Around every New Years (and 4th of July) holiday I see people comment on social media about their dogs and how they are so afraid of the fireworks. Many commenters want fireworks to be banned so that their beloved pets don't have to be afraid

 I ask myself, why don't they help their dogs over this fear and improve the dog's life by teaching the pet to associate calm with fireworks? Then I realize that many pet parents may not understand that most dogs can learn not to associate fear with fireworks or thunderstorms.

 


A Destructive Dog can be frustrating and many dogs are re-homed or end up in the shelter because their owners are no longer able to deal with the dog's constant destruction of household items, furnishings and damage to the walls or doorways. Many dog owners struggle with curbing destructive dog behavior in both puppies and adult dogs.


As with other types of behavior issue, it is important to first look at the root cause of the behavior, before we can address it, and find ways to recondition the dog to a new behavior.

In this article we look at the different reasons dogs turn to destructive behavior and then offer different ways to address them.

Every day I see Facebook posts on lost pets - and it breaks my heart. Thank goodness many dog owners now have their pets micro-chipped and most pets wear a collar with their owner's cellphone number on it. These two things can make sure that someone can contact the owner when a pet is lost, found and hopefully gets back home safely.

Few people know that you can teach your dog two very important lessons that most likely will prevent the dog from getting lost in the first place. The first lesson is: “Open doors don't mean run through it”, the second: “the safest place is with your owner”. In this blog article, I want to cover the first lesson in more depth with you. 

With the upcoming 4th of July Holiday, I thought, I share these tips for keeping your pet calm and safe during fireworks.

For many pets the loud noises and the smell of fireworks are very frightening and statistically there is a huge increase in lost pets during this time of year. Even pets that usually won't run from home can get so panicked that they run away.

Image credit: Flickr

Recently one of my friends ask if they could teach their dog not to pee every time a stranger comes into the home. Since submissive urination is a fearful behavior, I told my friend he needed to recondition the dog so that the dog would associate strangers coming to his home as a positive experience.

A dog that pees when she gets attention is likely a shy dog, that gets excited and/or intimidated when people come into her space. Most of the time people that love dogs want to pet them immediately and give them lots of verbal attention, like: “Oh, you are so cute. Come over here. You don’t have to be afraid, I like dogs!” They keep going after the dog, trying to pet her. Since the dog is in a submissive state and likely excited for all the attention, she will crouch down and squeeze her body to make herself smaller and in the process might pee a little, or even a lot. Now there will likely be some verbal exclamation from either the dog owner or the guest: “Oh no, she peed on the floor!” and some excited hustle about cleaning it up quickly. The dog senses that she has done something wrong and associates this greeting ritual with a state of anxiety and confusion.

When we first got our new puppy Apollo he did not like car rides. He would sit there scared, whining and drooling, and after a few minutes he would start chucking up his food. Does your dog love the car? Or is he restless like Apollo? Is he unsettled and whines or drools? Does he get car sick? If your dog does not do well during car rides, the underlying issue is fear. This article will give you a few ways to help your dog get comfortable with the car, help you eliminate his fears, and get him to love traveling by car.
 

You leave your house and your dog is barking and howling and won’t stop all day. You come home after work and your dog has destroyed the blinds on your living room windows or chewed up your furniture. You put your dog in his crate and he digs at the gate, frantically trying to get out. These are some canine behaviors signaling your dog may suffer from stress and behavior problems when left alone.
Sadly, such behavior problems are one of the most common reasons why owners get rid of their dogs. This is unfortunate because these kind of behavior problems can be treated by implementing a few simple strategies.

Dogs need to chew – it’s how they clean their teeth and  release stored up energy.
Just like little babies, young puppies like to explore/experience the world around them with their teeth.

You can give your dog stuff to chew on or your dog will find it for himself. If you leave it up to your pooch, he may choose your carpet or your shoes.

Having your dog chew up things in your home is frustrating and can get expensive, so it is better to go to the pet-store and find some chew toys and chew foods for him. Read on to find out about chew toys and chew foods and why having both is important.