A-Way to Wag Dog Training in Tempe AZ
Topics
HOW DOGS LEARN
For effective dog training, it is all about:
- Timing
- Consistency
- Motivation/Reinforcement
Timing
A dog has a period of 1.5 seconds in which to associate a cause with an effect. This means that the old adage, "you've got to catch them in the act," is absolutely true. To correct a dog for breaking a sit "stay" five seconds after the fact is meaningless to a dog. Dogs live in the present moment. The importance of timing has a great implication in training. Waiting longer than 1.5 seconds may create confusion in your dog due to the time lag in communication.
Consistency
There is no gray areas for dogs. Your training must be very clear - black and white. You must be 100% consistent. This will result in a dog that feels safe and trusting within very well-defined rules.
Motivation/Reinforcement
In simplest terms, positive reinforcement makes a behavior continue and negative reinforcement makes it stop. By communicating to your dog while training with praise and rewards when they are doing well, the behaviors you reward will start to occur more often. Communications with corrections (verbal, leash, sound, etc.) when mistakes are made will clearly define the rules of the household. As a result, the behaviors you correct will not occur as often.
HOUSE SAFETY: CONFINEMENT AND CRATE TRAINING
Dogs are highly social animals that make wonderful pets. They can be effective as watchdogs, are excellent companions for play and exercise, and are sources of affection and comfort. However, with the lifestyle and schedule of the majority of families, dogs must learn to spend a portion of the day at home, while their human family is away at school, work, shopping or recreational activities. During those times when you are away and unavailable to supervise, the pet may still feel the need to chew, play, explore, eat, or eliminate.
Preventing such inappropriate behaviors when you are absent involves both scheduling and prevention. Scheduling means insuring that the pet has had the opportunity to play, eat and eliminate before you leave it in its confinement area or crate. Prevention involves keeping the pet in a confined area where it is secure, safe and can do no damage to itself or your possessions.
There are many options for confinement including closing a few doors, putting up child gates or barricades, or using a crate. Crate training is neither cruel nor unfair. On the contrary, leaving the dog unsupervised to wander, investigate, destroy and perhaps injure itself is far more inhumane than confinement. The two most important benefits for crate training are the safety it affords the pet and the damage that is prevented. The crate also provides a place of security, a comfortable retreat where the dog can relax, sleep or chew on a favorite toy. Also, crate training is one of the quickest ways to house-train a dog, since most dogs instinctively avoid eliminating in their sleeping and eating areas.
HYPERACTIVITY, EXCITABILITY AND DISOBEDIENCE
Many excitable and rowdy behaviors that we see in puppies will diminish with time and proper early training. The unruly dog is one that continues to be difficult for the owner to manage past puppyhood or 6-9 months. This is a dog that does not respond to commands, will not walk on a leash, jumps on people, continually barks for attention, steals things or generally wreaks havoc on the household.
Dogs that are hyperactive, although it is somewhat rare, can be diagnosed by a veterinary examination and testing. Excitable and disobedient dogs can often be identified in early puppyhood. These puppies continually mouth owner's hands and resist attempts to control them for even the most minor procedures. Many people to do not realize why puppies chew on them and so give the incorrect feedback to control the behavior.
Vigorous and frequent exercise and an early start to training are necessary to prevent puppies from becoming too rowdy. Waiting to train your puppy until it is 6 months of age can often let these disobedient behaviors take hold. Then, we have to undo behaviors in order to get the ones we want. With early training, puppies can often have their behavior channeled in the correct direction.
BARKING/DOORBELL ATTACKS
Barking is one of the most common complaints of dog owners and their neighbors! Barking is natural as it serves as a territorial warning signal to other dogs and pack members. Dogs may vocalize when separated from their pack or family members. Barking also occurs during times of indecision, anxiety, or frustration. Medical problems can also contribute to vocalization, especially in the older dog.
HOUSEBREAKING
There are numerous reasons that a dog might soil the house with urine and/or stools. Dogs that have been previously house-trained may begin to soil due to medical or behavioral reasons, change in owner schedule or any change that might lead to anxiety. Marking is urination on upright objects. Dogs may mark their territory for a number of reasons including male hormonal influences, other dogs entering the property, moving to a new household, getting new furniture or as a response to increased stress or anxiety.
CHEWING
It is a normal behavior for puppies to investigate their environment by sniffing, tasting and perhaps chewing on objects throughout the home. Dogs that chew may also be scavenging for food (garbage raiding), playing (chewing a book or couch), teething (dogs 3-6 months old that chew on household objects), or satisfying a natural urge to chew and gnaw (which serves to keep teeth and gums healthy). Some dogs chew because they receive attention (even if it is negative) or treats from the owners each time they chew, and the owners are inadvertently rewarding the behavior.
DIGGING
Digging behavior in dogs can have many motivations. Some dig cooling holes and lie in them. Others dig as a direct result of odors or sounds from beneath the earth. Pregnant canines dig when nesting. Dogs will also dig to bury or retrieve bones or escape from confinement.
FEARS/PHOBIAS/SEPARATION ANXIETY
There are many reasons that dogs can develop fear. Fear is a physiologic, behavioral and emotional reaction to stimuli that an animal encounters. The physiologic reaction could include an increase in heart rate, increased respiratory rate (panting), sweating, trembling, pacing and possible urination and defecation. Body postures may include lowering the body and head, placing the ears closer to the head, widened eyes and tail tucked under the body. The triggers for these behaviors are as varied as there are breeds of dogs. Dogs that experience fears and phobias are best treated with professional intervention by a veterinary or applied animal behaviorist.
DOB BITES
Provided a dog is receiving adequate play, attention and exercise, you can turn the training to inhibit biting. One thing they need to learn is how much pressure from their jaws causes pain. Without this feedback, a puppy does not learn to inhibit the force of its bit.
BITE PREVENTION - TAKE OUR QUIZ!
Most dog bites that occur are unprovoked, or are they?
True or False:
The best way to greet a dog you are unfamiliar with is to lean over the dog as you approach cautiously with your hand extended so the dog can smell your hand.
False.
This is considered threatening gestures in dog language. Dogs approach each other cautiously, lean over each other, and stare at each other's eyes to show dominance. To put a dog at ease, let the animal take the initiative. Wait for it to notice you and keep your body posture neutral by standing sideways. Dogs dislike being patted on the head, finding it irritating, controlling, even frightening. Stroke its chest or shoulder, rather than its head or neck without hovering over them.
True or False:
A wagging tail means the dog is friendly.
False.
Although this dog may be friendly, the tail may be wagging for a different reason. A dog's tail that is up, stiff and fast swishing back and forth is feeling dominant.
True or False:
Fearful or shy dogs are not a threat.
False.
A cowering, defensive, or a dog backing up really just wants you to go away, but be careful. More people get bitten by a fearful dog who feels cornered than by the more dominant type. Do not turn your back and run on this type of dog. Slowly back away to safety.
True or False:
You should never look an aggressive dog in the eyes.
True.
To a dog, a direct stare often communicates a threatening gesture. Avoid eye contact, try not to panic and don.t scream or run. Stay motionless until the dog moves away and then slowly back out of its territory, yet keeping the dog in front of you.
True or False:
You can tell from the breed of a dog if it is likely to bite.
False.
Generally, any dog may bite if provoked. Most reported dog bites are from the family pet, and not from unfamiliar dogs. Every dog is an individual, so it is best to judge the dog by its body posture and not its breed.
Preventing Dog Bites
- Do not approach an unfamiliar dog.
- Do not run from a dog and scream.
- Remain motionless (e.g., "be still like a tree") when approached by an unfamiliar dog.
- If knocked over by a dog, roll into a ball and lie still (e.g., "be still like a log").
- Do not play with a dog unless supervised by an adult.
- Immediately report stray dogs or dogs displaying unusual behavior to an adult.
- Avoid direct eye contact with a dog.
- Do not disturb a dog who is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies.
- Do not pet a dog without allowing it to see and sniff you first.
