Posts Tagged puppy barking

Puppy Training: Ways to Train My Puppy

Posted by admin on Saturday, 18 April, 2009

About 90% of American pet puppies live indoors with their owners. Dogs kept inside with your family and you need to be housebroken. Potty training a puppy is one of the situations many owners find themselves overwhelmed by. It is not that difficult, it doesn’t have to be messy and housebreaking can be accomplished without a struggle. Training needs to receive a significant amount of time devoted to it in order for it to be successful. You will need time, a little more involvement, as well as some training tools such as puppy training pads.

The New Doggie is the Boss

For dogs and puppy owners, there are two major rules that you should stick to with puppy training. Remember to never punish your puppy for something you didn’t see him do. And second, praise your puppy for the things he did do right. Don’t let training lead to situations where your only action is saying ‘no’ when you catch your pet doing something wrong. Praise them or offer them a reward when they do the right thing.

House Training/Breaking Puppies

There are different ways to housebreak puppies. When starting indoors, encourage your pup to use puppy training pads or papers to go to the bathroom on. These pads are treated with chemicals that make puppies want to use them to do their business. The moment you observe them beginning the pre-elimination routine of pacing and sniffing at the floor, lift up the puppy and quietly relocate them to the paper or puppy training pads, and then offer them a reward for appropriately going to the bathroom.

After things are progressing well and the puppy is using the puppy training pads or newspapers regularly, you can then locate them a little closer to the door and eventually outside. The change is made from concentrating on bathroom habits at a location inside the house to a location outside the house. In the very near future you will have no need for papers or training pads indoors.

The only major problem or setback with this puppy potty training method is that it takes a longer period of time to encourage the puppy to do his bathroom rituals indoors. When house training puppies, other widely used techniques might work; you could, for example, use puppy crate training or cages, always accompanied by the owner’s close supervision.

The maximum amount of time that dogs can hold their bladders and bowels is between seven and eight hours, so you should keep that in mind when using a crate or a cage, trying to housebreak your dog. This method usually works as most dogs treat cages and crates as their sleeping places and they do no want to soil their beds because they will be forced to lie in the mess. It is not a good idea to crate a puppy for long periods of time.

This is not to say, though, that continual supervision involves crates or cages, and paper or puppy pads. It is here that dog owners opt to spend whatever time is necessary with their pups. This works good for those who are retired, work from home, or any owner that can spend lots of time with the puppy. With this method, pet owners usually hustle their puppy outside as soon as they notice the pre-potty signs. A constant watch must be kept on puppies to make sure that there are no accidents or slip-ups.

To sum up, puppy housebreaking and training should be treated as part of the ‘come’ and ‘stay’ command trainings. However, toilet training and housebreaking your puppy will be the messiest types of training, and generally have more headaches than other sorts of dog training. Don’t give up!

Productive Puppy House Training

Posted by admin on Monday, 13 April, 2009

With a new puppy in the home, puppy house training guidelines must be worked out to prevent little “surprises” from appearing around your house. Every owner must go through house training with their new puppy. All puppies are different, some pick up things rather fast and some don’t. It can take a while to see a difference once you start your puppy training, so don’t get frustrated. If you manage to stay patient and calming your puppy will soon be well on its way to being housebroken.

Looking Into the Mind of Your Puppy

Looking into how your puppy thinks will certainly assist you in producing good puppy house training results. You must realize that the meaning of being clean doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing to you and to your puppy. You think it is important for your puppy to go to a chosen spot in the garden and “go”, but to your pup, what’s important is to relieve himself where the notion takes him. Your puppy’s only concern is to go away from his food and bed which is also the health and safety rule of nature. From their perspective, anywhere away from their food and bed is the perfect place. You must teach your dog that places that may be acceptable to him are not necessarily acceptable to you, you must lead him to the spot that you have chosen for him.

Anticipation of the Signs

During the first couple of weeks of a puppy, the early warning signals aren’t always easy to read, so you need to find a way to understand this as soon as possible. Choose a location soon that is close to the puppy’s food, bed, or play area. It is very rewarding to be able to anticipate when your puppy needs to go outside. Puppies need to relieve themselves frequently particularly after they eat, drink, play or get excited.

As you get to know your puppy, you will get to learn the various signs that he needs to go out to the bathroom. When a puppy is persistently sniffing, circling a single spot or has his tail held high, those are common signals. All you should do if this happens is get your dog and go to the area that you have designated as their toilet area.  You will be on your way to successfully completing puppy house training in doing so.

Even dogs that have gone through dog training classes will occasionally have small accidents when they are very excited or when greeting friends and family members. This is a natural response called submissive urinations and should not be treated apart from the normal house training. Although there may be additional accidents, your dog must not be chastised. Punishing a house training pup will only lead to confusion and more make the puppy feel the need to hide when it relieves itself.

Do not yell at your dog, instead work things out until this habit is broken this when accidents like this happen during periods of high excitement. It is best to try to greet new people while you are both still outside and the setting is low key. Build up your dog’s confidence and greet them gently. If your puppy has an accident, it’s best to just clean it up without making a big deal of it. Your dog will soon stop having accidents, and you can congratulate yourself on successfully concluding another round of puppy house training.

Puppy Barking is a Puppy’s Way of Communicating

Posted by admin on Wednesday, 25 March, 2009

Canines bark, so a puppy barking is a completely normal phenomenon. As natural as birds sing, puppies bark, whine, and sometimes howl. If you have a dog that you love, you know that you are going to hear plenty of barking, whining, and howling at almost any time. Don’t even think to train your puppy not to bark as it will never work. However, it is really ideal for you, your neighbors, as well as your dog, if barking fits can be placed under control.

Why Dogs Start Barking

Socially isolated or confined dogs who have not had supervised exercise for long periods will need some kind of outlet for their pent up energy. If there is no one around to tell a dog to stop, he will tend to start barking as a hobby. That is why it is not a good idea to leave your dog alone all day. Pretty soon, barking will become an enjoyable habit for him or her. Many dogs, once they start barking, do it because they think it’s fun and enjoyable.  

Unintentionally, you may have trained your dog to bark excessively. You obey your dog when he speaks. When the dog barks, you let him out.  When he barks again, you let him back in. If he barks, he gets his tummy rubbed; therefore, barking is a behavior that is rewarded. A puppy gets attention from you by barking.  For this reason, it is easy for barking to become a habit.  After all, the puppy wants your attention, and if he barks, he gets your attention. And sometimes, it is very easy to forget to provide positive reinforcement such as praises and treats for your dog when they are not barking.

Puppy Barking and Exercises

If you want to reduce the amount your puppy barks and give yourself, your household, and your neighbors a little peace, it is important that you understand why your puppy barks.  Usually a puppy will bark because it is afraid, bored, lonely, or frustrated. Things will greatly improve when you spend time with your puppy. While you are away, a puppy will generally spend most of the day sleeping as long as it is content and well-exercised. Be sure to give your dog some of your time.  He needs your attention and the benefit of training, exercise, and play.

Puppy obedience training is just as boring mentally for dogs as it is for their owners. “Come here”, “sit”, “heel”, and “stay” all make enjoyable games for your dog.  Why not make it even more fun by rewarding good performance with treats, hugs and praise.  Remember that dogs and puppies like a quick pace and high energy! Try to think of new training ideas for your puppy so it won’t get bored.

If a dog stays in a fenced yard almost all of the time, he is likely to need some socializing. Puppy barking will lessen if you walk them around your neighborhood. On a daily walk they get to explore the outside things they see and smell while they are at home. Running around the yard like a crazy dog is a normal thing for a dog or puppy to do, but it does not count as puppy exercise. Just like humans, they pace, fidget, and have other nervous tendencies. Some fun things to entertain your puppies with are chew toys for puppy biting and digging pits.

Dogs are very sociable. They are just like us.  They need companions and friends. Take your dog to a dog park daily or weekly and let them mingle with the other dogs. If they engage in dog training, playing, and romping all day, they will be exhausted. Then they will have no trouble sleeping well and rejuvenating after a good day of play and exercise.

Puppy Obedience is Essential

Posted by admin on Monday, 23 March, 2009

Puppy obedience is something that starts suprisingly early in their development. The basics of puppy obedience training may be initiated by the breeder from whom you purchased or secured your puppy.

Studies show that up to the age of three weeks, puppies are not yet ready to take in even a little in the way of education. They are not aware of anything else except for their mom, food, and sleep. At this point the puppy elimination is controlled by reflex.  This will change around the 21st to 28th day.  They will leave the blanket behind and search for a place to eliminate. During this stage, puppies start becoming more conscious of their environment, and also become more sensitive to stimuli. Any experiences they have will have a more profound effect on the puppy, so this is the most probable time for shaping up the puppy’s manners and behavior – in short, the perfect time for them to learn puppy obedience.

Encouraging Puppies with Positive Reinforcement

With positive reinforcement you can encourage your pet to achieve at a higher level. Positive reinforcement and treats work best of all. Negative stimuli should well be limited to saying ‘no’ and blocking any negative actions from your puppy with your hands. You should not hit or otherwise hurt a puppy as it is counterproductive.

Puppies should receive positive affection and praises each and every time they correctly respond to a command. Puppies rely on love, praise and reward to keep them engaged in a training regimen. Alternatively, when given praise and caressed soon after a command is correctly executed, your pet will learn that following these things are fun and rewarding. Puppy obedience is based upon reinforcement of good behavior being linked with rewards. Positive reinforcement such as praises and treats strengthen the understanding and willingness of the pup to follow and respond to commands.

A Consistent and Proper Timed Approach

Timing is everything when it comes to puppy training. Details such as actions, movements, and corrections will affect the puppy’s ability to follow commands. It is imperative that pups learn to recognize that the corrections are given as a result of his untoward action and behavior and that it will not happen if only he did what was expected of him.

For instance, a puppy who chews on a toy in a different room may not respond to the command “come,” and unless it is reinforced, he will not learn to obey it.He will find out that “come” means that he should head for the trainer and that it will also bring in the goodies if the puppy is told to “come” under controlled situations, like when he’s on a leash and is gently pulled toward the trainer then praised.

Teaching puppy obedience training can be done at home if you focus on one exercise at a time and keep your instructions simple. This will be a much simpler concept for the puppy rather than trying to teach them the whole exercise in a single session. Bring your patience with you when you are training and use positive reinforcement.  Slowly your puppy will learn to obey.

My Puppy’s Barking is Driving Me Crazy

Posted by admin on Thursday, 12 March, 2009

Does your puppy’s consistent barking drive you and your neighbors crazy? May be you are at the end of your tether and do not know what to do. A mistake that people make is to think that they can stop their puppy from barking completely. It should be understood that barking is normal for puppies. This is how your puppy communicates It is only when the barking is excessive and inappropriate that you should be concerned.

The fact is that puppies bark for a reason and so it is important to find what the cause is before taking action. Puppies can bark because they are lonely, bored, anxious, frustrated or frightened. They also might be hungry, need to pee or simply just need to go out for some exercise.

However, if your puppy continues barking excessively and inappropriately you should say “quiet” or “enough” in a stern voice. If this does not work, you should pull them away from what they are barking at and give a correction – a quick tug on the collar is a good idea.

When your puppy stops barking, it is important to give praise, such as”well done” and “good” in order for puppy to understand this is a correct behavior.

When your puppy is outside and starts barking to come in, you can use a command such as “stop” or “quiet” if you do not want them to come in just yet. Do this in a stern voice through the door. Your puppy can hear your command through the door. Remember not to open the door until you are ready to let them in.

If this does not work then you could kick the bottom of the door from the inside. This makes a loud noise which can startle your puppy. this method is quite effective.

Another method is to lean out of a window and squirt water from a spray bottle or hose. This gives your puppy a reason to stop. If you do this action consistently, your puppy will eventually get a negative reinforcement for barking.

It is important to remember to give praise when your puppy stops barking. You must be consistent in praising positive behavior and giving a negative reinforcement for unwanted behavior.

Now that you understand that puppies bark for a reason, you will now able to take the appropriate action and start feeling sane again!

Visit the Training Puppy Tips website for more detailed information on stopping your puppy barking. You can use the same techniques for stopping your puppy growling.