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By Mike Jones, August 5, 2011

Most dogs really enjoy digging around in soft dirt. You want to have a beautiful yard and a nice garden and your dog comes along and ruins it all. It is a big disaster that you can hardly keep up with. You want a nice yard but your dog wants to have fun digging around. What is the best way to handle this problem?

Dogs are natural-born diggers. Some breeds are actually bred to dig out certain prey so this digging conduct is instinctual for them. If your dog is a natural digger it may be more challenging but there are some things you can do to contain the digging.

It is important for your dog to engage his curiosity, learn about and explore his surroundings. But most people want a nice yard too. You must contain his digging or even stop it entirely if you want to keep your yard beautiful.

Digging Dog

Dogs sometimes dig because they are bored. They need entertainment. He may be experiencing separation anxiety because you are away. Maybe he is trying to dig out an escape route so he can leave the yard. He may even be digging for something as simple as controlling his own temperature. He may be too hot and trying to cool off or he may be too cold and trying to warm-up.

You can get your dog to reduce or even stop his digging patterns. First make sure that he has enough time with you and gets enough exercise and playtime. You can also make sure that he has toys that he enjoys. Frequently dogs will try to bury bones so if you give your dog bones to chew on make sure you replace them with chew toys or rawhide bones.

You can also try clicker training to prevent digging. Anytime you see your dog in the act of digging use the clicker and a command that tells him “no”. Reward him when he stops digging. You will need to be consistent but clicker training can work.

You can also try to fill his hole up with undesirable things. You can fill the hole that he has been playing in with garden mulch, sticks, pine needles and so forth. When he comes back he will dig and find the undesirable things in his hole and he will stop digging. You can also bury a balloon that will pop in his face as he digs. This will not hurt him but it will scare him and he may stop the digging. Some trainers also recommend putting dog poop into the holes as the dog will no longer want to play after he finds his own poop!

You can try to make a spot in your yard specifically for his digging. This will take the most time and patience but it may be the best solution if your dog is just a natural digger. You can reduce your dogs digging behavior with some time and patience but be gentle because he is just being a dog.

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By jnavary, July 22, 2011

Dogs walk faster than humans can. Naturally, if you put them on a leash, they’ll start pulling to get to whatever they’re looking at faster. A dog, having what is called an opposition reflex, would lean on a pressure it feels on its neck and chest. Understanding this makes it clear that if you want to have a leisurely walk with your dog on a leash, you must begin dog leash training while your pet is still a few weeks-old puppy.

Begin by allowing your dog time to get used to the collar around his neck. When you put it on for the first time, your puppy will scratch, roll around or try to get it off. Make sure you fasten the collar securely and don’t remove it when the dog is trying to. When he finally calmed down and shows signs of being comfortable with it, you can remove the collar for a short while. This teaches the dog two important things: first, that the collar won’t come off when he wants it so he’d best get used to it and second, the collar is not a permanent attachment. Check the collar regularly to make sure it isn’t too tight. Your dog grows in size and you need to adjust the collar regularly.

When the dog is ready, attach a leash to the collar and allow the dog time to adjust to the leash. Allot a few minutes every day to for leash training with your puppy and have some treats handy. Your goal is to be able to walk around with your dog on a leash without him pulling at the other end. This means you should be able to stand still with your dog and walk around at your pace, not his.

To get started, fasten the collar securely around your pup’s neck and attach the leash. Hold the other end securely. Try and have the dog stand still beside you. When he starts to wander too far and pulls on the leash, call the dog back to your side and reward him with a treat when he does. When he finally is able to stand still beside you for the time you wish to, you can begin walking him around. When he wanders too far to the point of pulling on the leash, call him back to your side. Pull on the leash if needed. When the dog returns to a comfortable distance – walks beside you without pulling on the leash, reward him with a treat.

Do these training exercises with a reward system for several days or weeks or until your dog learns to consistently respect the leash. When your dog is finally able to stand still beside you or walk around your house or backyard with a loose leash, reward your dog with a lot of praise, hugs or pats and some treats. He is ready to be taken out for a walk.

Remember that to condition your dog to respect the leash, focus on allowing your dog to progress forward when the leash is loose. If you allow your pet to proceed forward when the leash is tight, you’re teaching him to pull.

Pet Article courtesy of http://pet-articles.blogspot.com.

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By jnavary, December 20, 2010

If you have guidelines, “a guide” and pointers concerning how to do it, any type of task becomes simpler. Also, using this type of help you are more likely to succeed with it. That is true for most things and it’s also true for stopping your dog’s excessive barking. For a lot of people, 7 is thought to be a lucky number, a number of good fortune. So, in the spirit of making things easier and of good fortune to help you, the various readers, listed below are the top seven tips for stop annoying dog barking:

1. Don’t yell at your dog when trying to teach him to control his barking. Try to be patient since teaching dogs to control their barking is a very slow process. It takes time for dogs to learn so don’t expect your dog to obey you on your first attempt.This will be critically important because raising your voice will likely have the opposite effect.

If you are unable to control your own voice you will most likely fail at teaching your dog to control his.

2. Try using a squirt gun with clean fresh water to stop the dog’s barking.. This is very important because you need to get their attention before they will listen to your commands.

3. Another way to get their attention is to slap a rolled up newspaper in your hand. . This should temporarily break their obsession with barking since the sound will startle them..

4. Similarly, tossing an object that makes noise somewhere near them can be helpful in redirecting their attention. A keyring full of keys, a rattle or similar noise maker should do the trick. .

5. Another possible way to stop the barking is to give your dog several interesting chew toys to play with. Often times, dogs start barking simply out of sheer boredom. Pay particular attention to this step if you must leave your dog unattended for a lengthy period of time.

6. Be prepared to reward your dog when he follows your command. As with most training, the judicious use of treats as rewards for positive behaviors can be very effective when training your dog to be quiet. .

7. Be consistent in your training efforts. Always use the same command word when working with your dog on controlling his barking. If you switch between “NO”, “QUIET”, “STOP IT”, and other commands you’ll only confuse the dog. Pick one command word and stick with it..

Follow these 7 tips for stopping your dog’s excessive barking and you will probably find life easier for you, get good results and relish the the resulting silence.

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By Terry Zinndell, December 3, 2010

There is still some disagreement about whether or not crate training dogs is the right way to go. Crating a dog involves keeping them in a cage just slightly larger than themselves, usually a plastic or metal one for a time, either at night or during the day.

Those in favor of crate training argue that crating a dog gives is a safe, secure place where the dog can go when it wants to get away from noise or activity and be surrounded by the familiar. A sort of home within a home, proponents call it. These same people insist that crate training makes the process of housebreaking a dog easier, since animals are loathe to soil the place where they lay down and will naturally learn to wait until taken outside to take care of their needs.

There are of course crate training detractors as well. Their view is that restricting a dog’s movement by keeping it in a cage which offers barely enough room to turn around robs dogs of the opportunity to act on their natural inclination to roam and explore its surroundings.

The no-crating crowd point to those instances where puppies will go ahead and soil themselves while in the crate, despite the arguments made by the proponents of crate training. They make the argument that crate training is really more about the owner’s convenience than it is the best interests of their pet.

Pet owners from both schools of thought of course have the best intentions and want to take good care of their pets. The research which has been done on crate training has given dog owners no certain answer one way or the other, but there is broad agreement that when done properly, crate training has little if any ill effects and can be of some benefit to the dog.

Of course, common sense has to be exercised. Keeping your pet in a cage for many hours on end is not healthy for your dog. Four hours is the maximum length of time you should crate your dog. Keeping your dog cooped up longer than this is a serious strain on their ability to hold back from eliminating and of course, most dogs are far too active to be happy sitting still for this long.

Care also needs to be taken to prevent injury to your dog while in the crate. The cage should be examined to make sure that there are no sharp edges or anywhere that your dog’s collar can snag on the crate. Any cage you keep your dog in should be sturdy enough that it won’t tip or break even under vigorous jostling.

There is one benefit to crate training which bears mentioning here. Pets that have been crate trained tend to have far fewer problems with travel. They’ll be used to staying in a small space and they’ll also have familiar smells when in their crate which goes a long way towards keeping them comfortable during the somewhat stressful experience of travel.

Another school of thought holds that pets should be left at home while their owners travel anyway. However, if it is necessary to travel with your pet, use a well built crate which prevents any foreign objects getting in, as well as falling out.

There’s not going to be an agreement on crate training in the near future; that much is certain. It’s best to decide for yourself. Try crating your dog for a couple of weeks, followed by leaving the door of the crate open and let your dog vote with their feet. Do they steer clear of the crate or do they choose it as a favored spot for their naps? Let your dog have a say and you’ll have a happier pet.