Behaviour that is perfectly natural for a dog is often inappropriate to the human owner’s lifestyle. 
Many dogs are a problem simply because the owner has not taught their dog how it is expected to behave, or has used inappropriate or ineffective training methods.

Training and Lifestyle

Training
The general obedience taught at our training classes, regularly practised over a period, will build a bond between the dog and the owner, and give the owner greater control of the dog. This, together with a set of firm but fair household rules for the dog, consistently applied by all family members, provides a stable environment in which most ‘naughty’ dogs soon learn how to behave.

Boredom - Good Behaviour Through Tiredness
Dogs have periods of activity and in between they rest. The needs of different breeds vary. Many breeds, such as collies and the gundog breeds are highly intelligent and need not only lots of physical exercise, but also plenty of mental stimulation. A dog that does not get enough of either of these becomes bored and looks for other ways to occupy itself. That leads to problem behaviour, such as chewing, digging up the garden, etc. We can

• advise you on the specific needs of your dog based on its breed/type.
• suggest good places to exercise your dog so that it can burn off surplus energy
• recommend suitable toys, games, and tricks you can use to stimulate and occupy its mind.
   

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Puppy Behaviour

Young puppies should not have any behaviour problems, but there are a number of questions we are regularly asked about normal puppy behaviour

How Can I Stop My Puppy Biting?
Like teething human babies, puppies need to chew. Give them plenty of toys to chew on. Have lots of toys and change them every couple of hours, so your puppy doesn’t get bored. (We have several hundred toys!) Make sure that you remove any human items, such as slippers, that could be chewed.

Puppy play often involves rough and tumble play fighting and biting. In this way a puppy learns a number of life skills, including how to hunt and how to fight and defend itself. As puppies grow older, the play fighting also helps to establish their seniority in the pack. This is natural for puppies and they will try to play with humans in the same way, if not discouraged.

If you watch puppies playing together, you will notice that if a puppy is bitten too hard it will yelp in pain. Immediately, the ’attacking’ puppy stops the game and backs off. This is instinctive and is called ‘bite inhibition’. Puppies quickly learn how hard they can bite another puppy in play, without hurting it.

Puppies have sharp teeth and thick skin protected by fur; whereas humans have a comparatively thin and delicate skin. You need to use the bite inhibition instinct to teach your puppy not to bite humans. Every time your puppy bites you (even gently), make a loud yelp ‘ouch’ and move away. The object is to teach the puppy that even touching a human’s skin with its teeth is too hard. If the puppy gets too boisterous, you can stop the game by putting it in another room for one or two minutes to calm down.
 

Why Won’t My Puppy Walk on a Lead?
This may be because the collar and lead weren’t introduced properly, or because the puppy is scared of the outside world.

Sometimes puppies are more willing to walk back towards home (and safety) than away from it. Carry your puppy a short distance away and try walking it back home, using a treat and lots of praise to encourage it. Repeat this several times a day, gradually lengthening the distance as your puppy’s confidence grows. When your puppy is confident to walk a reasonable distance home try walking a short distance past home and then back again. Build the puppy’s confidence slowly and patiently using treats and lots of praise.

If your puppy doesn’t like the collar and lead, you may have to go back to basics. As soon as possible fit your puppy with a lightweight collar so it gets used to it around the house and garden. Then add a short thin lead and let the puppy trail the lead around the house (under supervision, to make sure that the lead does not catch on anything). Walk the puppy up and down on the collar and lead in the house and garden, holding a treat in front to encourage it. After a few steps give lots of praise and the titbit, then repeat. Make it fun and pleasant. Don’t try to drag the puppy along by the lead.

Some puppies that have not been properly socialised are simply overwhelmed by the big outside world. You can still socialise an older puppy, but you need to be even more careful to make sure that experiences are positive and the puppy does not become frightened. Take the puppy out in your arms or in a baby buggy (with a suitable harness & lead) and use our socialisation checklist.
 

My puppy sometimes goes mad and runs round and round as fast as it can
This is perfectly normal - all puppies do it. Puppy food contains the high energy levels that the puppy needs to grow. Puppies spend a long time asleep while their body grows, but sometimes they will wake up and just need to exercise and burn off their excess energy. This often seems to happen in the middle of the evening, just as you want to relax. When your puppy is older and is going for longer walks this will happen less often.

Toilet Training Problems
Click here to see separate page

 

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Behavioural Problems

Some older dogs have more deep-seated behavioural problems that might, perhaps, be a reaction to an incident earlier in the dog’s life; due the ill treatment of a rescued dog by a previous owner; or simply to lack of socialisation when the dog was a puppy. These can take many weeks to cure but, if the owner is prepared to be patient and persevere, good results can often be achieved.

We recommend that you ask your vet to give your dog a thorough examination to rule out any physical cause of behaviour changes, such as pain from an injury or cracked tooth.

The Beginners Courses are not suitable for problem dogs that are likely to disrupt the class activities, such as dogs that bark excessively in the presence of other dogs.

Janet has a wealth of knowledge of dog behaviour and can advise on many problems. Unfortunately there is not usually enough time to deal with individual problems in detail during the classes, but Janet usually has a free period on Tuesday evenings when she is available for advice. She will also be happy to discuss specific problems by telephone.

As a first stage, you will be asked lots of questions about your dog and its history, to try to establish the cause of the problem behaviour. We may ask you to bring your dog to the Club just to watch for a few weeks so that we can observe its behaviour and how it reacts with other dogs. In many cases, we have found that simply socialising the dog with other dogs in this way helps to cure the problem

We recognise that owners with problem dogs need our help more than most and we are always willing to try our best to help, however our classes are intended for dogs that require basic training and are not suitable for dogs with a deep seated behaviour problem. In some circumstances, if the owner wishes, Janet may be prepared to undertake
private consultations or training. However, when we believe that a dog is unlikely to respond in a training club environment, or it clearly requires more time than we are able to give, we may recommend that the owner ask their vet for a referral to a professional behavioural consultant. Unfortunately, these tend to be expensive, but may be covered by pet insurance.
 

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Bad Dog

When and how to punish your dog   Click here to view the separate page

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