Behavior Issues Affecting Your New Dog

More dogs wind up at shelters and humane societies because they have behavior problems than for any other reason. Fortunately, there are nonviolent techniques for addressing every behavior problem your new pet may have.

• Consult the Ultimate Puppy Toolkit for tips that will make you successful.
• Subscribe to the Whole Dog Journal, which is full of behavior advice.
• Find obedience classes at your local community college or recreation center.
• Consult a licensed professional trainer who does not use force.

To get a fast start preventing behavior problems, visit the Behavior Section at www.PetHealth101.com. There’s advice on potty training where you’ll learn how to paper train a pet to Wee Wee Pads. This section will help you understand that there is a difference between paper training to have your pet permanently potty indoors and paper training with the intention of having your pet eventually potty outdoors.

In the Separation Anxiety section, there’s advice on how to prevent anxiety in your dog if it will be left alone while you’re working. In the Submissive Urination section, there’s advice on handling a dog that urinates when it is nervous or when you reach down to pet it. There’s also a handy list of supplements and medications to help behavior problems on the Behavior Medications page. The more you know about correcting undesirable behaviors and which medications and supplements are helpful, the easier it will be for you to help your pet behave well.

Helping Your New Dog Adapt To Children

The dream most of us have when bringing home a dog is that it will love our children and our children will love it, but to make this happen, don’t throw them together. Carefully prepare each to meet the other. It helps children to understand that pulling, punching, and tugging hurts a dog just like it hurts them. Don’t leave children alone with your dog if they don’t understand this concept. Teach your children that if the new dog approaches it, it is doing something right, but if the new dog wants to avoid it, the child is doing something wrong. A child’s goal should be to behave so that the dog wants to play with it. It often helps to have children feed the dog so that the children have value in the dog’s eyes. Have your children place the bowl down, then call the dog to come eat. Don’t allow children to place their fingers in your dog’s mouth or to remove treats from its mouth. Don’t encourage children to hand feed dogs unless you are certain your dog will not bite fingers in its eagerness.

It does not pay to be overly optimistic about the level of our dog’s self control. Be realistic. Of course there will be dogs that you trust with your life and with your children’s lives. Lassie was written about a real dog. However, there are also wonderful dogs who should not be handled by or left alone with children.

The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians   Date Category Topic 08/29/06  Other  NEUTERING MALE CATS 08/26/06  Anxiety Relief  RE: ANIEXTY FEAR 08/26/06  Other  JUMPING 08/26/06  Anxiety Relief  SEPARATION ANXIETY 08/19/06  Anxiety Relief  BITING/SEP. ANXIETY 08/17/06  Other  WON'T STOP LICKING 08/03/06  Other  EXCESSIVE WATER CONSUMPTION 08/02/06  First Aid  CUT ON LEG THAT CAN'T HEAL 07/30/06  Other  FEELS SAD, WON'T MOVE MUCH 07/28/06  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  FREQUENT URINATION IN THE HOUSE 07/16/06  Other  LICKING 07/12/06  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  URINATION 07/09/06  Anxiety Relief  PET SEPARATION ANIXETY 07/08/06  Allergy  ITCHING 07/07/06  Digestive Care  FOOD ALLERGY? 1 2 3 4 5 »»

 

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