Horrible Problems A Dog Training Book Will Not Describe
A quick scan through any dog training book will reveal to you that they do not tend to talk about the nasty habits your pooch will have.
The three most disgusting habits that dogs are fond of doing are excessive licking, poop eating and nipping or biting and we will discuss these below.
Too Much Licking
Dogs, as a rule, love to meet and greet their owners and others with a wet slobbery lick to the cheek or any other area they can reach! People who have had dogs as pets for any length of time are already aware of this greeting style, however, new pet owners may be a bit grossed out!
For a dog, the tongue is the way they interact with the world around them. They use it to explore the world and greet other animals and humans alike and for the most part, you will only experience the odd lick every now and again, but some pets can take licking to another level.
At odd times however your dog will seem to go on a licking parade, your clothes and most other things in your house are all up for grabs here.
The first rule in dog training tips is to understand why a behavior is being exhibited and then work to correct the underlying problem.
Many times an exuberant licker is a dog who is insecure or lonely. Perhaps you have been super busy and unable to spend any time with your dog; this can lead to stress and anxiety in your pet.
What Is Coprophagia?
Eating feces of another dog is not something that all dogs do, in fact, most will not. Now they will consume the feces of other species with great appreciation most of the time, but not normally their own or another dogs.
It is not known why a dog might exhibit this behaviour, even in the medical world. But some of the dog training tips below might help you to reduce the incidence of this nasty habit:
- Always make an effort to keep your yard or garden free from any poops to avoid temptation
Teach your dog the leave it command when he is off the leash
- Add certain foods to your dogs diet that make poo unappealing such as pumpkin, squash and zucchini
Nipping and Biting Problems
Nipping is one of the first actions your dog learns as it grows up with the other members of its litter, as a communication method.
This is also the time that they learn not to bite too hard. Sometimes puppies are removed from the litter too soon or a new owner will encourage rough play, when this happens the puppies natural bite inhibition is stunted.
The best dog training tips for dealing with nipping and biting are:
Other puppies will yelp to let a litter mate know that they are biting too hard, instead you can shout a loud No! or similar loud sound to let your puppy know they are using too much force
Isolation is another way fellow puppies will reinforce the unacceptability of the bite strength, the bully of the litter will be avoided by the rest of the puppies. You can copy these actions by refusing to look at or talk to your dog for a short amount of time after the offense.
Keep a ready supply of suitable chews for your puppy to give alternative uses for its teeth.
A dog training book is great for most behavioral issues but the three above are often times overlooked in even the best dog training tips manuals. Hopefully the above ideas will help you to have a better loving relationship with your dog for many years to come.
Posted in Dogs