4 Proper Dog Training Suggestions For Working With Too Intense Dogs
To prevent your dog from being aggressive, especially if he’s bashful, then you need to take immediate action. You don’t want to be responsible for your pet hurting another’s pet, or a child, or other important person in your life. Read and implement the following dog training tips so that you can prevent a bad situation becoming worse.
1. Train regularly
To enable your dog to become more secure in who he is, then you’ll need to perform regular training. Every dog will be facing some sort of fear or anxiety, whether from another dog or strange person, or unfamiliar place. Because of this, you should have a controlled environment where your dog can face these fears. For instance, meet up with a friend when you take your dog out, and have your friend feed your pet a treat. This will encourage your pet to become more secure.
2. Socialize your pet
Usually, aggression in dogs is caused simply by the fact that they’re not familiar with other dogs, and they respond by poor behavior. Of course you can adjust this trait by teaching your pet how to actually enjoy other dogs. You can begin this by walking your dog on a leash, and make sure other dogs are there, too. When your dog seems to get angry, hold tighter on the leash and give your dog a yank. Teach your dog he or she should not act that way.
3. Don’t go near aggressive animals
You don’t want to expose your dog to another aggressive dog, especially if it’s an older dog. The way dogs think is that the older dog will lead yours into bad behavior. It’s the same with people: bad company corrupts good character. Just surround your pet with other animals that exhibit the traits that you want him to emulate. In so doing, you can be sure that your pet is getting some good influences.
4. Muzzle during training
Finally, you’ll want to get a handle on your pet by buying a muzzle. This is perhaps one of the best of the dog training strategies, you just have to get your pet used to the muzzle by introducing it slowly. Use it on your dog right before feeding or play time. Of course, nobody wants their dog to attack anyone during training, so this muzzle will simply be a safety precaution in case things get a little out of control. It will be a temporary condition.
Training Your Dog to Use Pet Stairs
If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably already got yourself a nice set of pet steps; but if you haven’t yet purchased dog stairs, you might want to take a minute to seriously consider the benefits. Every time your dog jumps on and off of objects such as furniture, his joints absorb the impact. Over time, this can lead to the early development of arthritis, not to mention that any time your dog jumps from something, he risks the possibility of a broken bone. Besides, pet stairs are wonderful to use by the bed to keep your dog from pouncing on and off the bed, simultaneously jolting you awake.
If you already have a set of pet stairs—good for you!! This is an important tool to make your dog’s everyday activity easier and safer. The next step is teaching your pet how to use them. Some owners struggle with convincing their stubborn pet to use the steps, especially if the dog is a little older and is “set in his way” of doing things. The best way to convince your pet to use pet stairs is to show him how it can be worth his while.
We’ve always had the best results when using our dog’s favourite treat as encouragement to use the stairs. For our bedside pet steps, I would sit on the bed in front of the steps dangling our pup’s favourite biscuit. At first he would try to go around the stairs to jump on the bed. When this happened, I hid the treat behind my back and gave my dog a firm “No!” After a few attempts (and many acts of re-positioning my dog in front of the steps), my dog finally understood that he would receive praise and a treat when he used the stairs. It didn’t take him long to learn to use the stairs on a regular basis.
You may be interested in a more “extreme” method of training your dog to use his pet stairs. This method involves denying your dog total access to the furniture unless he uses the pet stairs to climb up. For instance, if your dog primarily likes to lie on your bed, but refuses to use the steps, tell him to get off—or bodily remove him if you have to. Place him in front of the steps and motion for him to climb up. Do not let him onto the bed until he uses the steps. As with any type of training, it’s good to encourage your dog with words of praise. Dogs respond more to their owner’s tone of voice more than the actual words, therefore a cheery “Good boy!” goes a long way in convincing your dog that he’s pleasing you when he uses the stairs.
For information about getting your dog a set of pet stairs, visit Help Your Pets.
