The Big Book of Simple Solutions E-Book

Kim Campbell Thornton

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Simple Solutions Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 124

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The most common training issues that dog owners face are addressed in The Book of Simple Solutions: Training Your Dog by dog expert Kim Campbell Thornton. From the publisher of Dog Fancy magazine, this fun fact-filled volume offers solutions to barking, chewing, digging, house-training issues, aggression, and bad doggy manners (begging, jumping up, marking, etc.). Buck Jones's hilarious color cartoons should not distract dog owners from the serious matters at hand, but solving canine behavior problems are better handled with know-how, patience, and good dose of humor—all of which are delivered handily in this compact 224-page Simple Solutions book.

Leseprobe

Karla Austin, Business Operations Manager

Jen Dorsey, Associate Editor

Michelle Martinez, Editor

Rebekah Bryant, Editorial Assistant

Erin Kuechenmeister, Production Editor

Ruth Strother, Editor-at-Large

Nick Clemente, Special Consultant

Michael Vincent Capozzi, cover design

Vicky Vaughn, interior design and layout

Copyright© 2004 by I-5 Press™

Illustrations copyright© Buck Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003114518

ISBN: 1-931993-27-0

eISBN: 9781620080801

I-5 Press™

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

3 Burroughs

Irvine, CA 92618

Printed and Bound in Singapore

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Contents

House-Training

The Secret to Successful House-Training

How Long Does it Take?

How Do I House-Train My Puppy?

It’s Cold Outside. Can I Paper-Train Him First?

Reward Performance

The Benefits of a Crate

Preventing Potty Problems

What Goes in Must Come Out

Accidents Happen

Cleaning Up

Chewing

Why Do Dogs Chew?

When Chewing Becomes a Problem

Dog-Proofing Your Home

What Should Dogs Chew?

Teaching Your Dog to Chew Toys

Ways to Redirect Problem Chewing

Preventing a Chewing Problem

Digging

Why Do Dogs Dig?

Digging for Fun

Digging for Prey

Digging for Shelter

Digging for Attention

Digging out of Anxiety

Digging to Escape

More Ways to Prevent Digging

How to Deter Digging

Correcting Digging Behavior

Barking

Why Do Dogs Bark?

Who Barks and Why?

When Barking Becomes a Problem

Solving a Barking Problem

If You Want Your Dog to Act As a Watchdog

Be Patient

Bark-Control Devices

Puppy Preschool

Aggression

What Is Aggression?

What Does Aggression Look Like?

Bully Boy or Fearful Fido?

Other Types of Aggression

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Dealing with Aggression

Changing a Dog’s Behavior

Can Drugs Help?

Diet and Exercise

What Not to Do

What’s the Prognosis?

Obedience

Petiquette for Pooches

Who’s the Boss?

The Social Graces of the Urbane Dog

Beauty Is As Beauty Does

Sitting Pretty

Jumping Up

On or Off the Furniture?

Mealtime Manners

Come When Called

No Marking Please!

The Eleven Commandments of Good Dog Ownership

The Secret to Successful House-Training

Puppies pee. And poop. A lot and often. If you’ve never lived with a puppy, you’d be amazed by the number of times the little furballs need to go potty. Every hour or two, they start sniffing and circling, looking for a place to do their business. If owners aren’t watchful, accidents can frequently happen.

Not surprisingly, house-training is the first lesson new owners want to teach their pups, and rightfully so: House-training is the foundation for good behavior. Without it, dogs can’t become members of the family, and they run the risk of being exiled to the backyard, never getting the attention and social interaction that they need and deserve.

Happily, the secrets to successful house-training are simple: Time, patience, consistency, and supervision are all that’s needed. Puppies are quick learners. A regular potty schedule, combined with praise for going in the right spot, and they’ll soon get the idea. Dogs are naturally clean animals, and they don’t want to soil their living area. House-training teaches dogs that the house is the living area and the yard (or whatever spot you choose) is the potty area.

How Long Does it Take?

Just as with children, potty training a puppy is a process. It’s not something a puppy can learn in a day, or even a week. While it might take only a few weeks for your dog to understand what you want, until he’s four to six months old, he’s not physiologically capable of “holding it” for more than about four to six hours. A dog’s muscle control isn’t fully developed, and his bladder is not large enough to “hold it” any longer than that.

Remember that each dog is an individual. Some pups are potty trained at three months, while others may not be completely reliable until they’re nine months to one year old.

A number of breeds are more difficult to house-train than others, including: many toy breeds, such as Chihuahuas, Yorkies, papillons, Chinese cresteds, Italian greyhounds, shih tzus, and poodles, especially the smaller ones; the bichon breeds, such as bichon frise, Maltese, Havanese, and Bolognese; various hounds, including beagles, Afghan hounds, salukis, harriers and foxhounds; Jack Russell terriers; and soft-coated wheaten terriers. These dogs need extra supervision and a lot of positive reinforcement.

If you acquire your puppy at eight weeks of age, expect to take him out at least six to eight times a day. By the time he’s about six months old, potty trips will be down to three or four times a day. A rule of thumb is to take your puppy out in hourly intervals equal to his age in months. For instance, a two-month-old puppy should go out every two hours, a four-month-old every four hours, and a six-month-old every six hours. This can vary, of course, depending on the individual dog: Some young puppies need to go out every half-hour. It’s your responsibility to make sure that your puppy gets plenty of opportunities to go potty in the right spot.

Other good rules to follow include taking your pup out first thing in the morning—yes, even before you have your first cup of coffee—and ten to thirty minutes after every meal, when he wakes from a nap, after every playtime, and the last thing at night, just before he goes to bed.

That’s a lot of dog walks. What if everyone in your family works or goes to school? Those things are important but so is your puppy’s potty schedule, especially for the first couple of weeks he’s with you. Without a schedule, your puppy can’t learn what he needs to know. Try to get home once or twice during the day, hire a dog walker or pet sitter, or ask a friend or neighbor to take your dog out. Try taking time off work during the first week of house-training to firmly establish the schedule and rules in your pup’s mind. It’s helpful to start training on a weekend or during a long holiday.

How Do I House-Train My Puppy?

Start house-training your puppy as soon as you get him home. Even before you bring him into the house for the first time, take him to the potty spot you’ve chosen, and let him sniff around. Make note of any patterns of sniffing, circling, and squatting. These are his clues that he needs to go out. If he performs, praise him in a happy tone of voice, “Good potty!” Then take him inside, and introduce him to his special place, which can be a crate.

Dogs develop preferences for certain potty surfaces, usually based on what they learn as a puppy. It’s a good idea to expose your pup to different potty surfaces such as asphalt, concrete, and gravel so that if you don’t have access to grass, you won’t have a problem getting him to go.

Young puppies should not have the run of the house. Before you bring your puppy home, choose a safe area of the house to let your pup stay. This is usually a kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, or some other area with an uncarpeted floor. Rooms with tile, vinyl, or concrete floors are good choices.

Lay down papers in this room (this is not paper-training but simply an easier way to clean up messes). Put your pup’s open crate, a couple of chew toys, and a food and water dish at the opposite end of the room. Close off the room with a baby gate or other barrier to prevent him from wandering throughout the house. Until your puppy is house-trained, he needs to be under your direct supervision or confined to an area where he can’t get into trouble.

The goal is for your pup to eliminate away from his crate and eating area whenever you aren’t there to take him out. Once your pup is consistently eliminating in a certain spot on the papers, you can gradually take up the papers, leaving only the favored area covered.

If you come home and your pup has pottied in the safe room, don’t scold him. He’s just doing what comes naturally. Take him outside and praise him when he potties in the chosen spot. If you take him to the same area every time, the lingering scent will prompt him to go again.

It’s Cold Outside. Can I Paper-Train Him First?

Most trainers agree that teaching a puppy to go on paper and then retraining him to go outside can be confusing. Some dogs never quite figure out that they are supposed to move on from papers to the great outdoors and continue to potty on any pile of papers they see. One puppy who had been reliable in the house for some time had a relapse one day when his owners were painting the hall. They had laid down papers to protect the carpet, and he came along and squatted on them for a quick pee. They hadn’t paper-trained him at all, but apparently the breeder had laid down papers to protect her floors and the smart pup remembered what they were for. But if you live in a high-rise building or are unable to walk your dog regularly, try paper-training or litter box training.

To paper-train your dog, spread a few layers of paper in the area you want your pup to go. Then, instead of taking him outside, take him to the papers. Let him sniff around, but if he moves off the papers, set him back on them. When he eliminates, praise him.

If you’re having trouble getting your pup to use the papers, try this trick. When he urinates, hold a sponge underneath the flow to capture some of the urine. You can then use the sponge to scent the papers. The next time you take your pup to the papers, he’ll smell the urine and remember what he’s supposed to do. You can also purchase pads at pet supply stores that claim to induce eliminating. When the pad is placed on the papers its scent is supposed to encourage a puppy to eliminate there. It’s worth a try if you’re having problems.

To house-train your dog with a litter box instead of papers, follow the same process as paper-training. Litter boxes and litter suited for puppies and dogs who weigh up to thirty-five pounds can be found in pet supply stores. Shredded paper, which some dogs prefer, can be substituted for litter.

Reward Performance

After your puppy eliminates praise him. Choose any short phrase that works for you, and say it in a happy, approving tone of voice. When you assign a name to the action, your puppy learns to associate the word with the act and may learn to go on command. Just don’t make the mistake one owner did of using the phrase “Good dog” or your pup will start going potty every time you praise him, whether you meant him to or not. Make sure everyone in the family knows the key phrase for going potty and uses it consistently. You don’t want your puppy to become confused.

Speed up the training process by making potty time pleasant for your puppy. Keep some tiny treats in your pocket so you can reward him the instant he’s through eliminating (don’t interrupt him before he’s finished). Then, spend a few minutes playing. He’ll soon learn that the quicker he does his business the sooner playtime comes. This is useful on rainy days or when you’re in a hurry.

The Benefits of a Crate

Dogs are den animals, which means they like small, cozy spots such as the caves of their wild ancestors where they can curl up and feel safe. Since most of us can’t provide caves for our dogs, a wire or plastic carrier, or crate, is the next best thing.

Many people don’t like the idea of putting their puppy in something that looks like a cage. It seems cruel to them, but just the opposite is true. Placing your puppy in a crate when you can’t be there to watch him keeps him safe and out of trouble. When he’s in his crate, he can’t nibble on the wallpaper, pee on your favorite rug, or get into the trash. That means you won’t come home and get mad at him for doing what puppies do: explore, destroy, chew, and eliminate. Some people even place a dog crate or puppy playpen in several different rooms, such as the living room, bedroom, and home office, so that the puppy always has a safe place to be when he’s not being watched.

Your job is to reduce your puppy’s chances of making a mistake, and a crate is a good way to accomplish that. Using a crate is much kinder than banishing a dog to the basement, garage, or backyard so that he never learns how to be responsible in the house, and the cost of a crate is much less than the cost of repairing chewed-up woodwork or furniture.

A crate should be just large enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and stretch out on his side. If the crate is too big, your pup will be able to eliminate at one end of the crate and sleep at the other. If your little puppy is going to grow into a large adult, buy a crate suited to his adult size, but block off part of it with a box or divider. As your pup grows, you can increase the amount of space he has in the crate until a divider is no longer needed.

To teach your puppy that the crate is a happy place, give him a treat each time he goes inside. As he steps inside, say, “Crate!” or “Bed!” in a happy tone of voice. It’s always a good idea to assign a name to each action you want your puppy to learn. Soon, he’ll go racing to his crate whenever you say the magic word. Be sure to reward him with praise and a treat, and leave a safe chew toy inside for him to play with. Place the crate in a busy area of the house such as the den or kitchen so he doesn’t feel abandoned when he’s in it. You can feed your puppy meals in the crate, which is also a good way to increase your pup’s positive association with the crate.