Breaking Your Dog of Bad Habits

To effectively train your dog to behave in the way you desire, you must first train yourself to respond to your dog in a consistent and timely manner. Discourage your dog's bad behavior each and every time you see it occur and use the same commands every time. Additionally, in order for training to be effective, your commands must occur while the dog is in the middle of a bad act - otherwise he will not know why you are reprimanding him.

How to Stop the Barking Dog - Dogs bark when they are bored, lonely or nervous, so a dog that gets regular exercise and socialization will be less inclined to bark. If you do not have the time to provide enough physical exercise for your dog, provide him with stimulating toys that he won't tire of easily. For instance, a hollow toy filled with peanut butter should keep your dog entertained for quite some time. If your dog's barking is due to nervousness, lessen his fear by giving him treats when he exhibits a nervous reaction to something or someone. Lastly, an alternative option is to purchase an anti-bark collar. Anti-bark collars typically emit an irritating noise or a release a harmless spray to deter your dog from barking.

How to Stop the Digging Dog - Dogs are bred with the instinct to bury leftover food. As this is an inane trait in all dogs it can be a tough habit to break. One way is to try to meet your dog halfway by providing a designated digging area in the yard. You can toss all his toys, half buried if you wish, into that designated corner and watch him go to work. If your dog moves off and begins digging in an area that is off limits, correct him immediately and take him back to his designated digging corner. You may also want to reinforce that it is acceptable to dig in this area by making scratching motions in the dirt using his paws (or your own)! When he starts to dig in the appropriate area again, praise him immediately. In order to teach your dog that certain areas of the yard are off limits for digging, you may want to try spreading ground pepper around those areas of the yard as a deterrent, or enclose your plants and flowers with garden fences or chicken wire. As a final option, limit your dog's access to the yard unless you are out there supervising him. However, keep in mind that if he does not get exercise running around the yard by himself, you will need to take him on plenty of walks and provide supervised activities for him.

How to Stop the Jumping Dog - Oftentimes when a dog jumps up people immediately pet him, which reinforces that jumping is an okay thing to do. To break your dog of this bad habit try using the following techniques. Rather than giving your dog attention when he jumps, ignore your dog and withhold all attention until he stops jumping and sits down on his own - then begin petting him and praising him. You may also want to command him to "sit" as soon as you see him getting ready to jump. Make sure everyone in the house does the same in order to be consistent.

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