Dog behaviour management. Our four-legged friend is the joy of the family; no one like him can cheer us up and make our days fun and carefree. Enthusiasm is the dog’s best characteristic and probably why we adore his company, but, in some cases, his manifestations can invade some personal space or border on unwelcome excesses.
Therefore, in addition to taking care of all his needs and making our friend’s life complete and fulfilling now and then, we must establish rules and small limits so that he understands what can be done freely, what is allowed, and what actions are not welcome.
Space management
You will surely have heard various opinions regarding the management of the spaces we share with our pets: it is better to have the dog sleep with us; he should sleep in his cot; not to eat with our dog; to have him eat before; to have him eat after; and many other small rules that, often, being contradictory, send us into more confusion than anything else.
The watchword in these situations is definitely ‘consistency‘. From the outset, it is advisable to decide which places and spaces your friend is allowed and which are forbidden. This will make it much easier for the dog to adapt to your needs.
If you decide that the sofa is ‘off limits‘, it is essential that you do not allow it on special occasions or, as is often the case, when you are feeling particularly cheerful and generous. Every time your friend tries to jump up and sit on the sofa, you must, calmly and patiently, get him off and be ready to repeat this operation dozens of times because, as you probably know, the dog has time, patience and stubbornness superior to your ability to counter. On these occasions, you will be able to experiment and apply the magic word: ‘NO’, which, very often, is as simple as it is useless and ineffective; let us see why.
How to use ‘NO’ with the dog
For ‘NO’ to take on the meaning of the prohibition, it must be well associated, the first few times, with your ability to interrupt or prevent that action. Let’s take the example of getting on the sofa: if you are in another room and your dog gets on the couch for the first time and you, from a distance, say “NO” to him, it is likely that what he will understand is that after that word he can comfortably continue to do what he wants (i.e. get on the sofa) because you cannot prevent him in any way.
If, on the contrary, every time he hears ‘NO’ you physically can make him get off the sofa, he will associate the word with a practical action of yours, and thus, in time, every time he hears it, he will know that you are coming to prevent him from carrying out his plan and will try to avoid your intervention by getting off the sofa himself. This concept should be expanded to similar situations, so always follow up your ‘NO’ with immediate and practical action.
The use of the fence
Another widely used method for explaining to the dog that not all areas of the house are “his” is the use of the fence. By teaching the dog from an early age that the wall is the place where he eats, there is his comfortable kennel and his toys, it will then be easy to educate him to stay inside at those times when we need him not to be around the house (e.g., if we are cleaning or if we cannot watch him to prevent him from doing some damage).
The ‘NO’ outside the home
Outside the home, during your walks, it may be a little more complex to manage your dog’s actions, given the large number of stimuli (people, dogs, smells, noises, etc.) to which your friend is subjected. The ‘NO’ and how he behaves and interacts often need a little ‘basic education’, commonly called ‘basic education’.
It is the most common mistake to think that a dog immersed in a place with hundreds of distractions will listen to us, like when it is focused only on us. To get a well-behaved dog in the park, in the city, at the bar, etc., it is essential that first, at home, in the garden, at school or, in any case, in a quiet place, it learns the basics of education through basic exercises.
SITTING, GROUND, RESTING, RECALLING, and LEADING is not a whim reserved for strict or perfectionist owners and dogs, but the simple means by which, with good training and lots of repetition, you can tell your dog what you want and what is the ideal behaviour in a particular situation.
If you are sitting at the café and your friend keeps jumping on you because he wants a piece of your brioche, it might be helpful for you and for him to know the little word that allows him to behave correctly (SIT, STOP, REST, STAY DOWN etc.).
Thank you for reading the article to the end. Your reading contribution was significant to us.
Affiliate Disclosure: we want to be transparent with our readers. Some links in this article may be affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost, we may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links. Rest assured, we only recommend products and services we believe will add value to your journey as a new pet parent.
Post a Comment