How to Deal with a Chewing, Destructive Dog

How to Deal with a Chewing, Destructive Dog





As most of us know, your dog can wreak havoc with its teeth. Whether the culprit is a young puppy exploring her environment, an energetic juvenile displacing pent up energy, or an adult dog acting out the distress of thunderstorm phobia or separation anxiety, a canine with a penchant for chewing can transform your valuable piano to splinters in a matter of hours.

Because the reasons for chewing are so diverse, it should be considered a sign or symptom of some underlying motivation rather than a diagnosis, per se. Before attempting to change your dog's chewing behavior, it's first important to understand just why she's laying into your stuff .

Curiosity Propelled Chewing

Puppies and juvenile dogs learn about their environment by mouthing and gnawing on objects. Typically the targets are random, and may include shoes, books or bedposts. Investigational or "play-related" destructiveness of this kind is a normal behavior for a growing dog.

Puppies seem to escalate such chewing behavior around teething time. Whether chewing more at this time facilitates dental eruption or simply reflects a response to irritation or discomfort is unclear.

The most expedient solution to play-related destructiveness is a dog crate. Ideally, your puppy should be acclimated to a crate from the first day in her new home. Also helpful for house-training, a crate limits your pup's access to valuable items while allowing her to rest and chew at her leisure on appropriate items provided by you.

When your puppy must be left alone for long hours, a crate's too confining and among other things, may force your pup to stand or lie in her own urine or feces. Instead, when you have to leave your pup for a few hours, it is better to restrict your pup to a larger area, such as a kitchen, by means of a baby gate.

Contrary to popular belief, your dog won't necessarily stop chewing when she's grown to adult size. In fact, some of the most profoundly destructive chewers are young adults-not puppies. Sporting breeds (such as the Labrador retriever ) are well known for this type of behavior.

With room for individual differences, consider strategic restriction or crating for your dog at times when you can't supervise her until she's two years old.

Even then, introduce freedom only slowly and just for short periods. Well-designed "food-for-work" toys, which can be filled with biscuits or kibble, can keep your dog busy for hours.

Anxiety-related Chewing

Playful chewing is dog-years apart from the anxiety-based chewing of thunder-phobic dogs or dogs severely upset when "abandoned" by their owners each morning. In frenzied efforts to escape the house or find her owner, a dog of this persuasion will dig and chew at doorways, windowsills and curtains. She may also search for shoes, pillows, purses and other personal items to chew on. Unlike play-related chewing - which can happen whether or not you're home - anxiety-related destructiveness is most likely to happen when your dog is alone.

Because such dogs are already stressed, punishment or confinement (such as crating) isn't advisable because it can make matters worse by increasing your dog's anxiety. Separation anxiety is most easily identified by videotaping the dog right after you leave (a camera can be propped to focus on the door, for example). In most cases, an affected dog will start to whine or bark, dig, and even urinate or defecate within minutes of your departure.

If your dog suffers from thunder phobia, she can cause dramatic damage to your house on stormy days. In contrast to the destructiveness of separation anxiety, phobic behavior may be seen only once in a while. In addition to thunder, your dog may develop fears of fireworks, wind, and a variety of other noises.

Anxiety-related chewing is treated indirectly by addressing the anxiety itself; if you suspect this to be your dog's reason for chewing, ask your veterinarian for help in addressing the problem. Most typically, a temporary anti-anxiety medication will be prescribed - along with a behavior-modification program - to help your dog feel less stressed and react more calmly when left alone or when exposed to storms.

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When you're at home, Rover is everything you ever wished for in a dog. He's obedient and respectful. But when you're at work, his evil twin emerges.

Each day you come home, you tally up the destruction ... today he chewed the remote control into a gnarled piece of plastic, and there's a bite out of your slippers. And the list just keeps getting longer and longer. Why is your normally happy and obedient dog pulling this Jekyll-and-Hyde routine?

There are a lot of possible reasons, with sheer boredom ranking right up there. Without you there, life for your pooch just isn't that entertaining. So he makes do with your stuff, and you aren't there to restrain him. A dog does not differentiate between a remote control and a chew toy. Both are chew toys to him. What he does know is that you react in an unpleasant way when it's the remote control and remain calm when he goes for the chew toy.

So, naturally, he'll wait until you're gone before tasting the forbidden fruit.

Another reason why dogs chew everything in sight is simple curiosity. Puppies and juvenile dogs explore the world with their mouths. They explore by taste and texture. In addition, a puppy may chew around teething time. The action of chewing may help relieve the discomfort associated with the eruption of new teeth. The behavior may abate as the dog grows older but some breeds seem predisposed to chewing (Labrador retrievers, for instance).

An added attraction may be the fact that your scent is on many of these items, making them that more attractive than some impersonal chew toy.

Crating or strategically locating your dog in a part of the house with expendable items is one possible solution. You may also try to enrich your dog's environment with food puzzle toys, flavored Nylabones®, or treats strategically hidden around the room.

In addition, chewing may be an attempt to relieve anxiety, for example, during a thunderstorm in a thunderstorm phobic dog. This problem is relatively easy to diagnose; if your house is chewed up only after thunderstorms, then the cause of the chewing is relatively clear. Furthermore, your dog will probably react fearfully during storms even when you are home.

Separation anxiety is another serious cause behind chewing. Highly dependant dogs may feel abandoned when their owners are away, and may chew when alone to relieve anxiety and stress. Chew marks near doors indicate "barrier frustration," in which the dog is trying to break through the barrier to find his way to you.

Dogs that chew as a result of separation anxiety often show other signs of this condition. They may follow you from room to room, doting on you excessively. Some dogs with separation anxiety panic when they are unable to follow their owners around from room to room. If you suspect separation anxiety to be the cause of your dog's problem, contact your local veterinarian. You may need to institute an independence program to modify his behavior.


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Training Your Dog to Listen to You

Training Your Dog to Listen to You

Why Won't My Dog Listen To Me?

This is a common question that most first-time Dog owners ask me. Before I answer your question, let me ask you a few instead:

• Do you use cookies, collars, head halters or clickers to make your Dog listen to your commands?

• Do you have to raise your voice every time you want your Dog to listen to you?

• Does your Dog always come or sit on command - anytime and anywhere you want him to?

If your answers are mostly in the negative, its time you seriously reconsider your role as a sincere Dog trainer and an ideal pet parent.

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Get Your Dog To Listen To You

Before you begin any training, you must first establish yourself as the "ALPHA dog" of your family. Your Dog must know that you’re the leader of the pack and it is YOU who is in charge.

Here is a list of simple DO's and DONT's that you must follow if you want to be the Alpha:

• Always go out or come in through the door first - remember you are the leader;

• Always eat first - give your Dog something to eat only after you've finished your meal;

• Don’t circle around your Dog when he is lying on the floor - make your Dog move out of your way instead;

• Don't let your Dog set the rules - pay attention to him when you think fit and not whenever he demands;

• Don’t permit your Dog to sleep with you in your bed - demarcate his sleeping area clearly.

Once you successfully established yourself as the Alpha, training your Dog and making him listen will be a lot easier than you can imagine. Remember, if your Dog does not learn to "listen", all your training efforts will be in vain!

Does your Dog know his name? Does your Dog look at you whenever you call him by his name? This is the first and the most critical step involved in Dog Training. If your Dog doesn't respond to his name, you cannot have his attention for teaching him any other commands.

To make sure that your Dog recognizes his name, take a treat in your hand and hold it away from your body. Call your Dog's name. He is most likely to look at the treat in your hand. Continue calling his name untill he turns and looks at your eyes. Give him the treat immediately. Repeat this exercise by holding the treat in the other hand. Once you're sure that your Dog has learnt to recognize his name, just call his name and reward him for looking at you by petting or with a hug.

You must understand that Dogs respond far better to positive reinforcement than they do to coercion or force.

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Pet Handling Through Understanding Pack Mentality

A Groomer's Tip To Effective Pet Handling Through Understanding Pack Mentality

NATURAL INSTINCTS

A dog's natural instinct plays a vital role in pet handling. It is often difficult to differentiate between instinct and intelligence. Instinct is an urge from within. Instinct makes a dog act in certain ways and has no connection with intelligence.

A common misperception is that the expectations we have for dogs are far above their ability. Some people believe dogs understand complex thought patterns and are able to comprehend our moral and ethical codes. They assume a dog's level of understanding is the same as our own. There is a scientific name for this, Anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism means: “to assign emotion or thought patterns to animals or objects, which are incapable of achieving such dimensions.”

This is not the case. Dogs work on drive levels and instinct. It is important while handling a dog to keep in mind that they do not have the capacity to comprehend the complex thought processes that bring us to understand human emotions, language and behavior.

Most instincts provide pleasure to the dog, and because it associates the action with pleasure, learning to use the natural instinct for handling purposes will produce a positive result.

The first is an instinct that is reinforced when the dog is a puppy. Female dogs carry their young by gently picking them up by the back of the neck. The puppy instinctually stops playing and/or wiggling when it is in this position. Using this knowledge and simulating the same pressure that a mother exerts in controlling her puppies will assist in handling the dog. It is important to remember this fact; the natural response of a mother or leader dog is to release the restraint or grasp as soon as the dog submits. Therefore, restrain when needed.

The second instinct is how a subordinate dog will be ‘muzzled' by another dog. This puts that dog into a submissive state. You can illicit that same state by simulating the same behavior on that dog.

Employing these tactics will not only produce the desired response, but will also be consistent with the natural canine communication. Learn about the Leading Behavior Modification Equipement at Groomers Helper®.

PACK MENTALITY

To understand a dog's behavior, you must first understand that a dog is a pack animal. This Pack Mentality means that in a dog's mind you are either a leader or a follower – depending on your actions. In a dog's world, this is the natural order of life – each dog has his place in the pack.

Pack Mentality focuses on behaving as the leader commands. Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are wolves (Canis lupus) of many colors, shapes, and sizes. Wolves live by a very strict code of behavior, which is based on pack hierarchy. The Leader in any dog or wolf pack is considered the Alpha. The Alpha protects the pack, shelters the pack, feeds the pack, and determines how the pack reacts and behaves.

Dominance, Submission, and Aggression

The goal is to have the dog see you, the groomer, as the Alpha, which will allow you to use that authority to guide the dog – even though you cannot communicate with him on his own level. Therefore, understanding dominance, submission, aggression, and the dog's affinity for group living are important to effective safe pet handling

Dominance, submission, and aggression are complex behaviors between dogs. When you add in the human factor these complex behaviors are compounded. Dogs behave differently with humans than they do with other dogs. This is an important fact that must be considered every time a dog is brought into your grooming shop or van.

A dominant dog has an air of superiority, a way of demanding attention and challenging control. Dominance by itself is not aggression, but it can become aggression if the dog is given too much leeway to pursue his own agenda. In the grooming shop the groomer has to be dominant, not aggressive.

The Many Sides Of Dog Behavior

Understand this – a dog's behavior is never 100 % predictable.

A dog can be submissive to people and also be dominant to other dogs.

A dog can be submissive to adults and be dominant to children.

A dog in the middle may quarrel with other dogs (or not) and vacillate between tough guy and wimp in relationships with people.

A dog may behave in a dominant fashion on one day and be submissive the next.

A dog will willingly obey one groomer and completely ignore another groomer.

Bottom Line: A dog that is allowed to dominate humans can become a menace to groomers. Learn about the Leading Behavior Modification Equipement at Groomers Helper®.

Groomers Taking Control – Understanding Pack Mentality and Using it

When a dog arrives at a grooming shop its natural instinct is to immediately establish his place in the pack. Some dogs assume an automatic submissive role and will automatically act like a subordinate. Others will be more aggressive, and exhibit pushy behavior, attempting to climb the social ladder as high as you will allow them to.

At this point it is important to remember that you must become the Alpha, and establish a dominant role is your grooming shop. This does not mean you need to treat the dog aggressively. Being leader of the pack has nothing to do with harsh punishment. It has everything to do with consistency and setting limits. This means you simply need to establish and maintain your authority. Properly restraining a dog while grooming will let them know that you are the Alpha and you are in charge.

Authority and Confidence

Authority is established through being firm, but fair. A dog that growls, shows his teeth or nips at lower pack members loses respect from the other pack members. Alpha dogs that display aggression are often challenged, as they are considered a threat to other pack members. Being aggressive does not earn respect.

Confidence is at the top of the list. Observing body language is pertinent to surviving in a pack. A dominant dog is confident, stands tall, ears forward, and maintains eye contact. Dogs are known for their intuition, and this is derived from a pack instinct. The dog will watch you for eye contact and confidence, and this is important in maintaining an Alpha position in the grooming shop. Remember a dog's behavior is based on natural instincts derived from the Pack Mentality.

A lower ranked dog will not challenge a higher rank for food, or act aggressively towards a dog that is higher in the social structure of the pack. If a dog growls when you go to pick him up or put a leash on him, he is exhibiting a sign that he does not feel you have a higher ranking in the pack. An Alpha male will not accept commands from lower ranking dogs.

Dogs are a little like children in one respect, they're looking for someone else to be the leader. They want rules and regulations because that makes their role in the pack more clear-cut and easy to understand. It's scary being the leader. If you're not up to it, the dog may assume the role because someone has to be in charge! You need to set the rules and apply them from the first moment you meet the dog.

Learn about the Leading Behavior Modification Equipement at Groomers Helper®