Chewing, Digging, Barking, Chewing, Digging, Barking, Chewing.

Obsessive behaviors are one of the most common reasons that dogs are brought to animal shelters. Most of the time, these are family pets that are friendly, loyal, and all-around good dogs. But their "people" cannot handle their chewing, digging, or barking any longer. Unfortunately, a lot of these dogs are then placed in new homes and exhibit the same obsessive behavior, and a terrible cycle is established.

Why do dogs DO THAT?

All three of these behaviors are quite normal for a dog to do. A dog that lies down with a good "chewie" is one happy dog! Dogs make their own "beds" by digging a good hole in the ground. It keeps them warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Wild dogs, and some domesticated ones enjoy the sound of their own voice, and like to "sing to the moon." The problem arises when we people feel it is not appropriate for the dogs to do what comes natural to them. ...

Is Your Dog Scared of Loud Noises? Thunder? Fireworks? Gunshots?


Does your dog shake during thunderstorms? Does she drool and hide on the Fourth of July? Is your gun-dog gun-shy? ...

Some dogs, due to certain or unknown circumstances, are not confident in themselves. This article will explore ways to help build confidence in a dog that is shy or scares easily, as well as dogs that may not be shy, but are on the bottom rung of the hierarchy ladder: the omega dog. Both of these types of dogs will share some characteristics, however usually their reasons for being less confident differ. Even so, many of the same techniques may apply to both types of dogs so I have included them both in the same article. First we will discuss shy and scared dogs.

A shy dog, or one that scares easily many times has been physically, verbally, and/or emotionally abused in their past. Other dogs may have not had any or enough human contact when they were puppies. And dogs that are brought up lovingly in a household but do not have the opportunity to leave the house and meet new dogs and people do not develop the confidence in themselves to handle new situations. Another problem these types of dogs often exhibit is separation anxiety, especially after becoming emotionally attached to a human in the household. ...

Work on obedience everyday, minimally twice, preferably 3 times/day for about 3-5 minutes each time. Work on Sits and Downs and Attention exercises, and reward with good treats. Always end each training session where the dog has earned a treat reward and praise.

Tell your dog several times/day that she's a good dog. Make a huge fuss over her anytime she does something that you like. When you teach new behaviors, ALWAYS praise her whenever she does something good - she needs that feedback in order to know what behaviors you are requiring of her.

Always remember that a dog is a dog - not a human in a furry suit. All behaviors that dogs do are natural to dogs - we just need to teach them what WE want them to do in order to live in harmony with US. ...

A long time ago wolves became dogs – or dogs became some sort of tamed wolf. ;-) Ever since then, a lot has changed for our canine friends. But, despite numerous intensive attempts by human breeders to achieve the “perfect” companion, some things never changed – their most basic instincts. Hunting is one of them – and probably the one the hardest to deal with for all dog owners in this world……

In general, we differ between two different types of hunters:
Type A loves coursing: a quick movement in the corner of the eye is enough to take off at full speed. Type B prefers trailing – finding a track and following it, whatever else may happen. No matter what type of dog you have, keep in mind one thing: hunting is a self-rewarding behaviour. You can’t imagine how many speed junkies I have seen taking off all of a sudden, chasing birds they KNEW they couldn’t get just for the fun of it, only to come back with a big, “shitty grin” on their faces…. During such a hunt, a whole cocktail of hormones is being mixed inside the dog’s body – with endorphins playing a major role, right after adrenalin. This is a very powerful combination and it requires a lot of time, patience and effort on your part to beat this! ...