Obedience Training Your Dog Is Not Enough

Raising a dog is hard work, you take them to obedience class and things seem to be going great..you even got a blue ribbon hanging on your wall.. and yet..

When you are at home your dog seems to have forgotten everything they learned.. they run out the door ahead of you..they anticipate your movements and rush past you..sometimes nearly knocking your down.

It upsets you that your dog is obedience trained yet seems so pushy and rude.

What you think of as bad behavior is really just your dog doing what dogs do.. unless..

You begin to put that obedience training to work for you in your every day life.

The solution is not going to be quick so don’t expect miracles over night..but if you begin to put expectations for behavior on your dog ,..things like sit before going out the door..or sit and stay while you go up and down stairs ., and then follow you when they are invited.. you will begin to see that now your obedience trained dog is making you proud.. and this pride will follow you the rest of your life.

Have a look at this short video as I explain a little more about what I’m talking about..

If you have questions leave them in the comments section below..

all the best,

Harley

 

There’s Just One Thing That All Dogs Want To Know

There’s just one thing that all dogs want to know, and they need you to answer it.

Between raising the kids and making meals, working a shift, going to soccer games, swimming lessons, making time for your better half, going to the gym walking the dog..well.. the list could go on and on, but there is no doubt about one thing..at the end of the day your energy is spent, taking off your shoes seems to be a chore that might require some assistance.

With all the things we do daily that drain our energy, the very act of doing them causes stress to our bodies and our minds, and stress as we all know can have very negative effect on us if we don’t deal with it.

So..we have learned that in order to alleviate some of this stress so that we don’t explode..(emotionally speaking,) there are certain activities that help to keep us in balance so we can get up the next day and do it all again.

You might enjoy listening to music, yoga class, reading a good book, massage, sitting on the porch watching the sun go down, smoking a pipe., the possibilities are endless, and individual to you..what works for you might not work for others.

Now let’s consider the daily life of most dogs..not all dogs but most.

A dogs day starts the same time your’s does, if not before..and they have even more energy that you have to start their day..but, instead of getting ready to go to work …they will be lucky to get out for 5 minutes to use the bathroom, come inside and have 10 minutes to eat…a quick pat on the head from you, and a be a good boy till I get back..and then they are sequestered in their assigned areas until you come back.

For most dogs their day is spent either tied in the yard, behind a fence, in a crate, locked in the house.

One thing  is for sure their range of movement is restricted to some degree.

Still he is constantly bombarded by energy coming from life going on around him.

Someone repeatedly knocks on the door because no one there to answer it, a squirrel runs across the yard, the dog next door is in heat, the boom of a passing thunderstorm, needs to relieve himself but it will be two hours before anyone comes to let him outside.

Over the span of the 6-8 hours most people are away from the house the dog has absorbed vast quantities of stress, but has burned very little energy..so when you finally get home, your dog is a quivering emotional stressed out mess..as soon as you open the door or let him out of the crate he jumps up on you, runs around the house maybe knocking over plants and what not.

He paws at you for attention, barks non stop at you or someone passing on the street, surfs the counters, chases the cats, and if you do take him for a walk he pulls you down the street with your feet practically off the ground, and stops only when another dog approaches him and he starts to growl and lunge dragging you toward the strange dog.

The reason a dog does all these different and sometimes annoying behaviors is due to the fact that he is stressed out and is searching for something, anything to satisfy his emotional state of mind, which brings me to the main point of my article..there’s just one thing all dogs want to know..

What do I do with all my energy?

All the best,

Harley

Resource: Natural Dog Training.com

 

What Is The Difference Between Dogs And Their Cousins The Wolf?

Let me begin by saying that dogs are not wolves..

But, having said that:

They do share the same instinctual behaviors, all be it diluted by thousands of years of evolution, and stronger in some breeds as compared to others. There is not one behavior that a wolf has that can’t be found to some degree in our domesticated dogs. So what is the difference between dogs and their cousins the wolf?

 

Let’s take a look at some of those similarities and differences.

Dogs and wolves are both prey driven animals

All dogs are predators and have an instinctual  prey drive that is either very high or very low, or falls somewhere in between the two extremes. depending on the breed of dog.

Prey drive is the instinctual act of giving chase to something that is moving fast. In most cases for dogs that would be the family cat, that squirrel that keeps stealing the bird seed, or maybe the kid that zoomed past the gate on his bike.

When a dog gives chase to a cat it may or may not end up in a kill for the dog, but if that was a wolf chasing the cat..well that cat would be lunch.

Dogs will often kill small animals but very rarely do they eat what they kill. They just bring it to the house and present it to us with a look of, hey see what I brought for you, or stash it somewhere to be rolled on later.

There are many documented cases of dogs chasing someone on a bike and ending up biting that person. I am sure the dog had no intention of killing the person, but the end game of a prey driven chase is to bite something.

The predatory drive in a wolf is very intense and strong, that is why wolf-dog hybrids do not make good pets, you never know which animal you are going to be dealing with, thus making them unpredictable and dangerous for the average pet owner.

Dogs and wolves are both pack driven animals

There is much discussion in the modern dog training world that says that dogs are not true pack animals like wolves are, because a true pack is composed of a mated pair and their off-spring, all of which are related by blood and have a structured hierarchy that determines the ranking within that pack.

With all due respect to those of this opinion, I say bull shit.

I have raised over 50 litters of Blue German Shepherds since 1976 and I can say that without a doubt that the Mother is the highest ranked member of the pack, and she sets the rules for the rest of her litter, but when you take the Mother out of the picture and take a look at how the pups interact in her absence you will quickly see the beauty of the drive for pack rank in all its natural glory.

Note: If the Father of the pups is still around he will not usually take part in the up bringing of the pups.

That is one of the differences between dogs and wolves, in a wolf pack the Father is usually the Alpha and participates in the raising of his pups.

 

One of the tests I perform to determine the temperament of my pups is to toss a high value food reward like raw chicken or a pork chop in the pen with the pups and watch as they jostle, push, snarl, growl, snap, and bite to determine who is going to get and keep the prize.

The pup that pushes and bites the hardest and has the most confidence in his or her abilities will get the prize and rise to the top of the pack hierarchy and solidify their ranking in the family pack.

This struggle for pack rank continue throughout the life of the dog, even when they are taken home with a person they immediately begin to test and search for their rank in the new family pack.

If you already have dogs at home they have established their ranking and when a new member is added you will see them jostle and test to determine the new ranking order. While dogs are intelligent enough to know that people are not dogs that does not stop them from trying to find their place in the family unit, and to them, people are a part of the pack.

Dogs and Wolves Love To Dig

Wolves love to dig digging, they can dig a hole big enough for a 6 foot man to hide in.

Dogs and wolves dig holes for various reasons here a few of them.

• wolves dig holes to prepare a den for the upcoming new litter as would a dog if they had no other option.
• both dogs and wolves dig because it`s fun.
• dogs and wolves dig to un-earth small rodents, rabbits, or roots that are edible.
• dogs and wolves get bored and dig to alleviate the boredom.
• dogs and wolves dig holes to keep cool, the earth is a very efficient air conditioner.

Dogs and wolves are both territorial

For a wolf being territorial is very important to the survival of the pack. They will guard their territory with their lives. Often because resources are limited ( food and mates) sometimes a wolf will run off or kill another wolf or dog for trespassing on territory they have marked as theirs. Some people think that a wolf will mate with feral dogs but this is a myth, a dog would be viewed as a threat or a meal, in either case they would most likely be killed.

Dogs and wolves are destructive

Intelligence and curiosity are the reasons why dogs and wolves love to tear apart everything they see. By the age of three months they want to find out what that thing is made of, and will use their teeth and paws with great intensity. You can train a domesticated dog not to do this, but you cannot train a wolf to stop this behavior, and it would be very wrong to try.

Dogs and wolves love to howl

There are many reasons why dogs and wolves howl, here are a few of them.

• They are grieving the loss of a pack member.
• They are preparing for a hunt, or celebrating a successful kill.
• They howl to alert other pack members of a threat.
• They howl because it’s fun.
• They howl because of reasons we know nothing about.

Dogs and wolves are possessive

Both animals will guard what they perceive to be of great value, usually food. They will guard that object with force if need be, until they have no further use for it. When one of my pups becomes possessive, I always use what I call, “give me that and I will give you this”. For example if my dog is guarding a bone that has no meat on it, I will offer him a piece of tasty chicken or steak in exchange for the bone. The dog will gladly give me the bone, it’s a win-win situation.

If you liked today’s post on what is the difference between dogs and their cousins the wolf,  you can let me know by liking my Face Book Page, River Valley Dog Training, or better still why not subscribe to my blog so you never miss one of my exciting and informative musings..lol

all the best.

Harley

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Key To Understanding Your Dog, Is In Knowing It’s Nature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been called worse, but I guess you could call me a self educated naturalist.

I find it very interesting and quite frankly grounding, to observe nature in action without outside influence.

The fall reminds me of the times as a young boy when the leaves changed colors
and could no longer cling to the trees, and there was that nip of winter in the
air, my  Uncle Eldon would say,

`Well it`s time to get the traps out and lay the line for winter.“

We would spend hours walking through the woods looking for signs of our quarry
and discussing the best spots to set the traps.

We would look at an old log that had fallen over a
natural animal trail, and ponder if it was high enough off the ground to
ensure a bobcat would have to go under it and not jump over..

Because the nature of the bobcat is to be stealthy, so that means low to the ground
and when faced with the option of jumping over something and possibly giving away
their position, or belly crawl under something they will inevitably go under the
log, thus our reasoning for placing he trap under the log to increase the likelihood
of success.

Now I don`t trap and kill anything for any reason, that was the way my Uncle lived
out of necessity and he provided well for our family.

What I learned about the animals that lived in the woods around where I live, gave
me the knowledge to be able to communicate with our family dogs in the way nature
intended, by observing how they interact with one another and how their instincts
dictated how they behaved.

I learned how to think like a dog..

 

I learned from and early age that it is not possible to teach a dog to think like
a human, they are not that complex, but when you take the human factor out, and think
about your dog as an animal, with instincts and needs that are very different than that
of humans, then it becomes much easier to know what they instinctively and naturally need
to feel safe, protected and have a sense of well-being.

Dogs crave physical and mental exercise as well as strong leadership that sets clear and consistent
rules, boundaries, and a structured way of life.

When a dog’s natural needs are being met, they will feel that the pack is safe and not have
to deal with any stress.

Dogs have evolved to have a close bond with people, but I believe most people, (not all, but most)
have forgotten or don`t think about the dogs natural instincts, and relate to their dogs in a
very human way, and in my experience this is where people create the stress that causes their dogs
to develop behavior problems that for most dog owners is unmanageable.

But when I am called to come and help someone with their dog troubles, and I tell them that the
reason their dog is acting out is because of the way they interact with the dog on a daily basis,
and that the dogs natural instinctual needs are not being met, and that their dog`s temperament
is a direct result of the relationship they have formed with their dog,and that they simply don`t
understand their dogs needs, they look at me like I have three heads.

Here are a couple of tips for having well-behaved happy and balanced dogs..

 

Teach your dog to respect your personal space, at the door, on the stairs
and when you are watching t.v. or eating supper..

Don`t worry so much about if your dog sits before going out, but be more concerned about how your
dog behaves at the door., is he polite and gives you room to open the door, or is he jumping,and
pushing at you, nose right up against the door waiting to bolt out the door?

Teach your dog to have respect, for example if you get up to move through the house does your
dog get up in anticipation of your movements or do they lie in your way and force you to walk
around them or step over?

If you answered walk around or step over, you can be sure that something about your relationship
with your dog has gone wrong, and you will need to re-evaluate how you interact with your dog.

If you liked today’s post, then let me know by liking my Face Book Page

River Valley Dog Training

all the best,

Harley

Walking Your Dog Off Leash In Public Is A Very Bad Idea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier this week I was asked what I thought about videos that show people walking their dog or dogs on busy streets
without leashes.

I have watched many of these videos and what I see shows the hard work that some people put into their dogs training.

I too teach my dogs to follow me off leash and are trained to the highest level of reliability, so I understand the
dedication and commitment that is required to be successful, and trust your dog to obey you without hesitation or failure.

How they trained these dogs is of no concern to me..I could care less if they use a prong collar, e-collar or a horse
collar..

That being said, I do not recommend using anything that causes pain to train your dogs.

There are two things that really bother me about these videos..

1- These dog owners are putting the safety of their dogs and the public at risk..for the sake of their ego’s…plain and
simple…

I don’t care how well-trained and reliable you think your dogs are there is always the one in a million chance that
something unexpected will happen and spook your dogs..

-A car could backfire and spook one of the dogs into the street only to be hit by another car..or worse the car swerves to
avoid the dog and strikes a person on the sidewalk or crossing the street…

-Another off leash, less well-trained aggressive dog might be waiting around the next corner..and I know I would not want
to have a bunch of dogs off leash when something like that happened..

I could go on for hours about what could very well happen at any given moment…but I won’t bore you.

That’s why I would never take my dogs out into the pubic with being leashed..even though I know I could..back in the day I
walked a pack of 23 dogs off leash through the fields and woods of my family farm.,and my dogs that I have today are
trained to follow me off leash..but never on the roadway without being leashed.

NEVER

Just because you can do something don’t mean you should..

The second thing that concerns me a little less about these types of videos is that they are blatantly self-serving..

For the most part these people are trying to get noticed or get a million hits on their YouTube channel.. and screams
loudly..”look at me”, “see what I can do.”

There is no educational value to these videos, as they do not teach people the skills they need to develop to have well
trained dogs that look to them for guidance…in my opinion these videos serve only one purpose and that is to gain
attention and are strictly ego driven non-sense.

It really pisses me off when I see people put their dogs safety and that of the public at risk just to make themselves look
good and sell a few more trinkets or tee-shirts.

If you like today’s post you can let me know by liking my Face Book Page River Valley Dog Training..

Thank you all for your support..

all the best

Harley

All Positive Dog Training, Is It Really Enough?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not one to be controversial, or stir up sh*t, and I might take
some criticism for today’s post but hey, I promised to always speak
my mind and tell you the truth as I see it, thus today’s post is
about all positive dog training…is it really enough?

Nope, I don’t believe it is.

It’s good in theory.

But has a couple of fatal flaws.

Now don’t get me wrong, for some dogs all positive training does
work, but for the vast majority of dogs that I have worked with,
all positive training does not go far enough.

I think having a positive approach to dealing with your puppy or
dog is very important, and the use of treats comes in very handy
when teaching your dog to come, sit, down, stay..however that being
said I believe that sometimes you have to control your dogs
behavior and in some instances that means using a negative
consequence to modify emotional state and behavior.

This doesn’t mean you have to hurt you dog, but I think using a
tool like the time out works wonders for a dog who is a little bit
out of control.

It effectively modifies the behavior and changes the emotional
state of the puppy or dog.

For example if I am working a dog on a long line and suddenly he
gets too excited and begins to bully a dog he is playing with..I
will first step on the long line and then pick it up and give a
little tug..just enough to get his attention..the tug is his
warning..settle down now or I will reel you in and you will have to
sit by me for 5 minutes and watch the other doggies at play, in
other words I will take away your freedom.

This is very powerful and the dog is much better behaved when I
release him again to play.

Or, perhaps your 4 month old puppy is biting a little to hard and
you know that he knows better because you have taught him to use a
gentle mouth..then taking him by the collar and giving him a 3
minute time out is very powerful in sending the message that biting
people is not acceptable, and if he does it he will get a negative
consequence for his actions.

I have learned a lot about being a parent from dog training. The
German Shepherds I have raised are very intelligent and have the
learning capabilities of a 3-year-old child.

Most times my children were well-behaved but there were times when
things got a little to out of control and I or my wife had to step
in and put an end to it.

It wouldn’t make any sense for me to say to my children, “If you
stop pulling hair and slapping one another I will give you a
popsicle..my god they would be slapping and pulling hair 24/7.

Instead I always give them a warning by going in the room and in a
stern voice I would say, “Now if you don’t settle down and quit
hurting one another I am going to sit you in a hardwood chair in the
middle of the floor and you won’t be able to play with anyone or
anything for 10 minutes.”

This is very powerful..no child wants to sit and watch other kids
playing and having fun while they sit on a chair watching..so the
likelyhood of that child slapping or pulling hair is less apt to
happen again.

I did not hurt my child with the negative consequence, but their
behavior was modified and the emotional state was changed.

The other flaw that I have observed, and I have tried many of these
positive reinforced methods of training..classical conditioning,
threshold training, counter conditioning, ect.

While I have no doubt that they work in most instances..the problem
lies in the amount of time it takes to get results..

The average dog owner does not want to spend a lot of time training
their dogs, they want it to be quick and they want it to work.

If the training takes up to much of their already stretched thin time..they will not be consistent enough and many will simply give up.

That’s why I believe that my method of training works the best..I can accomplish in days what positive reinforced training takes weeks if not months to accomplish, and once I have shown people the steps they need to take to put the laws of nature that govern all dogs in place, they too see positive results in a very short order.

That’s all for today, if you liked this post let me know by liking my Face Book Page River Valley Dog Training.

And if you have any questions or comments, put them in the spot below.

All the best,

Harley

Why I Think Most Dog Obedience Classes Are A Waste Of Your Time And Money

Let me begin by saying that with all things there are exceptions to the rule.

and now on with my story…

I left this place scratching my head in total confusion.

I kept thinking to myself on the ride home, “Is this what dog training
has evolved into?”

Let me tell you why I will never set foot in another dog obedience class, and why I think they are a total waste of time and good money.

A few years back when I was first starting my online dog training
business, I decided to visit a few obedience classes to see what all the
fuss was about.

What I saw made me more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of
rocking chairs.

There were people walking their dogs in and out of cone pylons, zigging
and zagging in any number of geometric patterns, none of which I could see
had any real world applications, and every so often they would have the
dog sit for maybe 2 seconds and then give the dog a treat.

Not once did the instructor speak about corrections or discipline, which
by the way is one of the corner stones of my dog training philosophy.

I did not see anything that would help keep a dog from jumping up on
people or stealing food off the counter, or be able to be around other
dogs without reacting, which is what most people want from their dogs,
and the thought of treating a dog for basically nothing at all really
made my skin crawl.

Everything the dogs did in these classes was motivated by food rewards.
Not only is this impossible it’s not something you will see in nature.

So I put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and did some investigating.

I asked several people I knew that had problems with their dogs and more
often than not these people had at one time or another had their dogs in
obedience class.

Fast forward 6 years

If anything has changed it’s been for the worse, most of my work is un-
doing what was done to the dogs in a formal obedience class. You only
need to look at the streets in your neighborhood to find dogs pulling
people down the street, and if you knock on any number of doors you will
inevitably hear someone yell, “There’s someone at the door put the dog
away!”, followed by uncontrolled insane barking.

These dogs won’t sit for more than a few seconds, rarely will come when
called without being bribed, and forget about holding a stay for any
length of time, it’s just not going to happen.

The simple truth is that dogs and their owners who attend formal
obedience classes are not taught the correct way and much of what they
are taught is unnecessary.

This is why I think the dog training obedience classes are a waste of your
time and money, not to mention detrimental to your dogs well-being.

People don’t want their dog to be like the “Littlest Hobo”

Most of the people I work with just want well-mannered dogs that for the
most part are easy to handle and stay out of trouble. So you have to ask
yourself..

With the large number of dogs coming out of obedience class with no
usable skill and in most cases worse off than when they went in, is it
the dogs fault, the owners fault, or it the methodology messed up?

So just in case you’re not convinced by my insightful posting and you are
hell-bent on taking your new puppy  or dog to obedience class..here’s my number
506-375-4143.

Keep it in a safe place cause I will be hearing from you real soon.

If you liked this post then let me know by liking my facebook page River Valley Dog Training

if you look to your left you will see the big like button just give it a click..

Your support is very much appreciated.

All the best

Harley

The #2 Reason Your Dog Won’t Obey Your Commands, He or She Is A “Willy Wag Junkie”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have talked about how getting your dog to focus on you is critical to having a well-mannered dog that pays attention to you and obeys your commands. Today I will talk about the #2 reason your dog is being “bad” or “disobedient.”

The reason is too much adrenalin, or “Willy-wag juice”.

We have all heard the stories about the 110 lb Mother who lifted a 2 ton car off their child, and other stories of incredible feats of strength or endurance. This is all possible because of one thing, and that thing is a sudden burst of adrenalin.

All animals have this primal urge to survive, and when faced with danger, all animals including us
humans have that survival response that tells us to fight or run away.

The moment that the decision is made to either fight or run,the brain gives the body a short burst of
adrenalin. It is during this short burst of drug induced, increased strength,stamina and
focus, that these amazing feats we read about take place.

The burst is short-lived and then the body is usually spent of energy and slowly returns to normal.

But that being said just like some of us humans are adrenalin junkies who live for the rush of
impending danger, most dogs I see are adrenalin junkies too.

I hear dog owners say their dog is being “disobedient” when he pulls on the lead, or is “bad” because he barks non-stop, but the reality is, these dogs are simply living life in the willy-wags.

Unfortunately a lot of dogs live a very sedentary life, they just lay around the house with not much if any mental or physical release.

This is a very stressful way for a dog to live.

What happens is, one day the stress gets to be too much and the dog starts to whine, or turn circles,
or bark with intense focus. These behaviors will be easy to recognize because they are different from
your dogs normal behavior.

The will have a distinct pattern to them, like the beat of a drum.

The barking would be like, woof,,,woof,,,woof,,,woof,,,all while staring at nothing, and if you give them a command it will most likely go unrewarded.

They will be that focused on what ever is stressing them out.

The adrenalin kicks in and the dog gets a high off the dopamine, runs off into the willy-wags and
quickly learns to create 90 degrees turns in their lives so they can get their fix and feel better.

Once your dog has gone into the willy-wags, it’s too late for you to give any commands, your dog is
just not going to hear you. The part of their brain that helps them think and make good choices, simply shuts off.

He is now just reacting to the situation he’s in.

You will not be able to engage your dog until you get him back under control, and for most dog owners this can be difficult at best, and down right impossible, not to mention dangerous in some cases of aggression, because the dog has gone, he’s not aware of you right now.

When dogs are this crisis mode, extreme physical correction is needed to try to prevent harm to any
people or dogs that are nearby, and this is when it becomes very dangerous for the dog’s handler.

What you need to do is make sure your dog never goes off into the willy-wags, and keep him there. It’s that simple.

Think about it like this:

If you were driving down the highway and saw a sign that said,

DANGER! 90 DEGREE TURN AHEAD!!

Would you slow down as soon as you saw the sign or would you wait until your car was skidding in
circles before you did anything?

You would most likely slow down as soon as you saw the sign, and maneuver your car safely around the turn and not skid off into the willy-wags.

It’s the same with your dog, let’s say he’s dog aggressive.

You are out walking him and suddenly he sees another dog.

From past experience you know he is going to react,

so what do you do?

Do you let your dog pull you straight toward that other dog at 100 miles and hour and end up in the
willy-wags? Or do you read the signs of aggression, ie the sudden focused staring and whining/barking at the dog that triggered his stress, and interrupt your dog and slow him down?

The answer is obvious, you read the signs of the impending adrenalin rush, and put the brakes on your dog to slow him down, get his focus back on you by moving the dog away from the trigger and working some obedience training, or engage your dogs prey drive in a high spirited game of tug of war.

Then safely maneuver him past the other dog, thus avoiding the #2 reason your dog  won’t obey your commands.

Here is something important to understand, I think I’ll bold this.

You only have about 2-4 seconds from the time your dog focuses on a target until he goes into adrenalin overload. Don’t hesitate take action before your dog reacts.

It’s imperative that you learn how to interrupt the adrenalin rush before it happens, if you don’t, you’re going to have behavior troubles and it’s not going to be good for you or your dog.

If you like this post be sure to leave a comment and like my Face Book Page 

 

 

 

All the best,

Harley

Why More Than One Dog Is Bad News For New Dog Owners

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes new dog owners think they should get two puppies so they will grow up with another dog for
company. I don’t think this is a very good idea, and if you are an inexperienced dog owner/trainer it will
be hard enough for you to work with one puppy let alone two. Just think about the middle of the night
pee breaks.

You will be grouchy enough with one pup,so how will you feel when you take the first one
out at 1:45, get back to bed and start to drift when, the other one has to go. This will go on until
the pups can hold their water for at least 7 hours. They will in most cases be between 10-12 months old
when this happens,but it really depends on your dog.This is the first reason why more than one dog is
bad news for new dog owners.

The second reason I base on emails I get from people who do have more than one dog in the home. The 
problems they are experiencing  could be as a result of having more than one foster or rescued dog, or
they got a new pup to give their old dog a friend. Regardless of the situation the problems all have
one thread of behavior in common.They all say that the dogs seemed fine for a while and then all of a
sudden, something bad happened.

Either one pup attacked the other and he needed 50 stitches to close the wound on his rump, or the younger pup has been terrorizing the old dog and now the old boy won’t come out from under the bed, and he refuses to eat. Grand Father dogs can get down in the dumps real easy if a puppy is tormenting them. Sometimes if the old boy has still got the drive to fight, the pup might not make it out alive. These problems occurred because new dog owners who have very little experience with dogs,make the mistake of thinking dogs can work things out for themselves, well I know from 45 years of experience, they won’t just sit down have a bone and talk about it, they are going to dust it up, that’s the dog way.

If left untrained there will be jostling between two dogs for highest rank in the family pack.This
genetically driven instinct has a powerful effect on how your dog will behave, and this is where new
dog owners make a huge mistake. In the case of getting two puppies, not separating these dogs in
different crates the moment they came into the house. In the case of one pup and one older adult dog the pup needs to be crated.

With the right training, these dogs can eventually be together as long as they are being supervised by the owner.Don’t be falsely lured into thinking, “Oh, I am only going to the store, I’ll be 5 minutes, they’ll be fine.” You might come back to a house that is torn to hell and find one dead dog, and one severely injured dog. You might want to read my article on how to break up a dog fight and not get bitten.

If you already have more than one dog in the house I suggest you get each one a crate and separate them and then begin to establish leadership with all your dogs. When dogs are in the presence of their leader, there will be no fighting, or foolishness of any kind.You might want to read this article I wrote on the subject.

How To Teach A  Grown Dog That You Are Leader

The third reason I think more than two dogs is bad news for new dog owners is because it’s hard enough with our busy lives to spend enough time socializing and training one dog but with two dogs your time will be too thinly spread, and both dogs will suffer because you will only be spending half the time with each dog that you should.

The result of this will be that your pups will grow up bonded and will want to spend more time together than with you. This might sound cute, puppies bonding and playing together, but you have to know that this pups will mature between 18- 24 months, this means that their drive for rank in the pack is going to sky-rocket, and these to bonded buddies are going to draw blood as they fight for rank in the pack.

That’s it for now

Harley

Why is My Dog So Hard to Train?

Every dog is unique, they have very different personalities and quirks. Some follow direction easily while others would rather set the rules for themselves. If you find you are asking the question, why is my dog so hard to train?, the answer lies in the understanding of your dog.

 

You might be thinking that your last dog was so easy to train, that it just don’t make any sense that this one should be more difficult. You must understand that there are a number of traits that may be the cause. The reason your training efforts are being hampered boils down to your dogs independent nature and the level of dominance he is displaying.

 

Let’s examine the issue of Confidence.

 

A confident dog likes to do things his way, he struts around with his tail curled high up over his back, and he will not take orders very well. He will definitely make you jump through hoops to prove that you deserve his attention. Prepare yourself for the growling when you try to take a favorite toy for him, and maybe even snap at you. This type of dog is trainable, and if you set clear, reasonable rules, boundaries, and limitations, and be consistent with what you want, your dog will learn that you are clearly in charge and your training efforts will get easier.

 

Let’s examine the issue of Independence

 

An independent dog may love you but will seem like he could care less if he pleases you. He will most likely be a loner, chooses not to play with other dogs, and not want to be petted, or groomed, and may protest when you try. He may turn away from you when you try to correct him.

 

Do not try to use physical force, ie, yanking the leash, yelling, ect, when trying to train an independent dog, they will resist and your training will go no where. The best way to train this kind of dog is to find what they like the best, ie, treats, or a toy, and use this to your advantage. When he is getting what he wants he will be more likely to be compliant.

 

If you take the time to learn about what makes your dog tick, your training efforts will be more successful, and you can stop asking the question, why is my dog so hard to train?

 

If you have questions about this or any topic, I would love to hear from you. You can contact me through the form beneath this post. Grab a free copy of my training report on How to have a well-trained dog in 4 easy steps. Just contact me through the form and I will send you a copy as soon as I can.

 

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