Should I Get a Dog?

Here’s a very simple way to decide whether or not you should buy, adopt, rescue or foster a dog. Check all that apply, then find what you score below.

¨ A member(s) of your household hates, fears or has allergies to dogs or has religious beliefs that dogs defile our homes and bodies.

¨ You have other pets in your household that do not get along with dogs.

¨ You have young children that are out of control.

¨ Your lifestyle has no routine.

¨ Your lifestyle requires that you not be home more than 12 hours a day and you cannot find a reliable replacement.

¨ You cannot financially afford maintaining a healthy physical, medical and psychological environment for your dog.

¨ You do not want to keep the dog in your home and are planning on leaving it in a garden, on a rooftop or on a balcony.

¨ You are already deciding whether you are getting a dog and you haven’t googled “how to housebreak my dog” yet.

¨ Your marriage or domestic partnership is tumultuous.

¨ You cannot find a reliable source to bring your dog from.

¨ You are replacing a departed dog or person.

¨ You are less than 12 years old.

¨ Your child wants a dog.

¨ You expect your child to take responsibility for the dog.

¨ You think dogs are human babies.

¨ You think you are a dog.

¨ There is physical or verbal abuse in your household.

¨ You are anti-social.

¨ You have owned a dog previously and had to give it up or euthanize it because of behavioral issues.

¨ You believe that a dog needs to be controlled and not trained

If you checked any of the above criteria: YOU ARE NOT READY TO HAVE A DOG. If you don’t get why, then you REALLY are not to ready to have a dog.

Play-Time

Playing is another very important dog need. Play-time is a time for bonding, discipline, stimulation and fun for both your dog and yourself. As much as its important to play with your dog, your dog must also learn to play alone at times. Teaching your dog how to play on its own is crucial to avoid destructive behaviors, stress from boredom and to keep your dog busy when its alone.

TOYS
Dog toys fall into four categories: Toys that squeak, toys that bounce, toys for chewing (includes chews and rawhide) and smart toys.
Toys that bounce should only be taken out when you are playing with your dog. In other words keep all balls away from your dog unless you are about to play fetch with it. Once you are done playing make sure you put the ball away for your next fetch play session.
Smart toys are a genre of toys developed to challenge your dog as it tries to figure out how to get treats out of them, the most famous are Kong toys, but there are a wide variety of toys available to challenge your dog.

In general make sure your dog has one squeaky toys, one chew toy and one smart toy always available. Do not leave more than these three toys out at a time, or else your dog will get bored and will find other things to chew on like your shoes or socks.

So your dog never gets bored of its toys make sure you are constantly changing the toys every one to two days. So if today your dog is playing with their squeaky newspaper tomorrow you can replace that with a their squeaky duck, or if today your dog is chewing on its Nyla-rope tomorrow you can give it a rawhide bone.

Smart toys are great to keep your dog busy when you are leaving it alone. Most smart toys can be stuffed with different treats such as dry food, cream cheese or peanut butter (The health-food grade type). You can even keep your dog's smart toys in the freezer to add to the challenge. Make sure when you first introduce your dog to a new smart toy. Keep it simple so it is not discouraged and loses interest in the toy.

Remember that you should always ask your dog to perform a command before giving it any of its toys.

Playtime with You
1) I cannot begin to even count how many people play extremely inappropriately with their dogs teaching them bad habits and chronically stressing their dog out. Never play the following games with your dog: Chasing each other, chasing the dog when it fetches, tug-of-war, rough-play and wrestling, teasing and taunting using a toy (please refer to this post on more information why these games are unacceptable)

2) Teach your dog to find things using its nose: The most exciting game you can play with your dog is teaching it to find things. You can start off with hiding treats around the house or yard and having your dog find them. When your dog's sense of smell develops you can hide different toys and ask your dog to find it.

3) Fetch is an extremely fun game to play with your dog, but it should never be the main game you play. Fetch like any repetitive activity will cause a stress build up in your dog. Dogs that chase cats and have a high predatory drive should not be playing fetch, it is preferable that you play find it with these dogs so that they can learn some self-restraint. You can play fetch with your dog 2-3 times a week and only 4-5 throws at a time.

4) Dog puzzles have been recently developed and are a great game for you to play with your dog. Puzzles are an activity for you and your dog and should not be left for the dog alone. Puzzles offer different levels of challenge for your dog to master as it tries to figure out how to get a treat either by picking, pulling, rotating or a combination of different moves to obtain the treats. Always start simple so your dog doesn't get discouraged and gradually increase the difficulty. Remember again to always ask your dog to perform a command before they are allowed to play.




HAPPY PLAYTIME!!!

Leash-walking: More Than Just Exercise...

At a very young age it is extremely important to teach your dog proper leash-walking, regardless of its breed or size. Proper leash-walking means that your dog walks at a leisurely pace behind you on a loose leash, in sync with your pace, leaving you to decide where to go. Proper leash-walking is your dog walking calmly behind you oblivious to the cat darting in front of it, or the friendly dog up ahead pulling and yapping to greet it. Good leash manners make walks an extremely pleasurable time for both the owner and the dog.

How often and how long one should walk their dog is entirely dependent on the dog's age, health and breed requirements, but even the smallest breeds also need to be walked on leash. Too little walking has its own suite of behavioral issues as does too much walking. So always pay attention to your dog's posture and demeanor when walking your dog, a dog who pulls frantically at the leash or is extremely reactive to sounds is just as exhausted or stressed out as dog who shuffles along with their head held down.

Walking your dog is more than just exercise, it is a special time to bond with your dog, it is the time when your dog understands that you are in control, that as long as you are with your dog it is safe and that you will protect it, not it protecting you. It is frequently the case that when people walk their dogs, the dogs are pulling ahead of their owner, these dogs are stressed out because instead of enjoying their walk, they are burdened by a sense of responsibility to protect their owner. The relationship between an owner and dog is mirrored in leash-walking.

Whether it is a puppy or an older dog that you are retraining to walk properly on leash, the same principles apply.

1) Use a harness: Collars, pinch collars or choke collars make walking extremely unpleasant for a dog. It is the time to build calmness and restraint so the walk is enjoyable to the dog. How do we expect a dog to feel calm when there is something around their neck choking it. We might see desired result of the dog not pulling, but a dog fearful of getting their air supply cut off will never associate walking with a pleasant experience and stress will constantly build-up. Harnesses allow the dog during the training period to pull, but not experience extremely negative associations with leash-walking, that could manifest as, but is not limited to, lunging and leash aggression.

2) A calm exit is the start of a calm walk: If your dog sees the harness and leash and starts jumping excitedly, then know that your dog will most probably continue the walk excitedly. I recommend especially with older dogs that are being retrained to keep the harness on during the day and not limit putting it on just during the walk. I also recommend taking out the leash frequently in front of these dogs and not putting on, in addition to putting the leash on but taking the dog for a walk around the house, then unleashing it and doing another indoor activity that is not high energy, like for instance asking it to lie down and stay and of course rewarding it.

3) Build focus both indoors and outdoors: Building focus is your way of always being able to get your dog's attention regardless of the distraction. Whether it is a pack of stray dogs or people taunting and teasing your dog as you walk it. Building focus is a simple exercise that you should start indoors with your dog in a calm setting with no distractions. Call your dog or make a sound and when your dog makes eye contact with you reward it. Once your dog has mastered this indoors you can slowly start using it outdoors. Be extremely alert and cognizant of your surroundings and when you suspect a situation that your dog is likely to react to, call its name or make a sound before it has the opportunity to react, once it makes eye contact with you reward it and continue walking. If you feel it will be hard for your dog to ignore the distraction ask your dog to sit and stay and then reward it. Eventually if you are successful your dog will automatically look at you when faced with any distraction, make sure you either reward it with a treat or praise.

4) No pulling: No pulling is a rule that applies to both you and your dog. Never pull your dog or jerk it during a walk. Always keep a loose leash. If your dog learns to walk on a tight leash, then it starts thinking that the acceptable way to walk is on a tight leash and will always seek the tightness in the leash either by pulling or behaving in a way that will make you pull. To avoid leash pulling pay attention to your dog, if it starts walking ahead of you, stop and stand still before your dog starts to pull. If it does start to pull make sure you stand still but do not pull against your dog's pulling, also make sure you never speak to it, tell it NO or STOP, it is important to remain silent . If your dog is too excited, it is sometimes beneficial to walk in the opposite direction they are pulling in. Finally, if your dog is lingering behind and is refusing to walk because they are too interested in something else, patiently face the direction you want to walk in and not the direction of your dog, wait patiently, calling your dog or making a sound. If your dog does not respond, I recommend walking using a leash at half-length and when your dog lingers and ignores your calls to extend the leash to full length and take a few steps in the direction you want to walk in.

5) Use your body language: Dogs respond to visual cues more than auditory cues, so make sure that you are always walking facing the direction you want your dog to walk in.

6) Stay calm: Always stay calm regardless of the situation you and your dog maybe confronted with during your walk. A dog can sense your nervousness from small subtle actions like holding the leash tighter. The value of good leash-walking is not just limited to enjoyable walks and bonding, it can also seriously protect you and your dog. During one of our walks Loza and I stumbled into the territory of a pack stray nursing mother dogs, immediately these dogs surrounded us, circling us while barking and snapping at us. I reacted very calmly to this situation and called Loza and despite her fear she made eye contact with me and I rewarded her. We walked calmly through this pack of dogs that could have easily hurt both of us had either of us reacted fearfully.

Happy leash-walking!!!

Crate-Training: Creating a Safe-Space and Eliminating Unwanted Behaviors

One of the most useful and compassionate, yet often misunderstood and misused aspects of dog training is "crate training". When suggesting crate training, most people take a look at the crate and immediately become horrified, "I can't lock my dog up in a cage". While others who have attempted crate training almost always tell me, "I tried to crate train my dog, but now there is no way it will even come near the cage. Even if I leave their favorite food or toy". Crate training is neither cruel or difficult and when done correctly your dog will not fear, avoid or hate the crate, but will consider it their very own safe place.

About a month ago, my little rescue crate-trained Arty was cruelly kidnapped during one of our walks in the park. Eleven days later she was returned to me. Upon entering the house, little Arty ran straight to her crate rolling around in it, before she even came to greet me. I don't think I realized till that day the sense of security that dogs develop when properly crate-trained.

Crate-training is not only a great way for your dog to develop a sense of safety and its very own private space, it is also a great way to teach young puppies bladder control and eliminate unwanted destructive behaviors like chewing and separation anxiety.

Crate-training is a gradual process for a dog who has never had a negative experience with confinement. It is even a slower and more gradual process for a dog whose had a negative experience with confinement.

1) Make the crate comfortable: Make sure your dogs crate is comfortable, line it with a thick warm rug, place soft bedding and cover it so its nice, dark and cozy.
2) Make the crate interesting:: Put your dogs favorite toys in the crate. Include long lasting stimulating toys like a Kong or their favorite chew toys. You can even feed your dog inside the crate.
3) Never force your dog into the crate: Gradually introduce your dog to the crate, never push it in, carry it or shove it. The dog must enter the crate through its own curiosity. If you feel you need to force your dog, then STOP, reflect for a minute and take it slow.
4) Gradual, gradual, gradual.. : Crate-training is a gradual process, don't expect to bring a crate and for your dog to settle in the crate immediately, depending on the dog's age and previous experience it could take up to ten days. Start with just having your dog explore the crate, keep the door open, allow the dog to go in and out as it pleases for a few days. You can even tie its favorite chew in the crate so it doesn't take it out and can only enjoy it while inside. Pick a time when you know your dog is tired and will want to sleep to introduce them to the crate. If you are lucky your dog will fall asleep in the crate. Every day while your dog is either napping or busy enjoying their chew gradually close the door just a little bit more without eliciting a reaction from your dog. Once you are able to completely shut the door make sure you do not lock it at a time your dog will want to play or go outside. Start locking the crate at times you are sure your dog will not want to go out.
5)Use reverse-psychology: Once you see that your dog has started to love the crate, keep it closed with your dog's favorite toy or chew inside. Watch your dog as it tries to get into the crate to get its toy and then let it enter the crate.
6) Never use the crate to punish your dog: Once your dog is okay with the crate it should never be used as a punishment, it is in fact a reward for your dog. You should actually wait till your dog voluntarily enters the crate and then give it a treat by placing it on the floor of the crate.
7) Use it moderately: Once your dog is crate-training make sure that you only put the dog in the crate during their long sleep time, or for a maximum of 4-5 hours at time. Do not exceed it, it should not become constantly confined.
8) Never let your dog out of the crate if its barking or whining: If by any chance once you shut the door your dog starts whining or barking, do not let your dog out right away, wait till it stops then allow it out of the crate.
9)Do not give your dog a lot of attention when it comes out of the crate: Once you let your dog out of the crate do not give it a lot of attention this will only make the dog develop separation anxiety, a brief "hello" should suffice.
10) Keep it clean: Always keep the crate clean, if your dog accidentally poos or pees inside the crate, make sure you let your dog out right away and clean it up.

Happy crate-training and remember TAKE IT SLOW!!!

I am Human, You are Dog...

As I've mentioned before in my post on the roots of canine behavioral problems, species misunderstanding can be one of reasons you are experiencing behavioral problems with your dog, ranging from jumping on people to being pushy for attention or food or even biting on occasions. Dogs that do not understand the difference between humans and dogs can be extremely difficult and often-times even dangerous. By keeping some basic rules from when your dog is a puppy can really be the difference between a dog that understands that you are a human or a dog that cannot tell the difference between you and its con-specifics. When a dog thinks a human is another dog then this dog will naturally challenge the hierarchy in different life stages, such as during puberty or with other humans that they may consider weaker than you. We are not an Alpha-dog and we need our dogs to really comprehend this difference so your position in the hierarchy is never challenged. In many ways by keeping the boundaries clear you are making it clear to your dog that you are not part of any hierarchy that needs to be challenged.

1) Never let your dog lick your face or lick you continuously:
Licking in dogs can often times, when it is one or two licks, be considered affectionate, but excessive licking can also be a sign of establishing status. Especially licking your face. If you dog tries to lick make sure you immediately move away, you do not need to shout or say "no" or push the dog away, you merely just need to alter your body in a way that your dog does not get the opportunity to lick your face.

2) Never let your dog lean its hips or shoulders against you:
If you carefully watch adolescent dogs of the same sex and age you will notice that in their game playing they will eventually shift so a side-by-side position leaning against each other. This behavior is often interpreted as affection seeking and we often immediately start petting the dog relishing the attention they are seeking and thus unintentionally rewarding this behavior . In actuality what the dog is doing is a display of dominance, similarly as above, all you have to do is move away from this behavior and not give your dog the opportunity to lean against you.

3) Do not let your dog be at the same height as you, whether it is by letting it sleep in your bed or letting it sit next to you on the couch:
When we allow our dog to sleep in our bed or sit on our couches we are allowing them an equal status to us. While in principle we may love our dog like a member of our family and we may feel inclined to treat them equally, your dog will not interpret this behavior in the same way you do. In the dog's mind if they are allowed to be at the same height as you then for the dog it means that you are another dog and a participant in the dog hierarchy.
To avoid this behavior never allow your dog on these places and when your dog does try to climb, try and get into a position that makes it hard for your dog to climb up. In conjunction always make sure your dog has its own comfortable bed and places for it to relax on. When your dog is lying on its bed make sure you give it treats, a chew and a lot of attention. Eventually your dog will learn that when in their bed they get lots of positive experience and will naturally gravitate towards the space they associate with such positive experiences.

4) Never let your dog take your place when you get up:
Many of us notice that once they get up their dogs automatically take over their favorite spot. This is a direct challenge to the dog hierarchy, which you do not want to be part of. Make sure you sit down, ignore your dog and slowly inch your way into your original place till your dog is forced to get up on its own.

5) Always ask your dog to perform a command before giving it attention, food or treats:
Your dog must understand that nothing in life is for free, barking at you, or nudging you with their nose for attention or treats is unacceptable. If you reward this behavior your dog will become dominant and eventually start challenging your position because it will think you are part of the dog hierarchy.

6) Do not let your dog jump on you or other people
If you watch your dog interacting with other dogs you will notice that it jumps on certain dogs, usually those smaller in size or of the same age. With older dominant dogs it is rare that you see this behavior. Make sure your dog doesn't jump on you. Every time your dog starts jumping on you make sure you give it your back. Eventually it will stop this behavior.

7) Never let your dog pull you on the leash or decide where you will be walking :
A dog that pulls on the leash and is walking ahead of you has automatically elevated its status during these walks. Dogs that pull consider themselves in charge and in control. Always make sure your dog is walking at least one foot behind you on a loose leash and you are the one deciding where you go and where your dog gets to sniff. A separate blog post will specifically address how to deal with this behavioral problem.

8) Never use physical force with your dog:
Whether its something your dog has in its mouth or you need to make it go somewhere. Teach your dog a command and never challenge it with physical force. Dog's can use physical force with each other, but not with humans make sure you train your dog basic obedience such as staying at doorways and dropping things on command using of course positive reinforcement.

9) Do not play Tug-of-war or rough physical games with your dog :
Tug-of-war and rough playing is something dogs do with other dogs, if you start doing it with your dog then it will think you are another dog and will find ways to start challenging your position in the canine hierarchy, it is much more effective to just not become part of that hierarchy.

10> Do not feed your dog table scraps or food you eat while you are eating :
Your dog at a very young age needs to understand that you eat very different food. If you feed your dog from your own food the dog will become extremely confused about the boundaries between your species.

11) Always go through doorways and tight spaces before your dog:
For the same reasons mentioned above when dogs go first it confuses the dog/human boundary.

12) Get your dog used to having its food, toys and bones handled by you:
Make sure you let your dog get used to you handling its food. Please do not do this in the Cesar Milan method of removing the food from the dog, this will only make your dog trust you less. What you need to do is make sure you always have something your dog loves more than what it has and slowly approach your dog and give it treats while feeding it, or when you take a toy from it replace it with something it loves more. My dog has gotten used to me holding her chews while she chews on them at times especially if they are too big for her and they are moving around a lot.

By following these simple rules, you are not mistreating your dog you are just clarifying the boundaries between humans and dogs. It is important to realize that your dog does not perceive the world in the same way humans do, and while we may doing these behaviors out of love, this is not how your dog interprets it. Your dog will interpret it as a signal that you are another dog that it will eventually challenge. If you have an extremely submissive dog and this dog is not challenging your position in the hierarchy, then understand that these behaviors will cause chronic stress in your dog and they may redirect aggression towards others or developed other stress behaviors such a constant barking or destructive chewing. Imagine how stressful it might be for your dog to be constantly challenged, doing these behaviors with a dominant dog may result in the dog challenging you and in a submissive dog it may result in the dog becoming chronically stressed out. Keep your boundaries clear and you will most definitely experience a very rewarding and close bond with your dog!!!

Punishment

As most of you who know me or are frequent visitors to my blog know or have at least gathered by now, I advocate a reward-based method for behavioral modification in dogs. In other words, I believe that ignoring the dog when it does something bad generally is a much better method for teaching the dog what its limits are rather than punishing it. To be absolutely clear by punishment I mean a noxious stimulus that is administered following a certain behavior that is meant to decrease the likelihood of this behavior reoccurring, this includes all the following shouting, hitting, pinching, smacking gently on the nose, spraying water, hitting a newspaper or a shoe on the floor to startle the dog, saying "no" in a firm voice, locking up the dog and giving it a time out, using a choke collar, using an electric collar, using a bark collar, using a pinch collar and even yanking on the leash. All these methods while with some dogs maybe effective with a lot of dogs they do little than stop the undesirable behavior at that instant. For example, every time the doorbell rings your dog starts barking, so you because you might be a gentle person, who doesn't believe in hurting their dog, will spray your dog with some water. Instantaneously your dog stops barking and you are satisfied. Most dogs I've seen though, will definitely stop in that instant but next time the door bell rings again, guess what that dog is going to do? I am pretty sure it will bark louder and longer, till once again you find your spray bottle and try again. Another common scenario could be that your dog starts digging your newly varnished expensive hardwood floor so the gentle soul that you are, you don't really want to inflict pain on your beloved pet, so instead of hitting poor Cesar you quickly grab a magazine off your coffee table and you roll it and smack it loudly next to your dog. Your dog gets so startled and on very rare occasions it never ever digs the floor again. Now as effective as this seemed, dog behavior is a multilayered and complex and that loud smack for some dogs may have seriously affected your bond with your dog. You may notice that your dog is no longer coming when called and has even become jumpier around people or other animals. The thing is I am not advocating a reward-based method for behavioral modification out of an animal welfare, animal rights or moral perspective, but rather from a purely pragmatic perspective. Research and experience have shown that reward-based methods are the most effective methods for behavioral modification and extinguishing undesirable behaviors. So if it works, why use something else that doesn't work as effectively just for that instantaneous gratification of immediately stopping a behavior without considering the long-term consequences of the way you have corrected your dog.

With most of my clients I spend a large portion of my session teaching them how to effectively correct their dogs when they do an undesirable behavior in a way the dog understands that this behavior is undesirable. Towards the end of our session, on numerous occasions, my clients often ask me, "but how can we punish the dog so it knows what it did was wrong?". Well, the truth is that by simply actively ignoring by walking away from your dog, provided that your dog is bonded with you, will give the dog the message that what its doing is wrong. A strong bond with your dog is extremely important for this method to work, and with most of my clients I spend a significant amount of time teaching them how to bond with their dog. At this point if you choose to punish your dog using one the methods mentioned earlier then its really more about you taking out your anger and frustration out on your dog and not about correcting your dog and eliminating the undesirable behaviors. What most people need to realize is that having a well-behaved dog is a long-term project that will not happen overnight or through punishing your dog.

That said, on very rare occasions punishment can be effective in treating some behavioral problems and is used by some trainers with promising results that last a short period of time, but if it is not to be used to vent your frustration at the dog. Punishment is also not an ongoing process if you see that you are using a punishment method with your dog when it was 4 months old and are continuing to use that method of punishment and your dog is 2 years old then the method you have been using is completely ineffective. There are certain things that have to be considered when using punishment; the actual behavior, your degree of bonding with your dog, whether or not you are meeting your dog's basic needs (see previous post) and the individual dog's temperament and developmental stage.

There are certain behaviors that a dog should never be punished for and these include both barking and any form of aggression. When we use punishment to treat barking, as many of you who have incessant barkers have noticed, bark collars tend to make your dogs become worse barkers. The reason behind this phenomenon is that your dog may have been barking for a reason before, but once it has been punished for barking the barking becomes a symptom of chronic stress. Understanding the root cause of every behavior is essential in treating the problem. Aggression is another behavior people tend to punish their dogs over. To my dismay many people put their dogs on choke collars in Egypt. Every time a dog on a choke collar approaches a person or another dog the choke collar tightens around the dog's neck temporarily asphyxiating the dog. Now the dog won't learn to stop being aggressive, what the dog will learn is that every time a person approaches or another dog approaches they are choked and will actually out of fear want to drive other dogs and people away and will become even more aggressive. Understanding the complexity of the behaviors your dog is doing is absolutely essential in correcting that behavior.

When you use punishment you also must consider how bonded your dog is to you. Bonding with your dog is contingent on the sum of positive experiences the dog has associated with your presence. A new dog or a puppy who still hasn't garnered a large amount of positive experiences with you will not be bonded to you, so in a situation like this using punishment may make it even harder for your dog to bond with you.

Naturally as I explained in the previous post, a dog that is not getting its basic needs met will show many destructive behaviors. Again in Egypt, most people who have moved into 6th of October or the 5th Settlement have bought dogs. The majority of these dogs are either Golden Retrievers or Labradors, both highly energetic and highly intelligent breeds. When these dogs do not get enough exercise and stimulation they will become destructive as way to self-stimulate and exercise. Punishment here is never the solution. The solution is MEET YOUR DOG'S BASIC NEEDS FIRST!!!

The individual dog's temperament is crucial for understanding how to proceed with correcting in a given situation. As many of you who have dogs may have already noticed dogs can be either food motivated, socially motivated or individually motivated. Food motivated dogs, will do anything for food and are often even called treat whores. Socially motivated dogs are motivated by their desire for a relationship with you, and individually motivated dogs are motivated by their own sense of curiosity and desire to explore and discover. While most dogs in certain situations will show various combinations of motivation, there is generally one type of motivation the dominates. Punishment is completely unnecessary for both food motivated, socially motivated dogs and even individually motivated dog. Individually motivated dogs derive immense pleasure for the behavior they are doing and no amount of ignoring or food distractions will get your dogs attention. This type of dog is usually the hardest to train and modify, but do not despair they are not impossible to work with. The solution is to either find something that your dog can be even more curious about or understand that motivation is a changing process and your dogs through constant fulfilling experiences will become motivated socially.

Dog's depending on their age are able to comprehend punishment. Using punishment at the wrong developmental stage, such as using an electric shock collar in dogs younger than 1 year old could traumatize your dog and redirect the undesirable behavior or make it even worse.

Now that we have established when and which kind of dog punishment can be effective with, the next thing to explain are the most important principles when using punishment. First of all,  if you feel compelled to punish your dog as method of behavioral modification always consult with a behaviorist before using punishment. A behaviorist will check what the root cause of the problem. For example, if you have unintentionally reinforced the dog to do this behavior a program of counter-conditioning will be used before punishment. Punishing the dog while you are still unintentionally reinforcing it, will make the punishment ineffective. Secondly, punishment is not an ongoing process, it is used for a specific period of time methodically and consistency and then is stopped. Thirdly, when using punishment it is very important that your dog does not associate you with the punishment, that is why choke collars and electric shock collars were invented. Finally, never ever use punishment as the easy and quick way out, any behavioral modification must be methodical, slow and consistent. Punishment is not the magic wand that will cure your problems with your dog, it might even make it worse.

The take home message from this post is really don't use punishment and get to know your dog, what motivates your dog and what is really going through your dog's mind when it does what it does. In almost all situations you will find that is it completely unnecessary to use any form of punishment in training your dog. I cannot stress this enough, there is no instantaneous solution for a behavioral problems it is a slow, but rewarding process that brings you and your dog closer.

An Introduction to the Roots of Canine Behavioral Problems

Behavioral problems in dogs have four main root causes, while some dogs' behavioral problem may be rooted in one cause, it is often that the behavioral problems we see with our dogs may be due to a combination of different causes. Identifying the cause is crucial in understanding exactly how to treat the problem. One cannot just look at the behavioral problem outside a context of the dog's history, feeding, how it has been corrected, leash walking and many other things. First of all we cannot expect a dog to be well adjusted if we ourselves are not meeting our dog's basic needs. Paul Owen in the "Dog Whisperer" identifies the nine basic needs and they are:
1) A healthy diet
2) Medical care
3) Exercise
4) Play
5) Stimulation
6) Socialization (with other dogs, animals and humans)
7) A job to do
8) Rest
9) Affection

Any lack of these basic needs will result in a set of behaviors. I won't refer to them as behavioral problems because they are not truly problems with the dog's behavior as much as it the dog attempting to fulfill these basic needs because it is unable to depend on us to fulfill them. Usually behaviors related to an absence of these basic needs tend to disappear once we fulfill them. For example, I have visited many clients who have puppies, their main complaint is usually the excessive play biting. Immediately I recommend that they give their puppy play time with other and dogs and exercising the puppy through walking or light jogging depending on the puppy's energy levels. Immediately following exercise and socialization all my clients reported a significant reduction or even a complete end to play biting.

True behavioral problems do not disappear when we fulfill a dog's basic needs, they are the result of long systematic, usually unconscious, interactions with the dog, and the remediation is also is inevitably a long systematic process albeit a conscious one. Based solely on how we interact with our dog results in what I consider the four root causes of behavioral problems. The first, damage to the dog-human bond, which has been sufficiently described in the previous post. The second is miscommunication, the third is species misunderstanding and the fourth is accidental reinforcement.

Miscommunication as a cause is usually easily treated. Once we are able to communicate to the dog exactly what it is we are trying to say, we immediately start seeing changes in that behavior. Miscommunication happens when what we are saying in human is the exact opposite of what we are saying in dog language. For example, we might be calling the dog and asking it to come. We look at the dog and instead of coming towards us, our dog will sit down or even lie down. So naturally we will go up to the dog closer and call it again and ask it to come. The dog still refuses to move. Well, for starters dogs respond much more effectively to visual signals than audio signals. So we can call the dog to come as often as we want, but if our body language is telling the dog to stay in its position it is more likely that the dog will stay rather than come. For dogs a face-to-face interaction usually causes most dogs to sit and not approach us no matter how many times we tell it come or how loudly we tell it to come. Understanding the visual cues that dogs respond to is usually essential when interacting with our dogs. Secondly, when we approach the dog because it refused to come we are in dog language telling the dog its okay not to come, we are telling it is doing a great job at listening to us to not come. So its not that your dog is disobedient, stubborn or deliberately trying to piss you off, in fact in the dog's mind it is doing exactly what you've asked it to do.

When the dog does not understand the difference between humans and dogs, the dog becomes extremely confused as to the nature of our relationship to it. Signs of dominance aggression start to appear. This is natural in a dog hierarchy and since you have confused your dog as to the nature of your species identity, it is only natural that as your dog starts coming of age it will attempt to take its position and try to ascend the hierarchy. In other words your dog will challenge your position. I cannot assert enough times to my clients that we are not pack leaders once we become pack leaders our dog will eventually challenge our position. We are the human caretakers and dog's understand the difference up until we confuse them. Our species distinction is maintained by never physically trying to overpower our dogs whether it is through games, like rough playing or tug of war, or when we attempt to physically force our dog to do things, like yanking them on the leash. Many trainers unfortunately do not understand this very well and the result is a dog that will constantly challenge its owners for a position in the hierarchy and this often can result in very serious and potentially dangerous consequences for both the dog and its owner. This cause can be easily treated through changes in our own behavior to remind the dog that we are humans and we are not dogs.

Finally, the final cause just like all the previous ones lies in how we interact with our dog. When our dog does a certain behavior it is up to us to either signal the dog that its okay to continue doing it, or to signal the dog that its not okay and that it should not do this behavior. Unfortunately for many people, they tend to accidentally teach their dogs behaviors that make everyone's lives much harder. For example, the first time your puppy grabs a pair of your socks our initial reaction is to approach the puppy, your puppy starts running and you start chasing, then you proceed to try and pull the sock from your puppy's mouth, what a game that is. So instead of telling your dog it is not okay to chew on socks, congratulations you've just taught it that sock chewing is one the funnest games on this planet. If you really wanted your puppy to understand that this behavior was unacceptable, had you just walked away from it, I can guarantee you that your puppy would have looked at you with a sock dangling from its mouth, probably followed you for a few steps then dropped the sock. Barking is another one of these annoying behaviors that we often accidentally teach the dog. Certain forms of aggression can also be accidentally taught to our dogs. Generally speaking these behavioral problems depending on how long the dog has had them for require a long and systematic program of retraining which can often last months.

Whatever a dog's behavioral problem maybe, it is usually because of something we as humans have done. A slight modification and a remediation program can work wonders.