dog behavior training

Despite its diminutive stature, the Pomeranian can be one of the more challenging breeds for dog behavior training. With high energy levels and natural friendly yet attention-seeking characteristics, they require more than normal amounts of patience and persistence than many other dog breeds. 

Kongs, the heavy duty rubber toy with a hole in the center in which you can hide things such as small treats or smaller safe toys, seem to work particularly well with many Pomeranians.

Regular short walks are the best way to keep your Pomeranian in both good health and demeanour. This will help offset their natural requirement for being kept occupied, but they do like doing tricks as well as enjoying ball games.This affinity for tricks plus their cute appearance, are the reasons why this breed more often stars than others at shows of both the public and “stage” variety.

They tend to jump a lot if not controlled, but the issue most owners have is their barking so the training methods shown elsewhere on this page for training dogs out of jumping and barking habits should be utilised as early as possible in the Pomeranian’s life, and with a good deal of patience and persistency from early on these will normally suffice.

Its worth noting that they don’t usually get on too well with cats, and they don’t know they are small so they will actually try to dominate other dogs as well, so the alpha techniques shown below will also be useful from an early stage. With this breed more than others, it’s a very good idea to get her trained to standard verbal commands and the relevant accompanying gestures, again from as early as possible.

If you would like to know more, click here for help with your Pomeranian training program.

Also be careful when leash training as although they have strong necks relative to their small size, tugging to correct poor behavior should not be overly sharp or prolonged. Nevertheless, another great dog to enjoy!

Commands

Restating the earlier post, making sure the basic commands are trained first is by far the best approach with this breed.

1. “Come” is fairly natural and the easiest using rewards, starting in the garden or somewhere else enclosed, using a leash and possibly more human assistance as the distance is increased gradually.
2. “Sit” is easily trained but probably the most important command, as the submissive position and greater control that it instils will be important throughout the terrier’s life.
3. If the first two above have begun to register, then “Stay” is the next most important, particularly because it can be used quite successfully as the warning before any aggression towards other dogs is signalled (see Part II of this post).
4. “Down” or “Lie Down” can also be trained fairly early, and reinforced by gently pushing the dog’s shoulders and/or rear end down as part of the learning process, supported by appropriate rewards and praise as it registers.

After these have all been instilled, then more advanced training can be embarked upon, but it is important that these are got across to the Staffordshire from an early age.

Leash Training

This is vital with such a strong dog, and I make no apology for restating that a chest halter is a must in my experience. No doubt other methods can be tried and may succeed but the halter gives more control and is mopre comfortable fopr your dog. The necks of many smaller dogs can be strong, but the chest, neck and muscle of a Staff are very powerful indeed, and a normal lead will not only be ineffective but also mean high risk if control of your dog is lost outdoors.

It’s a matter of preference about the leash, but I’ve found that using one of the strong nylon ribbon retractable leads was one of the best twenty-pound investments I’ve ever made. By getting the dog used to walking on a short length, when it is shortened it signals to him that he should behave and he doesn’t pull.

If your dog does pull, the halter and leash will quickly assert control. If necessary, you should simply stop walking and make him stay still or even sit befoire you signify that you are willing to continue. The same procedure will work with any jumping if it occurs.

Aggression in dogs is a huge subject due to the variety of behaviors and situations in which it can arise. This post considers two examples of the less severe forms of aggressive dog behavior.

• Food aggression - this can vary in its degree, ranging from not letting anyone near its food while it eats to being very aggressive if she thinks you are going to take it. In the most serious cases, aggression about food isn’t the only aggressive trait, but because eating is one of a dog’s greatest pleasures, its importance can often be the only area in which it exhibits such signs. ”Pack leader” status is inherent in food to a dog, so in mild cases it is important to continue interrupting her eating at various times so that she becomes more comfortable, rather than let the situation develop. In more serious cases the situation can be turned around by a range of actions ranging from adding food while she’s eating, establishing that she gets fed after the family have had their food, through to feeding in stages ensuring that there are interruptions. It can take time so that the training  evolves through each stage.
• Play-biting by an adult dog. Play-biting is natural in a puppy and can usually be overcome most simply by you over-reacting, for example with a squeal then turning away, at the level of the activity at which you wish to set the limit. This is similar to the treatment it would receive from a more dominant puppy when young ….without the normal bite it would receive as well! So it registers what is not acceptable. An adult dog that continues to play-bite has normally missed such correction either by the owner or possibly because it was removed from the litter at too early a stage. Physical force will only encourage her in many cases. The better reaction is to substitute a dog chew or toy. The cold-shoulder treatment is also effective. In the case of slightly more severe biting, a sharp “No” or an appropriate command that she is familiar with should be added. Praise should also be tagged on, but only at the point when it will be clear to her that the praise is for her improved behavior.

If you’d like to know more about dog aggression now, click here.

Un-neutered Staffordshire Bull Terriers will prove slightly more difficult initially, but the techniques outlined here will work. Points applicable to the training process include:

• It is best to do training with Staffs in short sessions, and when he is most alert, i.e. not shortly after a meal or exercise
• As always, consistency is a must, and with young Staffordshires, a disciplined approach and use of short commands will work, as will positive reinforcement techniques, with “Stop” or “No” accompanying wrong behaviors and rewards plus “Good”,”Good Lad”,”Good Boy”, etc, soon becoming recognized by the dog. Aggression with any dog is no use if training as a pet, and with a Staffordshire is likely to encourage him to return it in kind, if only as a defense measure.

Socializing

Staffordshire Bull Terriers definitely need socializing and making familiar with as many new situations as possible from young, so as to avoid surprising or startling them later and thereby producing an inappropriate reaction.

They are fine with children if socialized from young, but with these and other dogs, supervision of both dogs and children is strongly advised.

Always keep the Staffie on a leash when around other dogs. If there is any sign of imminent aggression, which is usually relatively obvious if alert to the signs but can progress quickly from “walking tall” - ears and tail up, still curious at this stage - to squaring up. By this point any experienced keeper will have sent a “No” signal to the dog, but if not, things are going to get serious when the Staffordshire starts eyeballing the other dog to try and register dominance, then lip curling, growling, snarling and beyond. The keeper must in all circumstances pull the Staff away and ALWAYS reprimand him with a good telling-off and a bit of ignoring for a while. The dog will get the message quite quickly after a few repetitions.

Consistency, persistence, patience, etc. Yep, read it, done it, got the tee-shirt?

Well, repetitive and boring as they sound, these are the main elements of training dogs and several other types of pet. But when you see someone else’s well-behaved dog while you’re still struggling, it’s probably worth a refresher of the things that don’t work in order to remind us all that the things we should be doing, the first three words of this post, are the right approach.

• Violence is a complete no-no, simply because it is going to create a timid pet dog or one that decides to respond in kind and possibly when least expected. Either way, its the end of any credible or rewarding dog-owning relationship.
• Dogs are neither children or adults and do not respond to words like we do. They respond to tones of voice, the keeper’s behavior and gestures. True, one or two words may be a simple command, but it’s the repetition of something they recognise, often in conjunction with a gesture, that they respond to, and not any literal understanding of the command.
• To quote Cesar Milan, dogs live in the “now”, especially young ones; so do the old ones, but they have also got wise to the easy path to get what they want and learned a few simple patterns in your behavior. Hence the need for consistency and recognition on your part to react quickly to communicate to your dog the right behavior has just been carried out successfully.
• Training “sessions”, i.e. in a schedule, are really only for dogs that have progressed into advanced forms of shows and exhibitions, where it may well be almost a way of life. For inexperienced dogs, most dogs as a rule, and certainly puppies, they are picking up signals from you all the time and so training is really achieved through day-to-day interaction between you and your dog, which really reinforces the opening few words above. Addressing particular issues will be helped through some of the suggestions on this site but it is still based on consistency, persistence and patience!

Staffordshire Bull Terriers, or Staffies to their friends, are often thought to be pit bull terriers and get an undeserved reputation as a result. They are exceptionally strong for their size and can be challenging to train, but if trained correctly from young, they make superb family dogs. The usual behaviors that need attention early if they are to be corrected quickly are:

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

• Pulling on the leash, relentlessly if allowed
• Aggression towards other dogs, trying to be “top dog”
• Sometimes foolhardy in the pursuit of their objective
• NEVER let them start fighting other dogs - it could prove very costly

They are naturally very friendly towards humans, as with other breeds unless trained otherwise. A few general points are relevant to training Staffordshire Bull Terriers:

1. Like all terriers they are attention-seekers, which means, used appropriately with this breed, ignoring them can work well; however, in my experience there is hardly ever a need for this if the other tips advised here are applied consistently.
2. They take to a general daily routine very easily if not too rigid. Getting into a routine quickly will contribute towards training success.
3. Food is a real driver with this breed; coupled with their mammoth capacity for exercise, when young, food treats work very well as rewards.
4. Don’t have too high an expectation of them at the outset. By keeping things simple and focusing on the basics in short sessions, the training process will be much easier.
5. Invest in a chest halter! A traditional lead will work with some, and with most Staffies it will work some of the time, but if he gets into pursuit mode, all kinds of problems can ensue.

Parts II and III of this post will go into more specific training techniques for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

The chihuahua is naturally fairly strong-willed. Behavioral problems almost invariably arise from when an owner has been too lenient with the chihuahua puppy on account of it being small and cute. Training needs to start early, especially socialization in as many situations as possible so that the pet chihuahua naturally becomes a fairly rounded character. This will also provide opportunities to gauge the puppy’s aptitude for advanced training because being energetic, alert and intelligent, the chihuahua is sometimes best engaged by varied and more difficult tasks if the aptitude is there in the specific dog. Training needs to be assertive and with exercise, play and varied rewards in place it is usually possible to train the chihuahua relatively easily.

The best chihuahua training methods work with the little dog’s nature, especially its liking for attention and need to be engaged. Given the principle of starting young, its need for variety in order to engage it is going to be accentuated. However it will also be very receptive to rewards, so by breaking the reward pattern up and only ever rewarding it after it completes the right behavior rather then during it, while keeping training sessions when young short and snappy, the chihuahua will quickly show what it made of and react fairly positively throughout.

Also, it is worth remembering that if something isn’t working, persisting with it immediately or becoming stressed will prove counter-productive for both your stress levels and the dog, so it is actually worth letting it go for another day, but without any rewards or they will lose their value very quickly.

Another productive technique with the young chihuahua is not to overdo a successful session, or else the dog will both tire and become bored, again illustrating the focus on short and snappy. So a little planning with simple objectives initially, and some patience, will be effective. Done properly, most chihuahuas will soon indicate their readiness to move onto advanced training and if so, it is well worth considering with this breed to make the most of its capabilities and fun-loving nature.

For help with training your Chihuahua, click here.

Chewing is one of the most natural things for your dog to do. Destructive dog chewing is the problem, especially when it’s our stuff that she’s developing a taste for!

Destructive chewing can often signify underexercise, boredom or loneliness. Exercise has a part to play in all of these, but it doesn’t solve the problem quickly. Really she has to be taught not to chew the wrong things and to stick to her own stuff.

Prevention is the first step:

• Keep all the tempting objects that you can out of harm’s way, and be careful you don’t get reminded the hard way that she can jump or reach up to table edges.
• In effect, especially with puppies, you need to “dog-proof” some areas of your home.
• Books, glasses, garbage, remote controls are all nice and crunchy for those sharp teeth.

Above all, make it clear which things can be chewed (her toys or dog chews) and which things are off-limits.

Giving your dog cast-off clothes, towels, slippers or shoes is going to confuse her and cost you both money to replace the item and time in reinforcing the rights and wrongs for her.

Focus her attention on her own toys. The younger she is, the more toys she might need. Keeping one or more toys in reserve and rotating them say every couple of days can help as it makes some variety, especially with a younger dog.

Try not to leave her on her own for too long if you are at home. Play with her and through this you can keep watch for any problem behavior.

It’s fairly certain that at some point she will chew something she shouldn’t. At that point a loud interrupting noise such as a clap of your hand or a firm vocal sound that she recognises as one of the telling-off type will stop her for a moment. Then by giving her one of her own toys or a dog chew quickly, and praising her when she reacts positively to the new item, will reinforce which of the dog chewing behaviors are acceptable to you.

Repeating this process as each incident occurs should solve destructive dog chewing fairly quickly.

My article on this was published on ezinearticles.com earlier today, click here to see it.

There is also an earlier one about the Key Principles of Dog Behavior Training, click here for that one.

And for a later one about Dogs Around Horses, click here.

Training a persistent dog not to bite will vary dependent on the individual dog’s characteristics, though age and breed will have a bearing. There are a range of techniques that can be used which will normally succeed if applied patiently and consistently before a muzzle becomes necessary.

Stopping the behavior in the young dog is the ideal, by stopping it developing the play-biting it would do naturally as a puppy. A strong “No” and slight squeeze of its muzzle, without damaging the nose or sense of smell, some of which occurs from high inside the nose, is a starting point which often gets the message across after a relatively short time.

Socializing the young dog as soon as possible and establishing the appropriate behaviors will also prevent problems forming then escalating. Biting other dogs when young is often a territorial and/or fear response so socializing is very useful. By initially leashing all the dogs involved if problems are anticipated, then letting them slowly approach and sniff each other will gradually ease any tension. Stroking all the dogs and letting your dog smell your hand will also help. If any dog is showing signs of imminent aggression, it should be made to sit; failure to do this will show the extent of the problem and it is almost inevitable with some breeds and individual dogs that they will always have to be leashed when around other dogs.

Experienced dog keepers recognise the signs at the very first instant, know their dogs and know that training the keepers themselves to take responsibility is also part of the solution. Occasionally a dog will persist in biting beyond around five months of age, in which case, depending on the specific circumstances, advanced measures will be required.