Dog training 101 chapter 5

Chapter 5: Bad Behavior at Home

Bad behavior from your dog at home is unacceptable as this can cause a lot of stress for you and the rest of the family. Having to clean up after your dog means more work for you and having to replace items that your dog has ruined can leave a dent in your Bank balance. However, there is a solution to correcting bad behavior from your dog in the home environment, through teaching commands, discipline, and changing a few things on your part too.

Keeping Your Dog Out of the Garbage

Dogs are attracted to garbage. They like how it smells and figure that they can find some leftovers that they can eat. Sometimes they just like to rummage through trash to combat their boredom. You can break your dog from this habit and here are some ways that you can do that:

 If you find your dog trying to go through the trash, tell him to ―leave!‖ in a stern voice. Tell your dog he is naughty and to ―sit‖ and ―stay‖. Impose discipline on your dog and make him stay in the same spot for a little while.

 Continue to repeat and reinforce your stand on your dog not going in the garbage. Eventually, through your consistency and repetition, they will learn to stop.

 Make sure that you are doing your part by blocking every opportunity for your dog to get in the garbage.

 Take out the trash. If you don‘t have a garbage can that has a lid that only operates with your foot, you should get one. Make sure that your garbage can stays closed.

 If you have trash to be thrown out, do it as soon as possible. Allowing it to lie around will only attract your dog to rummage through.

 Be patient when trying to get your dog to stop going through your trash.

 A gentle, but firm response will resonate with your dog instead of a forceful one.

 As long as you are consistently making an effort, your dog will eventually get the message.

Digging Up Holes in the Yard

Some dogs have a tendency to dig holes in your garden or yard. Obviously this can be very unsightly and can cost money and energy on your part to straighten it out. Actually, dogs are not really thinking when they are doing this. They may be getting tired of playing with their toys so they get up to something else.

Don‘t impose punishment to get them to stop otherwise your dog may rebel against you. What you do need to do is to find the root of the cause then you will be able to work from there to make the necessary changes in your dog to stop him from digging those unsightly holes.

Here are some things that you can try in order to keep your dog from digging holes in your garden or yard:

 Place barriers in the areas where your dog likes to dig holes, in order to keep your dog out. Once they realize that their favorite areas are blocked, they will stop trying to gain access to them.

 You may want to have a sprinkler that will spray water on your dog. Dogs are not too keen about having water sprayed on them and this can deter them from digging in that particular area.

 Make sure that your dog gets plenty of exercises as this can help them to stop thinking about wanting to dig holes in your yard. One of the main reasons that they do it is because they get bored.

 Make time to play with your dog and spend quality time with him. When they know that you are investing time with them, they will be less likely to think about messing up your yard to gain attention.

 Your dog should have plenty of toys to keep them busy and make sure that they have a variety so that they won‘t get bored easily.

 If playing with them and taking them out for regular exercise is not enough, you may want to get your dog a sandbox or you can section off a portion of your yard where they are allowed to dig. You can also allow them to have toys and treats in that area. Once they get accustomed to it, they will not see the need to dig holes anywhere else in your yard.

 Dogs don‘t like the heat, so they will dig holes and use the dirt to keep them cool. Make sure you have a place where there is a shade for them to go and provide them with plenty of water.

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