ecochic

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Latest post on 26 June 2012 - 11:14

What one needs to remember is, like humans, dogs too, get bored of things they have. So by flooding them with a zillion toys you have made them get bored of all of them. Toys should be given to them only when you are either playing with them or when you are leaving them home alone or as a treat for good desired behavior. Leaving them at the reach of your dogs 24x7 will make them get bored of it easily.... so take away the toys and break them out only when they are to play with you or to be left alone or for good behavior. Biting and any kind of destruction is a classic sign of boredom. They are just telling you that and if you can't see it then maybe you should not have them. All dogs need mental stimulation, hence walks, even if it's for 10 mins. Imagine you being locked up in a room with out any television, music, phones, magazines, etc... you will be completely frustrated stuck in four walls so do dogs also. Always remember, before leaving a dog home alone it's always a good thing to take them out for an exercise or just lay with them. Your goal is to tire them out so they can spend the alone time either resting or chewing their bones. One of the most common reasons why dogs Pee or poo while you are away and chew also is because they have "separation anxiety". They are unhappy that they are being left home alone while you are out. You would need to determine the level of this anxiety. In this case you need to spend time working with them to over come this problem. Most dogs have this and it can be easily over come with every day help. The best way would be to lock them up and exit the main door but stand some where close by, wait for about 2 mins and walk in and immediately treat and praise them. Do this for 20 mins every hour and half during the day and gradually increase the away time. This is a great way to counter condition them into staying home alone happily. Depending on the level of anxiety, it could take you a day, or a week or over 3 months for them to feel safe and comfortable being left home alone. Another way is Crate training.... it's a must for all dogs to identity a crate with their den. When we leave our 3 dogs home alone, we also leave their crates open, when we come home, they all are happily sleeping or just chilling in their safe dens. You can also use play pens (as you have small dogs). Basically, it's always good to leave a dog in a large restricted area away from the reach of any wires, furniture etc etc. It is safer for your dog. It could also be that you have not house trained them. By saying this, it actually means that your dogs have not identified the outside with doing their business. This is very important in the beginning puppy life of any dog living at home. To train them, use only high value treats (not dry food) such as boiled chicken (shredded of small pieces) or chicken / beef sausage. Carry them on you while you are home. It is always good if you have them already wearing the harness. Observe them constantly and when you see them sniffing, immediately clip them and take them outside.You may have to stand 5 mins or an hour also but once they get the job done, treat and praise enthusiastically. In the house, you must not let the dogs out of your sight. If an accident happens indoors, NEVER shout, yell, get angry on the dog. They do not speak our language so do not know why you are yelling at them. Dogs understand our body language and tone. When you yell at a dog for anything they will only continue doing that thing again and again as in their minds they take that thing as the reason why they got yelling. When an accident happens home, do not make any eye contact, nor verbal contact with them. You could give them a time-out if you catch them doing it in-front of you, but again no words at all. If an accident happens when you are not watching, no time out as they will not understand why. They will soon associate the outdoors with treats whenever they poop and indoors with no treats. Remember, using high value treats only helps achieve good and desired behavior. Never just give treats to dogs, they all have to really work for their treats, only then will they understand what is expected from them. I use the clicker as it's easier for them to understand. it's quite simple, good behavior = click and treat. You need to understand that your dogs are small so smaller bladder. If they constantly drink a lot of water, they need to flush it from their system constantly so you need to work with them and understand them. Dogs are not accessories, they love training, exercise, play time and a constant routine. If you still do not understand how then please use the various training facilities such as "Positive Paws" or "Paws Pet Planet" who use only positive reinforcement methods to help achieve good behavior. If you cannot or don't have the time, then I would suggest you give them to a family who will do the needful. With a little training, all dogs can be awesome. All the best :) and remember you need to SET YOUR DOG UP FOR SUCCESS hence you have to stay positive, happy and enthusiastic while interacting and training them.

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