Dogs are a wonderful addition to the family, but like any family member, a dog can have some pretty annoying habits. If you don’t step in and get those habits under control, you can end up with a dog whose behavior is out of control.
What’s cute when your dog is a small puppy can become a nuisance – and even risky – when he’s an adult. For a puppy to jump up on visitors might seem cute, but when you add 100 or more pounds to that little puppy, he’ll have the strength and body weight to injure your family members or guests – and you don’t want that.
The five most common annoying dog habits are barking, jumping up on people, tearing up things, rough play and begging. But there are ways that you can successful curb each of these habits. This is part one.
Barking
Dogs make great early warning systems. If anyone comes around your house, a dog can alert you that someone is there before that person even reaches your door. So, for safety and security, nothing can beat having a furry member of the family around.
Good Barking
There are times when you want your dog to bark. If something is going on outside your home, your dog alerts you by barking. This is his way of taking care of you and protecting you. Your dog can see and hear what you often don’t.
The wrong response on your behalf is if you ignore the barking or tell the dog to be quiet. He’s trying to tell you that he senses something isn’t right. So, what you need to do when your dog is alerting toward a door or window is to find out why he’s barking.
If something is going on and he barked for that reason, you don’t want him to be quiet. Instead, you want to reassure him that he did the right thing. Tell him, “Good dog,” and then have him leave the alert point and sit or lie down.
Bad Barking
The kind of barking that can become an annoying habit is when a dog barks for what seems to be no reason. Dogs always have a reason, but not all barking is necessary. For the same reason humans eat when they’re not hungry, dogs bark when nothing is happening.
They’ll bark because they’re excited, bored, or in response to other dogs barking. Their pack mentality causes that – even though they may not be in a pack at this time.
Calm Him
If your dog barks because he’s excited, calm him down – and if he barks because he’s bored, it’s a sign that he needs more physical action. You want to ensure that your dog gets plenty of exercise and social time with other dogs.
Never reward barking with activities that your dog likes—such as taking your dog for a walk or giving him a treat. He’ll learn that if he’s not quiet, he gets a walk or a treat, and you don’t want him to train you!
When you return home after being gone, your dog will often bark in short bursts because he’s glad you’re home. That’s simply his way of telling you that. He needs to be patted and reassured, and he should stop barking once he’s finished greeting you.
Commands
When your dog engages in incessant barking, you want to gently close your dog’s mouth and say a firm “Quiet” or another command associated with him not barking. You want to use one-word commands because dogs understand one-word commands better than they do an entire string of words.
If your dog begins to bark again after you move your hand away from its muzzle, you should repeat your action of closing its muzzle and giving him the ‘Quiet’ command.
You can get your dog used to the quiet command by rewarding him when he does obey the command. This can be a verbal ‘Good boy’ or a treat. Some pet owners use anti-barking collars or products that will emit a loud, startling sound when the dog barks.
Most dogs can be easily trained to be quiet with just a command. If your dog doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of barking only when necessary, you may need to enroll him in an obedience class.
Jumping Up on People
When your dog jumps up on people, it can be a problem. Most people don’t enjoy a dog jumping up on them and a large dog can knock a child down. You want to start training your dog that this kind of behavior is not rewarded.
Ignore Him
When your dog attempts to jump up on you, refuse to look at him. The minute you make eye contact, he realizes that he’s got your attention and so he knows that if wants your attention, all he has to do is jump on you.
Besides not looking at him, you don’t want to give him any verbal communication. Don’t laugh, and don’t raise your voice. Don’t give him any verbal commands at all. You want to ignore him until he settles down.
Don’t engage the dog by touching him, either. Don’t push him off of you – and if he jumps up on others, don’t rush over to pull him off. He knows then that this kind of behavior will get you to come and interact with him.
Don’t rub or pet him when he jumps up. Avoid verbal and physical contact. Some people raise their knees when a dog jumps, believing that this teaches the dog not to jump up—but it doesn’t.
All this does is show the dog that if he wants your attention, all he has to do is jump on you. He actually sees the knee up as interaction and encouragement because you’re giving him attention.
This becomes a problem because if you give the dog attention, he quickly learns to repeat his actions. You have to stand completely still and give him attention only when he’s sitting or standing before you.
The minute that your dog is standing or sitting before you, quickly give him a treat. He’ll learn to associate sitting and standing still with getting the treat. Be enthusiastic in your praise when the dog obeys.
