Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘dog growling’

When you first bring home your sweet little puppy you never think that one day it could be a dog that is one mistake away from being sent off. Aggressive dogs do not just happen over night. Dogs are not born aggressive or menacing towards people. Dogs that are properly trained and well cared for rarely become aggressive. If you received your dog as an adult from another household you will want to be specifically cautious to make sure that you are putting your pet through dog obedience training.

Making sure your dog knows who is the leader and who is the pet is critical in making housebreaking an easy job for you both. Dog and puppy training is vital for more than just ensuring that she no longer chews your favorite shoes to pieces. You must ensure that you do not let your dog turn into one of the multitude of aggressive dogs loose in the world. Dog growling and dog biting can lead to very bad situations. If you perform the correct dog training, neither of these would happen.

The Awful Consequences of Aggressive Dogs

* May cause injuries to family, friends, or neighbors
* Emotional distress to children
* Damaged personal property
* Previous situations that create lawsuits
* Being one of the many aggressive dogs that are put to sleep each year

If you are truly a loving and caring pet owner, you must take responsibility and ensure that your beloved animal does not join the legions of aggressive dogs. Looking for outside help is ideal if you think you can’t control the situation by yourself. With aggressive dogs, it can be wise to find a professional dog trainer who is specially trained in this area.

The best thing that you as an owner can do is educate yourself on all the training information that you can find on aggressive dogs. Learn that hitting a dog is not the way to train it. Violence will only breed violence so make sure that you are not taking part in the making of aggressive dogs. You may have luck with the books and videos out there but you will have a much better chance at solving the problem, or preventing one from ever happening, by bringing an expert into your home.

Getting More Help

It doesn’t matter if the trainer is free or if you have paid for their services, you must recognize that nothing is more important than understanding that you are responsible for your pet and its behavior. The people who own aggressive dogs are the ones who are responsible, so ensure that you won’t have to deal with these legal or moral situations.

You still have a little time if your dog hasn’t shown any of the aggressive dog signs yet. It is best to start immediately, especially if your dog has aggressive or rough tendencies.

Now that you have brought your new dog home it is time to start the housebreaking. One that can only lead to confusion for the dog later on is giving your new dog a little time to get to know the family and the house before laying down the law. Your dog will be confused if you have allowed it to run free with no discipline, then all of a sudden expect it to be well-behaved.

It Is Never Too Late

If you have already allowed your dog to run free without rules you can still correct the situation. Unlike a popular belief out there, it is never too late to start dog training with a dog. Whether your puppy is young or old you can still include housebreaking into his/her daily routine. It is important to pick out the behavior that concerns you the most,whether it is dog chewing, dog biting, or dog growling that you are dealing with. It is important to work on housebreaking these behaviors first, then move on to other things.

You have to start housebreaking as soon as possible to ensure that your puppy never develops into one of those aggressive dogs you hear about on the news. If your biggest problem at the moment, especially if you have a puppy, is where the dog is and is not allowed to go potty then you will need to start with that.

Tips For Housebreaking

* Restrict food and water to the appropriate meal times
* In the event that you are utilizing pee pads, choose a single spot and make sure to place the pads only there
* When your dog is good, praise them
* Never strike or slap the dog if it misses the pee pad
* After fifteen or twenty minutes of giving the puppy something to eat or drink, it needs to be taken to the pee pad

A lot of people leave water and food out for their dog all day long. While this is an okay routine for older dogs that can hold their bladder, it is not advisable for puppies. Even if they really wanted to, younger puppies just are not able to hold their bladder until they become a bit older. This can result in accidents in the home for which you cannot really blame your puppy. Making food and water constantly available can be counter-productive to your housebreaking goal.

If your puppy always misses the pee pad and continues to go to the bathroom in another part of the house, simply place the pee pad in that spot. At this point in housebreaking, you should really just be getting the puppy used to going to the bathroom on its puppy pad. Once they are used to it, you can continue with housebreaking by slowing moving the pee pad every few days towards the spot you eventually want the pads to reside at.

Even though housebreaking can take a long time, it is very important. You definitely do not want your dog “going” everywhere. You would also like an easy process of housebreaking for your dog to prevent it becoming disinterested. Seek outside help in puppy training if need be. No matter who is in charge of doing it, just know that housebreaking takes time.

Dog training is no simple process, and it can very easily push your patience to the limit. But keep in mind that the tough part does not last long. After a bit, your dog will be able to run about and play without you having to worry about accidents or misfortunes taking place. You will be able to relax and enjoy time with your dog after its obedience training is complete. It can be a bit stressful to complete the initial phase of dog training no matter how long it takes. This is why it is important to make sure that you get all of the help that you can.

Even though it may be frustrating and seem like a never ending process, housebreaking a dog and training it in commands is just one of those things you have to do. Giving up on training your pet could result in many unwanted consequences such as; destroyed furniture, accidents inside the house, biting, aggressive behavior and others.

To avoid these and other consequences, and to make sure you are giving your dog the best ability to have a happy, well-behaved life then it is important to maintain a strict parental relationship with your pet. Dog training is the process of teaching a dog right from wrong. Unfortunately, many people incorrectly believe that dogs innately know how to tell right from wrong. This reasoning is flawed, because dogs only know instinct without the proper dog training. The dog does not instinctively know the human rules about being allowed on furniture in a home.

Guiding our pets meticulously through the dog training is what we, as the teachers and protectors of the pets, need to do to teach them how we go about our days. Your dog is eager to please, but won’t know what to do until you teach it. Dog training will teach the dog the behavior you wait it to have. This will teach your dog the proper way to receive treats and affection.

Resources Used for Dog and Puppy Training:
A. A Class
B. A Book
C. A DVD
D. A Magazine

Even though you may find a lot of classes that can help inform you on how to teach your dog about housebreaking and biting, you must remember that these classes are merely for your information. These classes will not transform your puppy’s behavior overnight. The tough part does not begin until you and your dog arrive at your home. Anything you learn at the dog training sessions must be repeated at home to be effective.

You can always look into books, magazines, DVDs or videos to help you with your dog training plan. Ensure that you pay attention to all the advice you receive and apply it wisely. Depending on the breed of your dog, you could be looking at anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months of dedicated dog training. The dog training can pay off quickly with some consistent diligence from the owner.

When a dog growls, this is a clear warning which should be taken seriously. People often do not understand a dog’s warning signals and do not retreat; a dog will growl to help you better understand his message.

Under normal circumstances, dogs will only be aggressive when they feel threatened or in danger.  They will only attack after having displayed progressively more explicit warning gestures several times.

For an excellent dog training guide which will show you how to handle a growling dog, I strongly recommend that you look at: Growling Dogs.

Sometimes, dogs growl to communicate their needs. When dogs find out that this works, they are likely to try it again. It is hardly surprising that dog growling is a frequent problem because some people foolishly think that this is a sign that their dog will defend them. The reality is that the dog is more likely to be protecting himself and his stuff.

Growling dogs may be considered dangerous according to some legal definitions so may need to be confined accordingly. This could mean that he has to be placed in a crate, kept in a separate space, or confined to the back yard.

If your dog growls and he ends up getting what he wants, he will rapidly come to the conclusion that this is a very useful tool to get his own way. Understanding your dog’s requirements is a definite benefit in putting an end to this behavior.

Just a reminder, if you are looking for a great free site to help you handle growling dogs, you should take a look at: Dog Growls.

Here are just a few of the reasons why a dog growls:

1. He’s hungry. This is an excellent opportunity to show a dog how to convey his needs. In order for the food dish to be placed in front of the dog, he would need to behave correctly.
2. He wants to eliminate. Although some owners like the idea of their dog asking to be let outside to eliminate, this is an unreasonable expectation for a puppy, old or sick dog. So a dog dosn’t have to worry about getting his owner’s attention to let him outside, it is much better if regular outings for elimination are scheduled.
3. He is making sure his food is safe. Dogs may protect their food against a seeming threat (you!). Children must be taught to allow the dog to eat in peace and never try to remove the dog’s food. Adults must do the same thing; dogs need to understand that people provide them with food and don’t remove it. When it is safe to do so, food should be added to the dog’s bowl while he is eating.
4. As with food guarding, dogs may also safeguard their toys. Growling when someone approaches is frequently the first indication that a dog will bite if the warning is ignored. In this instance, the simplest thing to do is take the toy away from the dog permanently or only give it to him when he’s in his crate.
5. He has taken something and wishes to keep hold of it. Never chase your dog if he has taken something that belongs to you. So your dog will come to you on command, it is important that he receives obedience training.
6. Sometimes dog growling is an indication of his fear of being groomed or clipped. Considerable skill is necessary to groom some dogs and you should not try it yourself without the appropriate training.
7. Dog growling also occurs when the dog feels the need to protect himself from abuse or pain. An example might be that a child has constantly tormented the dog under the fence or hit him when his owner wasn’t looking, so the dog would growl when he came in contact with a child. Unfortunately, the dog will most likely be blamed for growling under these circumstances.
8. It can be fun for a dog to see his owner jump backwards when he growls. He must not be permitted to become accustomed to this behavior as he is likely to show aggression when his owner doesn’t jump if he growls. It is important to nip this behavior in the bud from the get go.

To learn more about what to do when dogs growl at you, I recommend that you check out the top selling dog training guide, Secrets to Dog Training.

It’s usual for a puppy or dog to growl when you play tug of war with him. You must be aware that growling is a sign of aggression and that your dog may attack or bite!

You should know if the growling is appropriate or inappropriate. If your puppy or dog is eating or playing with a toy and growls when you get close, that isn’t behavior you should allow. Your dog is showing all the signs of dominance over you.

If the growling starts with no obvious reason, a visit to the vet is called for to to ascertain if there is a medical cause.

Growling can be a sign of your dog exerting dominance over you. So, the next thing you be sure of is that you position yourself as the pack leader in your home. This is the foundation of solving many dog behavior problems.

To become the pack leader, you should adopt the approach of NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free). This approach means that you ask your dog to do something before you give him anything. With this approach, you can’t allow your dog to demand attention from you. If you allow him to demand attention, you have just lost your position in the hierarchy. Just ignore him when he demands attention. You choose when to offer him attention. If he tries harder you must not give in or all is lost.

With NILIF all in the house need to be persistent and consistent.

So, for example, you request your dog to sit and wait patiently before you place his meal down or before you let it out of the house. Don’t allow your dog to offer a behavior before you ask for it – that doesn’t count.

Walk through the door before your dog when leaving the house. You can let your dog see you eating a small snack like a biscuit before you put down his food since the alpha dog eats first. You are only required to do this for a couple of weeks to position  yourself as the pack leader.

Everyone in the household needs to engage in this process to place them higher in the hierarchy than your puppy or dog.

The leader of the pack goes to higher ground to sleep, so do not allow your dog to rest on your bed if you want to be more dominant.

You should do consistent training sessions with your puppy or dog. Make the training sessions short and fun. This will help in making your dog better behaved in general.

Read more about how to stop your dog growling and other aggression in dogs.