Help With Common Dog Problems
Pulling on the lead
There are a few choices for training collars. The most commonly used is
the choker chain. The choke chain is also the most commonly MIS-used
collar. A dog that is permitted to lean against and pull against a choke
chain will damage its trachea and have breathing problems in the future,
and when used in this manner the chain is serving no purpose whatsoever.
A choke chain should hang loose around the dogs' neck as he walks on a
slack lead beside you, and a short, sharp correction given when the dog
lunges at something or pulls away from you.
A better option is a "Halti" or "Gentle Leader" head halter. These are
just like a halter for a horse, and make it impossible for the dog to
pull. Some dogs don't like the feeling at first, but with some treats
and keeping the dog moving, most soon get used to it. If Halti = walk
and treats, then the Halti is happily worn!
Some people use a walking harness on their Malamutes for walking their
Malamutes. Expecting a dog bred to pull in harness not to pull when put
into a harness for walking seems more than a little unrealistic. It also
may cause confusion when it's time to put the dog in front of a bike or
rig. So be careful when using this it may be better to use the standard
lead and collar when out for normal walks and a harness only for heavy
work.
The other option is to train the dog not to pull on the lead at all.
This takes patience and consistency but can be well worth it in the long
run. The trick is to work on this from day one and the results can be
fantastic as you will get to a point where it will all fall into place
and the dog no longer treats this as a task.
Running Away
Simple answer: don't let your Malamute off the lead if you have not
trained them not too. See training tips on commands. From experience
it's a good idea to take your dog somewhere where there are no others
around and let them off the lead. Again it is a good idea to do this
from day one when they are pups as they are looking to you for guidance
especially at this stage.
If necessary, professional help can be gained to train your dog to come
back when called.
The Malamute's tendency to run means that you must always be vigilant
about doors and gates being shut. Always have a flat buckle collar on
your dog with an ID tag, so if your dog does escape he will find his way
back to you.
Obedience
Understand that dogs do what works for them. This means that if a dog is
rewarded for behaviour, it will do it more. A reward can be given by
you, or it can be given by the environment. This is why a dog learns all
day long, whether you train him or not. The best idea is to train him
yourself, so that he is learning what YOU want him to learn.
Rewards for dogs include:
� Food
� Playing/talking to other dogs
� Chasing balls / playing tug (depending on dog)
� The opportunity to come in the house, or go out into the yard
� Pats and scratches etc
Experiment to find out what else your dog enjoys and USE that knowledge
to train him.
If he really wants to go out into the yard, ask him to sit before you
let him out. Reward him for sitting by opening the door.
If you want him to come back when called, NEVER punish him after he
comes to you (no matter what the circumstances), but always give him a
treat or a scratch.
A tip for working with treats if your training your dog to do commands
while using these is to slowly reduce the times you give the dog a treat
in a way to praise for the command being followed. For example if you
ask the dog to sit three times and they do, maybe the next day ask them
to sit 3 times again but only give the treat on 2 or 1 occasions. Space
the requests out a bit not doing it sit, sit and then sit. Give a break
in between you asking them to do it. You will find after working this
way over time the dog will sit without even thinking about it or
expecting something in return. This again takes time and patience but
working with it again gives great results.
Mental exercise it great for a dog as it requires more work and be harder than a heavy long walk it also keeps the dogs brain working.
Separation anxiety
Separation anxiety is a
condition in which a dog cannot cope with being separated from it's
owner, and reacts with excitement or depression when it's owners leaves.
These dogs can show their distress before the owner leaves but most
signs of anxiety are shown within 1/2 hour of the owners departure,
problem behaviours can include:
Aggression when the owner leaves
Destructive behaviour
Self mutilation
Hyperactivity
Urination or defecation
Psychosomatic problems
Excessive barking
Destructive/excessive barking behaviour is the most common type of
behaviour encountered in dogs presented for treatment. These behaviours
are self gratifying, therefore separation anxiety can be self
perpetuating.
Dogs do not behave in these ways to "get even" with their owners, or
punish them for leaving them home alone, they do so out of anxiety and a
lack of confidence.
Causes
Separation anxiety is caused by separation
from the owner, the leader of the pack, and is most often encountered in
mix breed dogs from rescue centres, dogs who have changed homes and
families often, and dogs that are very attached to one family member.
Separation anxieties are learned, so therefore there is an excellent
outlook for relearning the behaviours that have caused the problems in
the first place. The most at risk dogs are the very dependent ones, the
ones that follow you around all day demanding attention, the ones that
show excessive displays of greetings, even after the shortest of
departures, and the ones who are restless and excitable.
Treatment
Treatment is not revolved around punishments,
which can be counterproductive, but more by treating the underlying
causes of the anxieties, and cooling the relationship between dog and
owner.
1. Reduce your dogs dependency on you, have someone else feed and walk
him, and don't constantly pet and praise them. Be more casual and less
excitable with the dog.
2. Try and avoid destructive behaviour during the retraining phase, if
necessary, hire someone to sit with the dog and/or place him in a crate
when you leave them.
3. Practise standard obedience behaviour, sit, stay, come etc on a
regular basis, and try and build the dog's confidence through positive
training exercises.
4. Exercise your dog for a minimum 15 mins twice a day, or more
according to breed/age etc.
Remember "a tired dog is a good dog"
5. Give the dog an acceptable item to chew, bone or treat filled Kong to
give the dog something to do while you go out, rub your scent on it and
only give it to them when you depart.
6. At the beginning of retraining, try to avoid the anxiety behaviour
wherever possible by taking the dog with you for major departures, but
at the same time, start a programme of planned random small departures.
7. Calm your dog before your departure by doing control exercise, eg.
Sit stays, long downs, and give them little attention.
8. All the moves for a mock departure must be as similar as possible as
for a real departure, rewarding quiet behaviour but never anxious
behaviour, then leave for a very short time and return, once more
rewarding quiet behaviour.
9. Use a new stimulus, say leave a radio or TV going, so the dog
associates the new stimulus with the new happier circumstances.
10. A DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) diffuser can be used to calm dogs,
they are available as a plug in, similar to a glade freshener from many
dog web sites.
11. Use a doggy day care if you have unavoidable long departures from
the home, your dog is excessive in his behaviour, or if you have
problems with neighbours, until your retraining is complete..
More to be added as time passes.................
Copywrite© 2007 Sharon Bartlett