their favourite reward.

Usually, you will see results after only 2 or 3 markings. Your dog will understand quickly what it was they did, and will start to repeat that correct response whenever you use the clicker. Clicker dog training is so successful because the dog’s immediate response to your command means that you can reward them straight away, reinforcing the association in the dogs mind. Using a verbal command on its own, without the use of a clicker, will take longer for the dog to grasp.

In the following days and weeks, continue this process to reinforce your dogs correct responses as much as possible. Making sure to always use the clicker, you can substitute the use of treats as rewards from time to time with lots of praise and petting. Your dog will appreciate this just as much and will eventually forget to expect a treat for their behavior.

Making the Transition to a Command

Once your dog is an A-Grade student and has mastered good behavior, you can make the transition to a verbal command that you can use anytime, anywhere, with or without a clicker. Whenever you choose to use the clicker, make sure to say the command, followed quickly by a click, and finished up with a reward. Your dog will very quickly learn to associate these 3 steps.

Progressing on from good clicker dog training, your dog will readily respond to verbal commands and praise at the drop of a hat and will simply learn the command.

There will be no further need for either the clicker, dog treats or praise, as your dog will instinctively know what the correct response is to any given command, and that it pleases you.

As you can now appreciate, there are many applications for clicker dog training. With a simple, sharp command, you will be able to mark and reinforce practically any behavior you want.

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