Dog behavior can be puzzling to both new and experienced dog owners. Dogs do not operate with the same motivations as people, so their actions don’t always make sense to us.
Here are 10 of the most common dog behavior issues and how to resolve them in your own home.
Chewing.
Puppies love to chew, especially while they are teething. It feels good on raw gums, and very young puppies use their mouths to explore their world, tasting as they go.
This is both natural and unavoidable, so prevention is the best cure for chewing.
Dog-proof your home by moving harmful items like wires, power cords, cleaning supplies, and other small objects out of your dog’s reach.
Have plenty of acceptable chew toys on hand.
For teething puppies, freeze a baby’s teething ring or even a knotted rag for quick, inexpensive relief.
So long as your dog has sufficient acceptable toys to chew, he will not chew on unacceptable items, like your dress shoes.Whenever the dog is in his crate or in a room, there should always be chew toys for him. If you see your dog chewing on something he shouldn’t, correct him by saying “No,” and give him one of its toys instead.
There are commercial products available to spray on items you don’t want your dog to chew; these sprays will make anything taste unpleasant.
If you choose to use these sprays, test a small corner of the item first to avoid ruining it. While this method can be effective, it should only be used to supplement the addition of acceptable chew toys.
Spraying your personal items with bitter spray alone won’t teach your dog to chew on only his toys.
Biting. Biting is a natural part of healthy, friendly puppy play between animals.
It is not, however, a healthy part of puppy play with her owner. Puppies learn when and how hard to bite by playing with their littermates; mimic this play by whining pitifully if your puppy bites you, then replacing your hand with a chew toy.Lavish praise on your puppy when she chews the toy.
If your puppy keeps biting you, stand up and stop playing with her.
For a puppy, it’s no fun unless someone’s playing, and she will learn to stop chewing almost immediately.
For an older dog, correct her by saying “No,” and withdraw your hand.
Never put up with a puppy biting you.
When a biting puppy becomes an adult, her behavioral problems will only become more severe.
Growling over food. Many people think that dogs are entitled to be protective of their food and that growling is a natural response.
However, a dog growling at a person over food can escalate into much larger issues, especially if growling is just one of many other behavioral problems.Place several small bowls of food next to each other. As your dog goes to eat one of the bowls, move one of the other bowls to the other side, but still within the dog’s reach.
Keep up this repetition until the dog realizes that a human hand is no threat to his food.
Barking. Each time your dog barks, go see why the dog is barking.
If it’s for a good reason, like a stranger near your property, praise the dog and then tell him to be quiet. If it’s for another reason, like a squirrel in a tree, tell the dog to be quiet and immediately go back into the house.
The dog will soon see that sometimes barking is acceptable, but not always. The dog will learn to bark for the ‘good’ reasons.
If the dog sees a squirrel in a tree, he will still bark, but not continually. Instead, he will bark once or twice to scare the squirrel and be satisfied.
Digging. Dogs like to make dens--either out of boredom, or to make a nice spot to lie down. Digging is a natural tendency for dogs.If you have the room to do so, make an acceptable spot for your dog to dig, like a sandbox. Place the sandbox in an area that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Place your dog’s toys or treats in the box and encourage your dog to dig in it by digging in the box yourself.
Periodically turn the dirt over or place new earth in the sandbox to keep it exciting for him.
If you don’t have the room for a sandbox, fill the holes your dog makes with rocks, sticks, dead leaves, pine needles, or even old dog feces.
The dog will find this junk when he digs and quit digging, with the idea that it’s not worth the effort to dig if nothing interesting comes out of it.
Getting in the garbage.
Crate the dog to keep him out of the garbage when you’re not home, and correct the dog when he gets into the garbage while you are home. Purchase a heavy-duty lidded step trashcan and take it out before it’s filled to overflowing.
Dispose of especially savory trash (to a dog) immediately, like bones and meat.Jumping.
Jumping is a dog’s expression of happiness.
If you don’t mind your dog jumping, train your dog to jump only when it’s ok, via a signal that you give your dog. Otherwise, it will equate jumping as an always-ok action, which can be challenging when guests that don’t own a dog enter your home.
Correct the dog immediately when he is about to jump.
Praise him when all four paws are back on the ground.
Soiling in the house. Even dogs that are housebroken make mistakes. They can happen for a variety of reasons.
If your dog has a physical problem like a urinary tract or parasite infection, he will lose control of his bladder.
Some dogs temporarily lose control of their bladders when they become excited, feel threatened or are scared.
Dogs also mark their territory with urine; if they believe their territory has been invaded, they may incite territorial marking.Dogs may also make mistakes in the house as a result of separation anxiety. If they’re left alone in the house for long periods of time, and soiling is accompanied by other destructive behavior, separation anxiety is likely the cause.
To fix soiling in the house, first identify the cause of the behavior and alter the environment so that he will not repeat the behavior.
Pulling on the leash.
The dog that does not walk properly on a leash requires a bit of training.
When the dog is about to apply any tension to the leash, immediately stop in your tracks and be firm.
When the dog turns to see what has happened to you, praise him for noticing and simultaneously move him back into his heel position.
So long as the dog remains next to your leg, continue to praise him and give him rewards if necessary.
Right next to you should be the most fun place for him to be.
If he loses concentration and is about to put any tension on the leash again, stop without warning and repeat the sequence.Whining or Crying. This usually results from an owner giving in when a dog whines or cries. This provides positive reinforcement for the dog’s actions. Dogs learn that whining produces a favored response from the owner. If the dog sees that if he whines, he gets a nice long walk, he will whine to get one every time.
Make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise and is fed a healthy diet.
Reward him when his whining has stopped for over three seconds.
Ignore whining for superfluous attention at all costs.
Effective Dog DisciplineRemember that a dog is a pack animal, and he sees himself as part of your pack.
Once you cater to the dog’s whim and let him lead, you become part of his pack and he becomes alpha male.
These common dog behaviors are easily trained out of a dog, so don’t be alarmed if they’re present in your puppy.Be consistent and firm when your dog does the wrong things, and keep the praise flowing when he does the right things.
Training your dog can be a process, but the happiness you’ll gain from proper dog behavior makes the effort worthwhile.
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Friday, 14 March 2014
Woman gives birth to baby with two heads
A woman in India gave birth Wednesday to an incredibly unique pair of conjoined twins.
The woman, who has been identified as 28-year-old Urmila Sharma, gave birth to what appears to be a baby girl with two heads.
She also has two necks and two spines and share one body, which makes it impossible for doctors to separate the twins. Doctors are concerned she may not survive more than a few days.
New York Daily News reports Sharma and her husband couldn't afford to have an ultrasound earlier in the pregnancy to check for complications so they had no idea she was carrying the twins.
A doctor told the Daily Mail they didn't find out until two weeks before giving birth and by then it was too late to do anything.
The baby is currently being treated in intensive care.
Houston dad shoots, kills boy found inside daughter’s bedroom
A Houston-area father fatally shot a 17-year-old boy who was inside his teen daughter's bedroom early Thursday morning, MyFoxHouston.com reported.
The father, who was not identified, was notified by one of his children that there was someone in his 16-year-old daughter's room, the report said. He reportedly found his daughter in bed with the teen.
The confrontation occurred around 2:20 a.m. The father had a gun and asked the teen to identify himself, police said, according to the report. His daughter reportedly told her father that she did not know the teen and that the two were not in bed.
The father said he told the teen not to move, but reportedly saw the teen reach for something, at which point police say the father opened fire. The teen did not have a gun. His daughter later confessed that she did indeed know the teen, the report said.
"You just feel terrible for the families," one neighbor told the station. "You just kind of reflect on both of these families’ lives have changed forever."
The father was taken by ambulance from the home for treatment of an unrelated medical situation. So far no arrests have been made, but detectives told the station that they are going to refer the case to a grand jury.
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Watch the new, customizable Windows Phone 8.1 camera app in action
Microsoft didn't just equip Windows Phone 8.1 with a redesigned notification center and a Siri nemesis called Cortana, it also revamped its stock camera app. While many of the current app's features remain intact, a video leaked by Unleash The Phones shows that the right side of the interface now features shortcut buttons for single photo, video and burst photo modes. The left side, however, is completely customizable, and a user can easily fill it with up to five shortcuts to settings (flash, lens picker, resolution, ISO among others) of their choice. Curious WP users who want to know how the updated app compares to Nokia's camera software can watch the video after the jump. Of course, they might only have to wait a bit more to know everything about the OS... and to finally find out if they can install it on their WP8 devices.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
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