The act of chewing seems to be a matter of individual preference among dogs: some have an innate desire to chew as a pleasurable activity in itself, and some seem to have no need to chew whatsoever unless they’re driven to it out of sheer boredom.

The phrase “destructive chewing” may sound redundant, because – by its very nature! – all chewing is destructive. Your dog has strong jaws full of sharp, pointy teeth: just about anything she starts to chew on is probably going to show the effects of it inside of a minute. So just to clarify, when I use the phrase “destructive chewing”, I’m referring to inappropriate chewing: the kind of chewing that’s focused on your own possessions and household items, instead of on your dog’s own designated toys and chews.

The three main reasons why dogs chew:

– Most dogs have a natural desire to chew. It’s fun, it passes the time, and it’s a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity (for example, if she’s chewing on something that tastes good.)

– Chewing provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for her emotions. To an anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing is soothing – it’s the doggie equivalent of comfort food.

– Underexercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving themselves something to do.

– How to prevent destructive chewing –

Dogs are perfectly capable of learning not to chew your stuff – you just have to put in a little effort first, that’s all.

1. Take control of the situation: manage your own possessions. Your first step should be to dog-proof your home. Even if you have the best-behaved dog in the world, there’s still no reason to test her self-control – after all, dogs explore the world with their mouths.

Dog-proofing your home means taking whatever you don’t want to end up in her mouth, and making it unavailable. Consider her size and agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach: can she jump? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? How tall is she when standing on her back legs?

Common targets in the home include books, eyewear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.

It should go without saying that all food needs to be put securely away: don’t leave snacks on low tables (or even countertops – you’d be surprised how acrobatic she can be when there’s food at stake!), put all food into containers or the pantry. Rinse your dirty plates clean of any food scraps before leaving them by the sink.

2. Prevent her from learning the joys of illegal chewing. The more times she manages to snatch a jawful of a forbidden substance – a chair-leg, a pillow, a running shoe – the more readily she’ll target those items in future. If you can prevent her from chewing your stuff in the first place, it’s a lot easier for her to understand what you expect of her. Practically speaking, this means confining her in a dog-proofed area until you’re confident of her understanding of the house rules.

3. Don’t set her up for failure by blurring the boundaries between her stuff (OK to chew) and your stuff (not OK to chew). Don’t offer your dog cast-off clothes, shoes, or towels to chew and play with: realistically, you can’t possibly expect her to be able to tell the difference between your current shoes and the one she’s got in her mouth that you gave her five minutes ago.

4. Provide her with lots of tasty alternatives to your stuff. If her environment is relatively barren of attractive, appropriate chewing objects, you can hardly blame her for targeting your possessions. Remember, most dogs need to chew; if she’s an adolescent (under three years) or a puppy (under one year), her needs will be even more pronounced. Go on a toy and chew shopping spree, then give her two or three to play with at a time. Rotating the available toys every few days will keep things novel and interesting for her.

5. Spend lots of time in active supervision. Yes, it might be easier for you to just keep her penned up in her crate, run, or the yard – but that’s boring and horrible for her, and hardly much fun for you either (if you wanted a pet that you don’t need to interact with, you’d have got a goldfish, right?) She can’t learn what you expect of her if she’s spending all her time boxed up in the dog-proof zone: she needs the opportunity to explore the boundaries of your expectations, so she can understand what’s appropriate and what’s not.

6. When you catch her chewing something inappropriate, interrupt her by making a loud noise: clap your hands or make an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” noise. Then, immediately hand her a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy); as soon as her jaws close around it, praise her lavishly. There is no better way to get your dog to understand that chewing “her” toys equals praise from you, but everything else equals trouble.

– Maintain a productive attitude –

Above all, remember to keep your expectations realistic. You’re not perfect, and neither is your dog: there’s likely to be at least one incident where a cherished item is damaged by her curiosity.

Particularly in the early stages of your relationship, she’s still learning the ropes: it’ll take awhile before she’s completely reliable (and even then, if she’s left by herself for too long or feels neglected, she may choose your stuff over hers to occupy her time and jaws with.) Remember to give her time to learn the rules, and plenty of ‘you-time’ to help her learn faster – and don’t forget to take precautions and keep things out of reach until she’s got the hang of the chewing rules!

For more information on dog training techniques and how to deal with problem dog behavior (like chewing), check out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s the complete manual for dog ownership and is designed to fast-track your dog’s learning.

The post Dog Destructive Chewing Remedy first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Potty training your dog doesn’t have to be a difficult task. There are many methods for potty training your dog. Choosing a method can be overwhelming but rest assured that most methods are equally effective.

The crating method is a simple method based on the theory that dogs won’t soil in their eating and sleeping area. This method requires that you acquire a crate that is sized appropriately for your dog. You will want to choose a crate that is just big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down. It is important to remember that a crate that is too big will not be effective for potty training because it will allow your dog to establish an area for relieving himself that is separate from where he spends the rest of his time. Crates can be purchased in most pet supply stores. They come in many different types including ones made of nylon, plastic, or metal. Crates come in several sizes and can accommodate dogs of just about any size. You can also purchase a divider for your crate which is useful if you are potty training a puppy because you won’t have to buy a smaller crate.

Once you have a crate, you can begin potty training your dog. The keys to using a crate for potty training are to anticipate when your dog will need to go out to relieve himself and to keep the dog crated when you are not able to supervise him.

To begin the potty training process, take your dog outside to the designated potty area and use a phrase such as, “Go potty” or “Hurry up”. If your dog relieves himself, praise by saying, “Good potty” or “Good hurry up” and give him a treat. It is important that you praise and reward your dog immediately after he relieves himself so that he will associate the praise and positive reinforcement with going to the bathroom outside. If your dog does not relieve himself, bring him back inside and confine him in the crate. Keep him crated for 2-3 hours and then take him outside to the designated potty area ask him to go potty. If he relieves himself, reward him with verbal praise and offer him a tangible reward, such as a treat. If your dog does not relieve himself, return him to his crate and repeat the entire process until your dog does relieve himself. It is crucial that you remember to praise and reward your dog each time he relieves himself in the designated potty area.

Once you have had your dog relieve himself in the designated potty area, you can start to give your dog more room to play. You can do this gradually by first moving your dog into a larger fenced in area such as an exercise pen. Continue the same process of taking your dog outside frequently and praising and rewarding him if he relieves himself outside. After your dog does this successfully a few times you can increase the area in which the dog is confined again. Continue to increase the area your dog is allowed to roam as well as the amount of time between trips outside until your dog is given free reign of the house and is able to refrain from soiling in the house for several hours.

The crate training method has both its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it is a method that works very quickly and takes very little effort on the part of the dog owner. A dog’s natural instinct is to not soil in their eating and sleeping area so it is not difficult to keep them from doing so in their crate. Another advantage is that it is a method that works very quickly. A disadvantage to this method is that crates can be rather expensive. If you plan on using a crate throughout the dog’s life, then they are a good investment but if you only plan to use it for potty training, it is a pricey option.

Using a clicker is another other way to potty train your dog. A clicker is a small device that emits a clicking noise when you press a button. They are very inexpensive and can be purchased and most pet supply stores. The theory behind clicker training is that a dog will perform a desired behavior for the reward of hearing the clicking sound. It may sound unusual but clicker training is used by many dog trainers to teach behaviors. Dogs are not automatically excited by the sound of the clicker but that behavior is taught through a process called “loading the clicker”. Before you can begin any type of clicker training, it is important that you teach your dog to enjoy the sound of the clicker. This is known as loading the clicker and is done by pressing the button to make the clicking sound and when your dog responds to the sound, reward him with praise and a treat. Repeat this 15-20 times in a row for several days. By this time your dog will be responding to the clicker and you can use the clicker to begin potty training.

To potty train using the clicker method, take your dog outside to the designated potty area. Just like with the crating method, use a phrase such as, “Go potty” to encourage the dog to relieve himself. If he does so, reward him by clicking and giving him a treat. Again, it is important to click and treat immediately after the dog relieves himself so that he knows that he is being rewarded for relieving himself. If the dog doesn’t relieve himself, bring him back inside and wait an hour or two and then try taking him outside again. Unlike the crating method, you will need to keep a close eye on your dog when he is in the house. Watch for signs that he has to go out such as sniffing around on the ground. If you notice your dog doing this, take him outside immediately and see if he needs to relieve himself. If he does so, reward him by clicking and giving him a treat. After awhile your dog will realize that he is being rewarded for relieving himself outside and you will be on your way to having a potty trained dog.

There are also advantages and disadvantages to using a clicker to potty train your dog. One advantage is that you don’t need to purchase any expensive equipment for this method. A disadvantage is that you have to watch your dog very closely in between trips outside to ensure that they don’t relieve themselves in the house. Another disadvantage is that you need to teach the dog to respond to the clicker before you can begin potty training.

Paper training is a two step process for potty training your dog. Dogs are first trained to relieve themselves inside the house in a designated area such as on a newspaper. This behavior is trained the same way as with crate training and clicker training. You take the dog to a designated area and as them to “Go potty” or “Hurry up” and if they relieve themselves you praise and reward them and if they don’t you wait and hour or two and try again. Once you train the dog to relieve himself on the newspaper, you make the area of newspaper smaller and move it closer to the door. You continue to do this until you are outside and there is no more newspaper. Once this is achieved you have successfully potty trained your dog.

The advantage of paper training is that you don’t have to purchase any equipment for this method. You can use old newspapers or other old papers that you have around the house as the designated potty area. One disadvantage to this method is that it is a two step process so you will need to teach one behavior and then modify it until you have the desired behavior. Another disadvantage is that the first step teaches the dog to relieve himself inside the house and there is the risk that the dog may never learn the second part of the process.

There are a few general rules that apply to any method that you choose. You should watch your dog closely while potty training and do not give them an opportunity to fail. Watch for signs that your dog needs to go out and take them out quickly so that they don’t have a chance to soil in the house. If your dog does have an accident in the house, do not scold them. Clean the mess up quietly and don’t allow the dog to see that you are upset. They will not understand what they are being scolded for so it will not help the potty training process. Make sure you are giving your dog ample opportunity to relieve himself outside. Also, when your dog does relieve himself outside, be very generous with the praise and rewards. Make sure your dog knows that you are very happy with what he has just done.

Crating, clicker training and paper training are all effective methods for potty training your dog. All of them work relatively quickly and easily and, in most cases, will lead to having a potty trained dog in just a few weeks. All methods have there advantages and disadvantages and it is up to the owner to decide which method they think will work best for them and their dog. Whichever method you choose, it is important to be consistent and praise your dog when they relieve themselves outside.

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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.

The post Destructive Chewing in Dogs – Tips to Stop This Destructive Behavior first appeared on Puppy Blog.

If you are reading through this, you possibly need a e-book on puppy instruction, but are not ready to go to a e-book keep or you want the comfort of getting a canine instruction guide on the web. You might want a guide on canine teaching to resolve a distinct canine habits dilemma that is bothersome you these kinds of as housebreaking, barking, or chewing. Or, you might just want a far better behaved puppy. There are a range of good quality canine coaching guides that you can down load from the world wide web. These textbooks are generally referred to as ebooks (electronic guides) since you obtain them to your personal computer. As soon as saved on your personal computer, you can either study them on your personal computer or print them for examining away from your pc.

Downloading an e book is really very simple. Soon after you have discovered the book on puppy teaching that you want, you will be directed to a obtain web page. To preserve the guide to your tough push just click on on the correct mouse button more than the down load link. And then click on possibly “Save Goal As” in Explorer or “Save Hyperlink As” in Netscape. A down load display will arrive up asking you exactly where you want to help save the file on your personal computer. Find the folder in which you want to help save the ebook file and then click on “Save.” Be certain to bear in mind in which you have saved the ebook. Later, when offline, you can go to the folder in which you saved the downloaded e-book and double click on on it to open it and go through it. Also, once the book is opened, you can print it.

Most ebooks are saved as “pdf” files. To open up, study, and print these ebooks, you require Acrobat Reader. Thankfully, you can down load a no cost duplicate of Acrobat Reader by likely to
Some ebooks are saved as a Microsoft Term(tm) “doc” file and you want Microsoft Phrase(tm) to open up and read them.

As a facet be aware, I have located that with most ebooks, I can open up them appropriate from the world wide web. Instead of clicking to preserve to disk, I click to open the book. When open, I make confident that I have the complete ebook, then I click on “help save a copy” and help save it to a file folder. This way, I know proper away that I have the total e-book or if there is a difficulty with the down load.

Now that you know how to obtain a ebook on canine teaching, here are the titles of some puppy instruction textbooks that are available on the internet:

“Sit Remain Fetch: Puppy Coaching To Quit Your Dog’s Conduct Difficulties!”

“How To Potty Prepare Your Dog In 7 Days”

“Canine Teaching Secrets”

“Puppy Teaching Mastery – An Owner’s Manual”

“How I Trained My Canine In A single Evening”

“D.I.Y. Dog Teaching At Home”

“Palms Off Canine Instruction Formula”

“Puppy N’ Dog Training Secrets”

“The Complete Open up Obedience Class “

“The Supreme Display Puppy Teaching Guide”

As with all ebooks, all of these books on dog training are available all of the time. The web never ever closes. You can obtain these publications on puppy training at any time, even at 2:00 AM in the early morning if that is what you want.

The post How To Obtain A Ebook On Dog Coaching first appeared on Puppy Blog.

So you’ve just brought a new puppy into your house. Surely, one of the first things that will come into your mind is training her. Your puppy must feel that she’s very welcome in her new home. Doing this involves regarding her not as a toy, but as an important part of your family. You may notice that your puppy will act strange on his first week and this is due to the sounds and smells in your house that may seem unfamiliar to her. But she will get used to it after a period of time. There are three steps on how to train a puppy without much difficulty.

The first step you must try is to teach her the basic commands like sit, stay, heel and others. It will be easy for your puppy to learn these things if you will do them at least twice or thrice a day. Nutrition is also important for your puppy so be choosy when it comes to the brand of dog food. You must also teach the puppy where she should take her slumber. As mush as possible, never change this spot. Remember that it will be her new comfort place, so it must be in a peaceful place in your home which she can consider her own. Secondly, familiarize your puppy with similar words and phrases for the same expected outcome. One example of this step on how to train a puppy is the familiar “go potty” phrase. While saying this, bring her to the area which she can consider as her toilet.

Third, avoid shouting at your puppy or reprimanding her heavily no matter how much clutter she has made. Do show her your displeasure while remaining calm. You can scold her by avoiding cuddling her and saying some reprimanding words in lower tone. However, when she did something right, don’t fail to praise and reward her. It’s so easy to follow these steps on how to train a puppy. Just let your common sense do the work and if you need help, read some books or visit some dog training websites. Moreover, don’t forget to have fun while training her and keep your sessions short. Try also to have short but productive sessions between you and your pet.

The post How To Train A Puppy – Try These Three Simple Steps first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Nonetheless, some individuals have qualms about gaining an older puppy due to the fact of the popular notion that individuals cannot educate outdated canines new tricks, in particular potty schooling. But this is not really the situation, older canines can still be potty educated with some crucial items in head.

Right here are some recommendations for potty training an older canine:

1. When potty schooling an older canine, your emphasis should be teaching the canine to do away with exterior, alternatively of teaching it not to eradicate inside of. It is less difficult to educate an older puppy to DO something rather of NOT Executing some thing.

If the puppy currently has an aged habit of carrying out it inside of, it would be tricky to focus as well much on eradicating that habit. It is rather easier to assist it find out a improved alternative to an old poor conduct.

two. Choose a spot exactly where you want the puppy to do its home business, this kind of as a modest corner in the lawn. It would be simpler to potty train an older puppy, if you are regular about where by you want it to poop. Heading to the exact area, around and in excess of again, would enable the puppy learn the ideal site speedier. It also helps if you do not clear the spot significantly till your puppy learns to go there when it desires to go potty.

3. Use the exact words in referring to potty. An older puppy might get confused if you use distinctive phrases to signify the identical point. When you want it to go potty, use the exact very same phrase so that it would by some means become like a command to do the conduct you want it to do.

4. Take away every last trace of potty accident inside the household. Dogs’ feeling of scent are very keen and the smell of urine or excrement in your residence may make it feel that it is the spot to go potty. Use a deodorizing cleaning resolution to wipe out odors that could possibly stick to your floors and carpets.

5. Preserve your dog’s sleeping place as tight as comfortably doable. Dogs do not want potty in their sleeping quarters and by trying to keep the area just sufficient for it to rest and, probably, flip about, there would be no space for it to go potty. Ever morning, when the dog wakes up, get it to its common potty site so that it would do its organization there.

6. Reduce your dog’s food and water intake before it sleeps. This prevents accidents from occurring because when your canine is complete of water or food although sleeping, it may not have the capacity to manage the phone of nature.

7. Make it simple for your puppy to go exterior via a doggie door or leaving the back again door open. If this is impractical in your region, depart a bell for your dog to get to. Take the canine out just about every time it rings the bell so that it would know that ringing is a signal for heading out.

Whoever says you are not able to educate your older puppy new tricks may possibly just be too lazy.

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