One of the most difficult but important commands to teach any dog is the self control of “stay”. Most people seem to try to teach it the same way and have unreliable results. A few of the problems I see happen include:
What does one have to do with the other? Right now, we are all excited about the longer days and warmer nights. For us, that means more time to spend with our dogs getting closer to the magnificent area we live in. Not a moment goes by for the dog lovers of the Wood River Valley, that we are not thinking about long hikes and getting back to nature, especially now after an incredibly hard winter.
In a nutshell, when we spoil our dogs, we set them up for all sorts of behavior problems and emotional discord. The biggest one is separation anxiety. But, there are other very unfavorable behaviors such as possession aggression and even dominance aggression. All become very difficult to reverse once the dog begins this slippery slope.
When we think of socializing our puppy or new adult dog, we think of letting them have free time, playing, chasing and being with other dogs so our puppy or dog grows up to like other dogs. “Socialization” is MUCH more than that! Socialization means experiencing ALL things in life! It also sets the stage for teaching your new dog or puppy to TRUST you.
Years ago, most people never bothered with socializing their dogs. As a kid, we never did and yet our family dog was friendly with people and never ran off to play with other dogs. In fact, we were the only people on our block that had a dog! Now, dog owners have clearly gotten the message that socialization is extremely important to the development of their puppies.
Ah.. how warm and soohtng it is to have your best furry friend sleeping beside you at night in bed! The comfort our dog can give us is incomparable. While it is so comforting for us, we should think about whether it is comforting for your dog. At first sight, it might seem so, but afte
It’s funny to watch dogs play and make new friends. They speak with their bodies to each other which is so fascinating. One of the most common behaviors is that one dog will stick their rear end in the face of another dog. This behavior can have many meanings in the dog world, like almost any behavior. We humans like to compartmentalize behaviors – one meaning to each behavior. It seems to make the dog world easier for us to understand. But, that simply is not true. Just like our human language, one word can have many meanings, like the word, “run”. Merriam-Webster lists EIGHT different meanings of the word, “run”! Incredible!
More and more, people come to me with incredibly difficult canine behavior problems. One of the first things I express to my clients is to get a thorough physical exam for their dog with their veterinarian. With many cases, the behavior problem cannot be addressed until the physical problem is addressed. This is one reason why I include looking at health in general with every dog I work with. I examine food. Things like junky dog food contribute to behavior issues just like junk food contributes to behavior issues with kids.
Most people think Separation Anxiety occurs when their dog becomes destructive when they leave the dog home alone. The reality is that Separation Anxiety begins long before that. Sometimes, it starts when a dog starts following an owner around the house, never letting the owner be out of sight. Other clues about the beginnings of separation anxiety can be a dog that constantly asks for petting or leans continually on the owner. The dog may even sleep on the owner’s feet or constantly “needs” to be in bed with their owner. Feeling like this is affection or “bonding”, many owners freely return the demand of affection, unknowingly engaging the dog in further “needy” behavior and DEPENDENCE upon the owner to soothe their discomfort.
I’ve written about senior dogs before, but I haven’t always written about the quality of life for your senior dog. The veterinary community usually considers a dog that is about 8 years old to be senior. I have an eleven and a half year old that is going amazingly strong – Brinx who is Baewulf’s brother. Many of you know I lost Baewulf very recently to a “cancer storm” that took him very quickly. I was very worried about Brinx because dogs that are close in age, especially siblings tend to leave this world very close together.
AFTER AN EXTENDED MEDICAL LEAVE, I WILL BE RETURNING TO WORK MARCH 1st!
