Free Breaking Your Dog's Bad Habits by Paula Kephart Page A

home. Although 7 years old, Sam can clear the 4-foot fence around the yard with ease to challenge the “trespasser.” His behavior is motivated not by viciousness but by anxiety about the safety of his family. While it may be endearing that he’s willing to face his anxiety head on, the resulting behavior causes a fair amount of chaos.

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    Dominance factor refers to how submissive or dominant a dog tends to be with people and other dogs. His tendency toward dominance or submissiveness is not set in stone and can vary depending on the situation. For example, Gracie, my black Lab/beagle mix, is an outgoing 2-year-old. She loves people and generally runs up to—or after—anyone she sees to say hello. Yet she is very timid with other dogs and cowers when one comes along.
    If your dog has a strong dominance trait, you need to be clear and consistent about your behavioral expectations and limits for him. Otherwise, your dog may get into the bad habit of taking charge, which can lead to an array of other habits, including overprotective and threatening behaviors.
    Is Your Dog Outsmarting You?
    If your dog is alert and quick to learn, you may find his repeated bad habit perplexing and aggravating—if he’s so smart, why is he acting so badly? Although you might expect a dim-witted dog to develop bad habits, in truth it’s often the opposite. A highly intelligent dog is a pleasure to train and have as a companion, but he is more likely to look for—and find—solutions to what he considers problems. For example, if he is shut in a fenced-in yard, he may figure out how to unlatch the gate to escape. Proud as the owner may be of her dog’s resourcefulness, leaving the yard without permission is definitely a bad habit.
    Was Your Dog Bred for Trouble?
    Personality, intelligence, the dominance factor, and health are all influenced to some degree by the dog’s breed. In addition, breed dogs may develop certain bad habits simply because they were bred for for certain characteristics. Beagles, for example, like to dig and whine. Labrador retrievers have a propensity for jumping or even climbing fences. Dogs bred to herd animals may exercise that tendency with the neighborhood children.
     

     
    Saint Bernards make great family dogs because they were bred to be large, strong, loyal, and friendly. Without proper training, however, they can become overprotective of their owners.
    Are You Giving Your Dog Mixed Messages?
    One final factor that cannot be overlooked when investigating your dog’s bad habit is you, the owner. Your attitude, expectations, self-confidence, and understanding of your dog have a definite influence on him. For example, if you don’t give commands in a serious manner, and if you don’t take the time at the onset of training to ensure and insist that your dog obey your commands, your dog may learn that he doesn’t have to obey.
    To be successful in retraining, it is important to clarify for yourself exactly which behaviors are acceptable and which are unacceptable. For example, do you want your dog not to jump on anyone? Or is jumping an acceptable way to greet family members, but not visitors? Do you want your dog to stay off all the furniture? Or is it okay for her to sleep on your bed? Once you’ve identified which behaviors you want and those you don’t, it will be much easier to give a clear message to your dog.

 

    Beginning Your Dog’s Training
    Retraining doesn’t have to be somber business. Make the sessions fun and satisfying for you and your dog. Generally, dogs like to learn and love to perform, especially if it means earning your praise and approval. As your dog catches on to the new behavior you’ve deemed acceptable, she’ll work harder to show you just how smart she is. You’ll see her chest puff up with pride as she responds to your command correctly. And you’ll puff up with pride, too, when you see your dog respond appropriately to a situation even before you give the