How to Make a Dog Behave

Many people return home to find serious damage: Mattresses, rolls of toilet paper, trash bags... nothing is safe from a bored dog.

Why does your dog misbehave at home?

Generally, this kind of misbehaving comes from dogs who feel lonely and bored inside the house. That's when you have to ask yourself: Does my dog spend too much time alone?

If the answer is yes, then you probably already know why your dog misbehaves when you're not around. To help your dog, you can use various tools like common dog toys, or intelligence games or authorized toys like the Kong. For less alone time, why not install Dog TV?

There can be serious consequences of separation anxiety in dogs. In these cases, the best option is to visit a specialist such as a canine ethologist or a dog trainer.

What to do about it:

You must only tell your dog off if you catch them in the act of breaking things. A simple "no" will suffice, you shouldn't overdo it. Take your dog to another place of the house and then tidy up any broken items.

Once you've cleared the mess, dedicate some time to your dog: It is trying to get your attention.

It is important to know that there is no use in telling a dog off if it has damaged the sofa more than two hours ago. Your dog will not understand expressions of grief and sadness.

During walks, many dog owners have problems with their pets barking, showing aggression, pulling on the lead, etc. Sometime this is a result of poor socialization when it was a puppy, but don't worry, adult dogs can also be socialized even if it is a slower, harder process.

How should you walk with your dog?

On the majority of pet websites, you will find very creative tips to prevent your dog from pulling the lead. The reality of a good dog walk, however, is to follow the simpler guidelines given by animal behavior experts:

• Do not force your dog to walk beside you, this is its time to play.

• Let it do what it wants, sniff urine for example: it's dogs' way of relaxing.

• Let your dog run free for a while in an off-lead area.

• Let it approach other dogs if its behavior is good.

• Don't tell it off if it growls at other dogs, just let it follow you as you walk away - this is a result of poor socialization.

What should you do if your dog tries to attack another dog?

This is a difficult situation for any inexperienced owner because they may not know how to react. If your dog tries to attack other dogs - not just one, but several - the most important thing is to keep calm, take precautions and seek out a canine ethologist or dog trainer.

The longer you let this go on, the harder it will be to fix. Remember that you should never hit your dog if it is aggressive, since it may end up unintentionally biting you.

What if your dog doesn't listen to you?

In principle, you shouldn't worry if your dog doesn't pay much attention to you when outside; your dog will be in its element, having fun. However, if "not paying attention" becomes dangerous for your dog and it could cause an accident by running away without listening to you, you should take action by practicing obedience with positive reinforcement, or by using a clicker.

Here you can learn more about how to teach your dog to stay still on command.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Make a Dog Behave, we recommend you visit our Behavioral problems category.