Break Your Dogs Bad Habits - What You Need to Know

It can be really stressful if your dog has bad habits that constantly annoy you and the people around you. It is important not to ignore the unfavorable behaviors of your canine friend. It is not easy to break your dog's bad habits but you have to start somewhere and teach your canine friend to behave.

There are a number of bad habits or behavior that dogs may develop like destructive chewing, digging, excessive barking and fighting with other dogs. It is best to train your dog to prevent these habits from forming or to unlearn these habits if your dog already acquired them. The following tips can be very helpful to break your dog's bad habits.

Fighting with other dogs. It is normal for dogs to argue with each other but you must prevent your dog to get into serious fight with other dogs to avoid getting harmed and to prevent him from hurting other dogs. To break your dog's bad habits of fighting with other dogs, you must expose him to social situations and teach your dog to socialize because this will develop the habit of playing with others rather that fight with them. Reward your dog with every good behavior for him to learn that he is doing the right behavior. Dogs can learn good manners in dealing with other dogs.

Destructive chewing. It is natural for dogs to chew, what is not natural is when the chewing becomes destructive. This behavior can be prevented or it can be unlearned with the proper management and teaching. The best thing to do is to keep him away from things that should not be chewed inside your house like your couch, slippers, clothes, etc. Confinement in a crate or a room with enough food, water to drink and chew toys is one way to break your dog's bad habits of chewing things inside your house. He will learn that he is only supposed to chew the chew toys and not everything around your house.

Digging behavior. Another inappropriate behavior of dogs is digging. Leaving your dog alone in the backyard or outside your house can lead to inappropriate habits like digging. If you are away from home, it is best to keep him indoors to prevent this digging behavior from forming. Sometimes boredom is the reason for dogs to form bad habits like digging so it is important to accompany him in the backyard to teach him the proper behavior. Help him form good habits that will stick on him even when left alone in the backyard.

Excessive or unnecessary barking. Barking is one important characteristic that dogs have. Dogs naturally bark so it is not normal to stop them from barking and besides, barking is a very useful behavior of dogs. But dog owners can do something to deal with dogs who are barking excessively to avoid annoying the neighbors. It is best not to leave excessively barking dog in the backyard or near the street because he can see many things that can trigger his barking. Leave your dog in a room (with enough food and water of course) where the sound of his bark will be contained and where excessive barking will not be triggered. Leave chew toys too so that he can play with it and forget about barking too much.

Although dogs have the tendency to form bad habits easily, with proper training and guidance it is not that hard to break your dog's bad habits. Learn more on how to house train your dog and raise an obedient dog. Visit Secrets to Dog Training

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including Break Your Dog's Bad Habits - What You Need to Know. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.