How to train your dog to stop barking. Enjoy!

Dr. Jan Bellows

Dog parks are a popular place to take your pet. Your dog can run around as much as it wants completely off leash, as well as interact with other dogs and play doggy games while you associate with other dog owners that love dogs just as much as you do. Dog parks are one of the only places that you can safely let your pet roam free in the entire city. However, there are various pluses and minuses to taking your dog to a dog park.

Benefits of Dog Parks

• Increased Exercise – Your dog needs to exercise to stay healthy. Taking your dog to the dog park is a great way to give it that exercise, because you do not have to walk a great distance or to an unsafe area. Your dog can simply run back and forth within the confines of the park and tire itself out.
• More to Do – Dog parks are also great for you as the dog owner. They give you more options of games to play with your pet, including a greater space for fetch and Frisbee. At any given point your dog can also leave you to play with other dogs, allowing you to simply watch as your dog tires itself out on its own.
• Better Socialization – The more your dog can socialize with pets and people, the better it will handle strangers and strange dogs. Dogs both learn from other dogs and learn to tolerate other dogs, and all of these are good things for you as the dog owner, because they make your job raising your pet much easier.

Weaknesses of Dog Parks

• Safety – Most dog parks are not monitored, and some tend to attract less than ideal dogs and dog owners. Smaller dog parks that have less dogs, more confined spaces, and are in lower class areas can sometimes attract dogs that have not been properly socialized, and due to the tight spaces this can be very dangerous. Dangerous dog fights are not uncommon in some dog parks, though in larger and more populated dog parks it is less common.
• Disease – There are some very serious dog diseases that could affect your dog if it has not had its shots recently. Most dog parks have unenforced rules about dogs having vaccinations, but you never know what diseases a dog may be taking with them, and in such close quarters your own dog could catch them.
• Poorly Educated Dog Owners – Not all dog owners know what they are doing, and this can interfere with your own training techniques. If your dog runs up to a stranger, the stranger asks your dog to sit, and your dog lies down and rolls over, the stranger may find it cute and give your dog a treat, but the reality is that your dog did not perform the trick correctly, and rewarding it for the wrong command can interfere with your training.

Those that go to popular dog parks look out for one another, which is very useful for reducing problems with safety and disease, but they should always be a concern.

So Should You Go to Dog Parks?

Overall, despite the safety risks and disease, the socialization that occurs in a dog park is unlike any other, and is very beneficial for your pet – especially at a young age. If you can go jogging with your pet and have a way for your dog to interact with many other dogs without the dog park, then the park may be unnecessary, and could possibly be avoided. But since many people do not have other options at their disposal, a dog park is one of the better places to go.

By Dr. Jan Bellows

Many dogs have a natural fear of loud noises. Thunder in particularly can be especially upsetting. With a dog’s sensitive hearing, thunder is like a giant animal growling angrily at them – an animal they can’t see or find. Thunder causes incredible fear, and that fear is only exacerbated when the thunder continues to go away and come back.

Training your dog to note fear thunder is difficult – you cannot train your child to not fear someone yelling angrily at it for no reason – but it is possible to at the very least reduce the anxiety and suppress many of the unwanted behaviors that come from fearing thunder.

What Not to Do

Ironically, the most important part of training your dog to not fear thunder is to not perform several actions that pet owners love to do to “help” their dogs. When thunder occurs, it is not uncommon to grab a bunch of treats and try to distract your dog from the noise, or shower your dog with affection in order to let it know that it is safe.

These are actually the wrong behaviors. When you give your dog treats or praise, you are rewarding your dog for its anxious outbursts rather than calming your dog down. You are saying, essentially, that by acting fearful your dog will be rewarded, so fear must be the appropriate response. As much as it may be difficult to ignore your dog’s yelping, throwing treats or affection at your dog will only make the problem worse.

You also do not want to put your dog in its crate if you can help it. Your dog’s crate should always be a place of relaxation. In some ways it makes sense to place your dog in its crate, because it will feel protected, but there is a big risk to that as well. If your dog still experiences a great deal of fear, than being trapped in the crate can be dangerous, and your dog may associate the crate with fear. If possible, crates should be avoided.

What to Do

Now that all of those have been addressed, there is still the matter of training your dog to not be afraid of thunder anymore. As mentioned previously, there is no surefire solution. Fear is fear, and the loud noise of the thunder may be something that your dog simply has a problem handling. However, some experts recommend that when there is no thunder or rain at all, you should “crate train” train your dog to something other than a crate – in other words, find a semi-enclosed, safer area that your dog can look to for safety. Some suggested areas are:

• A corner of the house
• A closet
• A bathtub
• A cardboard box

The area does not have to be completely enclosed, but it should be at least not out in the wide open. Then, start to train your dog to go to that area on command. By doing so, you make the location a place of happiness and relaxation.

When thunder occurs, instruct your dog to go to the safe place you have selected. Your dog will adhere to your command, and find itself in a location that is safer and calmer. Then, once you have given the command, if your dog exhibits less anxious behaviors you can reward your dog for listening to your command without rewarding your pet for it anxiety. Over time, your dog should reduce unwanted behaviors, and soon get used to the sounds of thunder without reacting too strongly.

By Dr. Jan Bellows

Every pet owner – especially with a particularly hairy or smelly dog – recognizes the importance of grooming. Even if your dog is shorthaired and rarely needs any type of brushing or bath, there is an implicit understanding that your dog gets dirty, and there are times where your dog needs to be cleaned.

Yet despite this knowledge, very few dog owners pay attention to your dog’s teeth as part of the grooming process, despite your dog’s teeth being one of your pet’s most important features. Most people do not even bother checking the teeth for problems, while others limit their tooth care to that provided by a vet or groomer.

But your dog’s teeth are something that need to be checked regularly, since your dog depends on them for almost every activity. If your dog gets gum disease or has cavities or plaque problems, it can be painful for your dog to bite down – and since your dog is always biting down, your dog will be in constant pain.

When You Need to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth

Any time you see plaque buildup in your dog’s teeth, or your dog has terrible breath that does not appear due to its dog food choice, you need to brush your dog’s teeth. Once your dog starts having tooth problems, they will only continue and get worse, becoming more and more difficult to fix.

Some people choose to brush they’re dog’s teeth every day, but this may be both unnecessary and ill advised. Unlike human beings, your dog has a variety of good bacteria inside their mouth designed to kill of germs. This bacteria keeps your dog’s mouth clean on its own, so brushing daily is not necessary, and it is possible (though unlikely) that this may harm your dog’s mouth rather than help it. But once a week is a good choice, and once every two weeks should be fine as well. Talk to your vet if you have any questions.

When You Don’t Need to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth

Your dog should get a regular tooth brushing, but if you are very reluctant, you may be able to avoid brushing your dog’s teeth often if you do several of the following:

• Give your dog lots of ropes and other beneficial tooth chew toys to play with. These clear off plaque on their own.
• Give your dog dry dog food. Dry dog food can break down plaque, while the internal bacteria will kill off the germs.
• Give your dog rawhide bones and dental treats – These treats as well are rough enough to help clean your dog’s teeth while the internal bacteria kill off any persistent germs.

Avoiding brushing your dog’s teeth is not advised. Your dog benefits from a good tooth brushing, and as a dog owner you want to do what is best for your dog. But if you are dead set against brushing your dog’s teeth, if you perform all of the above actions you will be able to help make sure your dog’s teeth are cleaner, and can avoid brushing your dog’s teeth as often.

Buy Special Toothpaste and Train Your Dog

Even if you do not plan on brushing your dog’s teeth often, it is best to train your dog on getting its teeth brushed so that if you ever decide to start, your dog is used to the idea. There are special dog-formulated toothpastes available that are safe for your dog’s stomach and taste like its favorite doggy flavors. Pick some of these toothpastes up and start training your dog so that you and your dog can be used to the tooth brushing process, allowing you to continue brushing your teeth for years to come.

By Dr. Jan Bellows

Dog crating is an important tool of dog ownership. It is one of the few effective ways to house train your pet, in addition to the benefits it has for your dog’s psychological state and obedience. The crate’s effectiveness has an evolutionary basis, and it should come as no surprise that dog owners across the nation have depended on these housing units for decades as one of the most effective ways to train their pet.

However, for the crate is not simply a makeshift home that requires no care or understanding. Though crate training may be one of the most important tools for a dog owner, it is best if you understand how to use the crate effectively, to avoid any problems that may occur between you and your pet.

Tips for Using the Crate

1. The Crate is Not a Substitute for Companionship or Movement

One of the reasons that crates are so effective is because they can help your dog feel safe even when you are not around. Out in the open, your dog feels as though it has more to watch, and that it might be in danger out in the open area. In the open, it needs you around, because only with you around can it feel protected, whereas in the crate it feels safer because its sides are protected by the crates walls.

However, the crate should not be used as a replacement for affection and companionship. Dog ownership requires commitment, and you should expect to be spending a great deal of time with your pet. The crate is a place for you to put your pet when you are sleeping or when you are away from home – but NOT both. If you keep your dog in the crate while you are sleeping, then your dog needs to be free when you are away from home and you need to be able to spend more time with your dog while you are awake. If you put your dog in the crate when you are gone, then your dog should be able to stay at the very least in the same room as you while you are sleeping.

1. Crates Should be Used for a Maximum 6-8 Hours TOTAL in a Day

This relates to the tip above. Your dog needs to be able to move. It is a physical creature with a body made for roaming the environment. In addition, your dog needs a great deal of mental stimulation to stay obedient, and time in the crate is time with essentially zero mental stimulation.

A question arises about when you accidentally sleep in or when you will be unable to get home in time. If your dog has to stay in the crate for more than 8 hours, it is not just cruel on your dog’s bladder – it is cruel to your dog’s psyche as well. Still, sometimes this will be unavoidable, and in these situations assume that for every extra hour your dog is in the crate, it will need an additional half hour of walking to help expend the energy. If your dog is in the crate for 11 hours, for example, chances are you need to take your dog for at minimum a 2 ½ hour walk.

1. Clean up Accidents

Crate training is how you teach your dog to hold in its bladder, because the crate becomes a home for your dog – dogs do not go to the bathroom where they sleep, because though it may not always seem like it, they are naturally clean animals.

However, on occasion your dog may have an accident in its crate, and when that occurs, you need to clean the crate out completely, using every dog-safe non-ammonia cleaner possible. If your dog smells its own waste in its crate, it will be more likely to have an accident in there in the future, and all of the time you spent crate training will be negated.

Crates Are a Useful Tool

Crate training is recommended by every dog trainer in the world. But it is only effective if you know how to use it effectively. Follow the advice above, and you, your dog, and your dog’s crate will all have a happy and harmonious relationship.