Obedience and General Behaviour
For information about behaviour problems and training, please phone or contact me by clicking here: Contact me
It is just as important to have a well behaved dog as it is a healthy one. In fact, the two often go together. A badly behaved dog may well be being affected by his health or state of mind. What we class as “bad dog behaviours” are quite often “normal” to the dog.
For example An owner may find that the dog chews the furniture when he goes to work, the owner comes home to find the destruction and feels that the dog has done it on purpose. This is not the reason why the dog is destructive!! The dog is anxious about being alone and to chew is a natural calming activity for a dog, it releases” feel good” hormones. The owner comes in and is cross with the dog for what he thinks is “revenge chewing”
The dog now does not understand what he is being punished for, his owner has come home, he greeted him but for some reason the owner is cross. The dog is confused and associates the owners return with a “bad thing”. The chewed furniture means nothing to the dog, it is in the past.
The dog now becomes more anxious the next time the owner goes out and “guess what???” he chews the furniture to release the “feel good” hormones and the cycle goes on. Dogs do not think the same way as humans and it is important to understand this.
We buy dogs as companions, but yet sometimes there are things that the dogs do that we are not happy with.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to share your life with a loyal, well behaved, happy dog?
Even basic training will make both yours and your dogs lives more rewarding.
Dogs require very basic needs from their owners, love, food, water, exercise and brain stimulation. Some dogs need more brain stimulation than others, collies for example need lots of exercise but also lots to think about, many collies have started to develop behaviour problems due quite simply to boredom. Every dog deserves the right to be able to run free and play but if you are worried that your dog may not come back it is him who is missing out if you do not let him off the lead.
Most behaviour problems, once understood, are fairly easy to fix by good training and dog knowledge.
So if you have a dog who:
- wont return when you call him
- chews and destroys the house
- barks all day
- relieves himself in the house
- jumps up
- whines when you go out
- growls at you
- is aggressive in any way
- chases other animals
- is very nervous
and so on, then you and your dog would benefit from some basic training.
Some owners go on from basic training and compete in obedience events, heel work to music and of course agility. All these activities do require some level of obedience and is definately worth it to see the love shine from your dog’s eyes as he enjoys his life and spending so much quality time with you.
So whether you just want a dog who comes back when called and doesn’t pull on the lead, or you want to take up a new dog involved sport, invest in some time in your dog.
I have studied animal behaviour for a while now and have had some fantastic results with all sorts of problem dogs. I am an Associate Member of the Animal Care College and a Member of the Institute of Pet Behaviour Consultants. I am also a regional assessor for the IPBC. I am currently a student member of the KC Accredited Instructor Scheme and am working towards full membership.
I use positive reward training in all areas, such as clicker training All methods used are kind, dog friendly and in the best interests for both the dog and owner.
For information about behaviour problems and training, please phone or contact me by clicking here: Contact me
I will visit you in your own environment and after diagnosing the behaviour and helping you to understand it; I will design a training plan for you and your dog. Further visits may not always be needed but further training is always available.
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