Now here’s an alarming fact: Every interaction you have with your dog results in his learning something, whether you intentionally meant to train him or not! In a young dog, this is especially significant, since he has less of a history with you and so each interaction has a greater impact.

So what are the most common unintentionally trained bad behaviors?! See if these sound familiar…

The Rude Greeter

Your dog is a social butterfly. He just loves jumping up to give kisses, and, while some people greet him with open arms, others push him away. And the trouble is he’s getting more exuberant with each passing day.

So how did he learn that? It’s a natural behavior for dogs to sniff faces as part of their greeting ritual, but the problem is that it’s not part of our greeting ritual. The behavior is then encouraged by those people who enjoy bouncy dogs and give them lots of love and pets while they’re leaping up on them. Strangely enough, though, even those people who don’t like a jumping dog often contribute to the problem by pushing them off with their hands. Touch is very reinforcing and so even touch used in an attempt to push away the dog will likely encourage the behavior.

And how do you fix it? For starters, you need to use some management techniques to get the ball rolling in the right direction. With your dog on leash, step on his leash at a distance from him where he can sit or stand comfortably but where he cannot jump up. Recruit a friend to help you with the exercise. Have your friend stand 10 feet or so away with some treats in his hand and have him play with the treats a bit in order to keep your dog focused on the game. Now here’s the key: WAIT for your dog to offer a sit. Don’t ask for it. I’ve found that dogs tend to learn better when they do their own problem-solving. When we give them the answer, they seem to need us to keep giving them the answer time and time again. So wait for a sit and, this first time, that wait could take quite a while! As soon as your dog’s butt hits the ground, your friend should start to walk slowly toward you. If your dog stands up, your friend should immediately start to back away. When pup sits again, your friend proceeds forward. While your friend may feel like a human yoyo, your dog is being taught impulse control – that the things he wants in life will only be granted to him for polite behavior. A valuable life lesson!

The Demand Barker

You’re walking with your dog when you run into a friend. You stop to chat and your dog sits quietly beside you and waits. After a while, he gets impatient and fidgety, tired of the boring human chatter, and he starts to bark and jump on you, eager to resume the journey. To buy yourself a little more time, you give your pup some treats in an effort to quiet him. Now you’ve noticed that he starts barking and jumping on you almost immediately when you meet people on the street.

So how did he learn that? Unfortunately this one is the most common and the most insidious. The pitfall is that the good behavior is so easily overlooked but the bad behavior is overt and annoying and rather hard to ignore. In the example, when your dog was sitting quietly and patiently, his behavior went unnoticed and unappreciated. When he became impatient and demanding, his behavior was rewarded with hush money.

And how do you fix it? This is another time when you should step on your dog’s leash at a distance from him where he can sit or stand comfortably but where he cannot jump up. Cue him to sit and start giving him little pieces of treats, first fairly frequently, then increasing the duration between treats. We’re working on building his patience. Should your dog bark at you, give him a time-out by turning your back on him (with your foot still on the leash) and ignoring him, only turning to face him when he’s quiet.

In these early practices, stop along the street without conversing with anyone. You’ll need to devote your full attention to these early exercises. As he gets better, recruit friends to join you, as having other people around changes the exercise for you and for him. You will be somewhat distracted at first and a friend will understand this and not expect you to carry on a complete conversation. Soon enough, you’ll both be ready for prime time!

A final note: If his demand behavior includes mouthing, nipping at hands or clothes, then consider using a head collar (like a Gentle Leader, a Halti, or a Snoot Loop) which will give you more control of his head and allow you to zip his mouth shut when needed.

The Sock Stealer

Your pup seems to have a knack for stealing your most sensitive things – socks, slippers, underwear, and the like. Even more annoying, it becomes a frustrating game of keep-away with you chasing him in circles and now it’s happening daily.

So how did he learn that? The funny thing is that dogs pick up things all the time – paper, toys, rawhides, socks, everything! The only difference is that we don’t mind one bit when the article is one of his own toys. The problems begin when he picks up something of ours and we tend to get emotional about it and will go to great lengths to retrieve it from him. It’s this difference in our reaction that actually encourages the behavior. The great game of chase that erupts when he picks up forbidden items is what makes those items so much more enticing to grab.

And how do you fix it? Teach your dog to drop things on command, all things – his belongings as well as yours. When he’s got hold of something, say “drop it!” and then hold a treat to his nose. When he drops the toy, give him the treat and take the toy. Then offer him the toy back. The ultimate goal is for him to automatically yield the toy upon hearing the command, so make sure it’s the command first, then the lure on the nose, and then the treat for the drop. There will be some articles for which you say “drop it” that you will not return to him, like a sock but, after you’ve done so many repetitions with articles that you immediately return to him, he’s going to think “drop it” is a win-win – he gets a treat for doing it and he gets the toy back. And it’s a great way to teach your dog how to share.

A final note: Puppy-proof your house as much as possible so that your dog doesn’t have the opportunity to grab the wrong things: put shoes in the closet and dirty socks in the hamper. Then his play behaviors will develop for appropriate targets.

The Party Pooper

You’ve settled down to watch a little TV, having just returned from your pup’s last potty break for the night, when your dog comes darting out from behind the couch and starts running in the crazy circles you recognize as his post-poop victory laps. You know that he knows he’s being bad, since otherwise he wouldn’t be seeking out hiding places for the dirty deed.
So how did he learn that? What looks to us as guilt for wrong-doing is really just done in an effort to avoid punishment for a behavior he does not understand to be wrong. It’s often accompanied by a low body posture and low tail wag, appeasement gestures used in an effort to turn off what your dog construes as your unpredictable anger.

A variation on this theme is the dog who squats on the carpet right in front of you and pees. Such behavior is often attributed to “dominant” behavior but it’s really little more than attention-seeking behavior, much like the sock stealing scenario. (See the article Understanding a Dog’s Inner Puppy in YPC’s August 2007 issue.)

Either way, the truth is that your dog is not fully house-trained. While he may do his business outside most of the time, it is still not clear to him that “outside’s good, inside’s bad”.

And how do you fix it? Go the extra mile to get your dog fully housetrained; this means being more vigilant with him in the house. Keep things positive, praising and treating for pottying in the right place and quietly cleaning up mistakes in the wrong place. Punishment for breaks in housetraining only causes anxiety and further transgressions.

The Upshot

When troublesome behaviors worsen, turn a critical eye to what might be inadvertently reinforcing them. Investigate management techniques (the leash can be a great tool) that will help inhibit the bad behavior while alternate behaviors are shaped. Finally, envision what you’d rather your dog do than the behavior he’s chosen – for instance, sitting rather than jumping up – and help him find his way to being a better dog!
LAURA GARBER, CPDT, is a certified dog trainer and behavior counselor living in Hoboken, NJ. Her company WoofGang, LLC is committed to deepening the bonds between dogs and their people through positive training and behavior modification techniques, and it is these same topics that inspire her writing.

© 2008 – 2010, Laura. All rights reserved. Republished articles have been reprinted with permission. For permission to reprint these articles, please contact the author.

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By: Jonathan Cheong

Problems with inappropriate urination are some of the most commonly encountered by dog owners. As a matter of fact, inappropriate urination and defecation is the most frequently cited reason that owners surrender their animals to shelters.

Before you can address problems with inappropriate urination, it is important to understand the basis of the problem. There are several reasons why dogs lose control of their bladders, and it is important to know the root cause of the problem before it can be properly addressed.

Problem #1 – Excitement Urination

Dogs often urinate when they become overly excited, and dogs that are otherwise perfectly housebroken sometimes show their excitement by dribbling urine when greeting you excitedly. It is normal for some dogs to urinate when they get excited, and this can be a particular problem for many older dogs.

A lot of excitement induced urination occurs in young puppies, and it is caused by a lack of bladder control. The puppy may not even know he is urinating, and punishment will simply confuse him. Becoming angry with the puppy will quickly cause excitement urination to morph into submissive urination, thus compounding the problem. As the puppy gets older and develops better bladder control, this type of excitement urination should disappear.

The best cure for excitement urination is prevention. Preventing your dog from becoming over excited is the best way to control this problem behavior. If your dog is excited by a particular stimulus or situation, it is important to repeatedly expose him to that situation until it no longer causes excessive excitement.

Problem #2 – Submissive Urination

Submissive urination is a natural part of pack behavior among animals like dogs and wolves. The submissive member of the pack shows his or her submissiveness by lowering itself and urinating. Since dogs are pack animals, they may show their submissiveness to their owner, who they regard as the pack leader, by exhibiting this submissive urination.

Dogs who exhibit submissive urination are usually showing their insecurity. Unsocial zed and previously abused dogs often exhibit submissive urination. These dogs need to be shown that there are more appropriate ways to express their submissive status, such as shaking hands or licking the owner’s hand.

The best way to deal with submissive urination problems is often to ignore the urination. Trying to reassure the dog can give the mistaken impression that you approve of the behavior, while scolding the dog can make the submissive urination worse.

Correcting problems with submissive urination should be directed at building the dog’s confidence and teaching him other ways to show his respect. Teaching the dog to lift his paw, sit on command, or similar obedience commands, is a great way to direct the dog’s respect in a more appropriate direction.

Problems with urination are not always easy to deal with, but it is important to be consistent, and to always reward acceptable behavior on the part of the dog. When urination problems do occur, it is always a good idea to first rule out any medical conditions that could be causing those problems. Medical issues like bladder infections can be the root cause of problems with unwanted urination.

After any medical problems have been ruled out, it is important to determine what is causing the problem, and treat it appropriately. While it can be tempting to punish the dog for inappropriate elimination, doing so will only confuse and further intimidate him.

Author Bio

Discover How You Can Train Your Dog With Effective Results In Less Than 1 Week Using Proven Simple Steps For FREE! http://www.absolute-dog-training.com

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© 2008 – 2010, Dog Service Network. All rights reserved. Republished articles have been reprinted with permission. For permission to reprint these articles, please contact the author.

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Does your dog tend to urinate when you come home or when meeting people who visit your home?  Don’t worry, this is normal behavior for dogs.  Some dogs demonstrate signs of being submissive by rolling over to show their belly or by urinating. 

For puppies, urinating can be them showing both excitement and submission.  In order for you to help your puppy correct this problem, it involves you taking control of their excitement and teaching them when to act submissive. 

To control your puppies excitement, you will need to make you coming home, not such an event.  This can be achieved by:

1. Calmly greeting your dog rather than making a huge ordeal or acting overly excited when seeing them
2. Have your dog approach you and your house guests, rather than having your dog being the one approached
3. If you see your dog begin to roll over or urinate, back off immediately
4. Do not scold your dog when submissive urination behavior occurs

To correct your dog’s submissive behavior, teach your dog that it does not have to act submissive to others.  This can be done by training your dog to become house trained.  Provide positive reinforcement for when your dog urinates outdoors or if you are training your dog to go indoors, in the designated area within your home.  While ignoring bad behavior such as a dog training to go outdoors ends up urinating indoors.

Remaining persistent with your training will help guide your dog in the right direction.

© 2008, Dog Service Network. All rights reserved. Republished articles have been reprinted with permission. For permission to reprint these articles, please contact the author.

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