One of our jobs as dog owners is to teach our dogs how to be polite in a human world (Photo: Dog nose-to-nose with a tiny puppy.)
The little things often get overlooked when it comes to training your family dog. Life is made up of little moments: cooking dinner, relaxing in the backyard by the pool, working in your home office, playing with your children, having friends and family over to visit, and snuggling with your cat.
When you bring a new dog (or puppy) home, your job is to teach them how to behave during every one of life’s moments. It’s a big job. Let’s get started!
One of life’s moments: mealtimes at the table (Photo: a small dog sits beside a kitchen table looking up,)
Let’s face it — it’s hard to enjoy cooking (or eating dinner) when your dog steals your steak. Being in the kitchen should be fun, but a lot of clients call me because their dog keeps putting his feet up on the table and the counter. Most people admit that they push their dog off the counter while yelling “Down!”
My most recent phone call regarding this behaviour was about a week ago. As we spoke on the phone, the owner explained that her dog growls at her when she pushes his feet off of the kitchen counter. “It’s scary,” she said. “But what’s more scary is that now he’s not only growling, but snapping at me. He also snaps at my husband when he pushes him off the sofa.”
Pushing is never the solution when it comes to living successfully with dogs (Photo: Rottweiler resting her head on a coffee table beside a cup and saucer,)
This is a blog, so of course I can’t give you a step-by-step of how to “fix” this behaviour, mainly because there’s always more going on inside the home than simply one issue. Instead, let’s talk about how to prevent this from developing in the first place.
Never reward your puppy for putting his two front feet on you, your friends, your kitchen cupboards, the dining room table, or your coffee table. Be consistent from DAY ONE.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t teach your dog to put two paws on a Rubbermaid, place board, log, or boulder. Tricks are awesome! You can absolutely teach that as a separate trick, but when you teach it, build in the word “OFF,” so that your puppy learns what that means too — and gets rewarded for it.
Teach your dog what “off” means, so that you never have to push them. (Photo: Labradoodle sits on park bench.)
Never push your puppy or dog. Pushing a dog results in them pushing back. It doesn’t solve anything. Think of a playground. When one child shoves another, what happens? The other child retaliates. It’s similar with dogs. Pushing your dog can lead to them growling and snapping at you — you definitely don’t want that. Seek help from a dog behaviour expert in your area or online and find out how to communicate with your dog without pushing.
Always be consistent with your dog and keep your words clear. They don’t understand sentences, so less words is always better.
What can you teach your dog so that you can enjoy life’s moments more? (Photo: grey tabby cat looking concerned with a fluffy husky behind him.)
Think about all the little moments in your day. Maybe your dog barks nonstop making relaxing by the pool too loud to enjoy. Maybe you can’t have visitors over to your home because your dog frightens them away. Maybe your dog doesn’t “let you” snuggle with your cats.
Let’s get you back to enjoying ALL of life’s moments. A FREE fifteen minute call could change your life. Visit the TAKE ACTION page and let’s chat about your unique needs and get you back on track.
Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders!
Alyssa
Photos by: Jametlene Reskp (Dog nose-to-nose with a tiny puppy,) Sonder Quest (a small dog sits beside a kitchen table looking up,) Allie (Rottweiler resting her head on a coffee table beside a cup and saucer,) Overture Creations (Labradoodle sits on park bench,) Tran Mau Tri Tam (grey tabby cat looking concerned with a fluffy husky behind him.)