Fears & Phobias in Dogs
There are many reasons why your dog may be fearful. Learn ways that you can help your dog get over these fears, and what you can do to prevent additional fears.
Introducing Your Dog to a New Dog
Adding another dog to your household can bring you and your current dog more fun and companionship. In the long run, things will probably work out fabulously, but in the beginning it’s a very smart idea to take a few extra steps to make everyone feel good about the new arrangement. This article provides some guidelines for making smooth and safe introductions and ensuring that your dogs’ relationship gets off to a great start.
Clicker Training Your Dog
Clicker training incorporates a marker (the click) to communicate with the learner that they performed what the trainer was looking for at the very instant the behavior was performed. The “click” signifies to the learner that a reward will be coming. Since dogs don’t speak human (and we don’t speak dog), using a clicker will help to bridge the communication gap.
Crate Training
Crate training is one of the most effective ways to help your pet learn good behavior while keeping them safe. Whether you’ve welcomed a new puppy or adopted an adult dog, a crate can be a valuable tool to set your pet up for success, and with the right approach, crates can become a cozy, safe space for your pet.
Preventing and Avoiding Bites
Any dog can bite, regardless of its personality, size, age or breed. According to the American Veterinary Association, 4.5 million people in the U.S. are bitten by dogs each year. There are ways to reduce the risk of dog bites, though, including learning how to interact with dogs you don’t know and practicing responsible dog ownership to help lessen the chances your own dog will bite.
Resource Guarding
Resource guarding is a fairly common canine behavior issue, and can be among the most serious of behavior problems if it is not managed properly. In the wild, resources are scarce, and wild dogs learned to guard their food, shelter, and other resources from other animals in their environment.
Positive Reinforcement and Rewarding
The best way to train your pet is through the proper use of positive reinforcement / rewards. You need to understand when and how to use them and what will happen if they are improperly used. With training you want your pet to “learn” the desired task and/or behavior.
Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety describes dogs that are overly attached or dependent on family members. They become extremely anxious and show distress behaviors of vocalization, destruction, house-soiling or inactivity when separated from the owners. This article covers ways that you can help your pet with this stressful behavior.
Housetraining Your Dog
This method of housetraining is focused on preventing “accidents” instead of waiting for the accidents to happen. The goal is to make it easy for the puppy to do the right thing in the first place. If you already own an adult dog with housetraining problems, you can use this method to start fresh just as you would with a puppy.
Your Vocal Cat
Vocalizing is one way for your cat to communicate with you and with other animals. Some cats “talk” more than others, here are some common reasons why your cat may be talking to you!