Dogs are surprisingly complex creatures.

Some estimates suggest the number of dog breeds reaches as high as 800 in Western countries alone.   The variety is astonishing from a human perspective, who have, perhaps, a dozen ‘breeds’.

 Further complicating the picture  the well-known fact that dogs have descended from wolves.   As a consequence, there are behaviors that develop regardless of circumstances and some  common traits stand out.

Dogs are predators.

That doesn’t mean they necessarily hunt and attack every passing cat or rat, but the capacity is always in them. With acute hearing and head muscles that allow precise orientation of their ears, dogs can pick up a range of sounds and locate the source quickly and with high accuracy.

A dog’s field of vision is higher than that of humans. Their field of view has been estimated from 180-270 degrees, by comparison to a human’s 100-150 degrees, allowing them to track events better.

And, of course, there’s that famous sense of smell. Citing figures such as having 25 times as many scent-receptor cells or being able to sense concentrations 100 million times smaller than humans conveys the fact one way.

Dogs can bring so much joy to our lives: they provide companionship, act as a burglar alarm, and can even protect us from danger. However, if you have a dog with behavioral problems such as urinating in undesignated areas, chewing up household items, or barking uncontrollably, you may be occupied mainly with thoughts of how to make your dog behave. These 7 tips can help.

Tip #1: Avoid training when you are angry: Your dog is already extremely in tune with your emotions. If your dog does something to make you angry, wait until you have been able to distance yourself emotionally before trying to train your dog. Reason: if you are angry while training your dog, your dog will be distracted by your excited state and not be able to concentrate on your lesson.

Tip #2: Learn to think like your dog: If your dog does a behavioral no-no, think about what led up to the behavior. What was your dog doing before the behavioral mistake? Can you make adjustments to your dog’s environment that would prevent this? The point is, try to make sense of the behavior rather than just reacting to it as an isolated event.

Tip #3: Start when the dog is a puppy if you can - but you can train adult dogs, too: Yes, of course you should try to start training your dog when he or she is a puppy (note: wait until they are at least 6 months old). But, if behavioral problems crop up later in life, by all means you can and should start a corrective training program at that time.

Tip #4: Show him who is boss: When you are training your dog, make sure that you are trainer first, friend second. You need to be strict with your dog so that there is no ambiguity about the seriousness of what you want him or her to do.

Tip #5: Avoid yelling at your dog: Similar to the tip about your anger above, make sure you do not yell at your dog. Yelling makes you seem out of control and will actually reduce the effectiveness of your training efforts. Instead, use a calm, authoritative voice to train your dog.

Tip #6: Maintain a consistent learning environment: Try to maintain a consistent environment for your training exercises. Keep the set and setting the same for each lesson and your dog will pick up on your educational cues more quickly.

Tip #7: Use a training collar if necessary: Use a 6 foot training lead to train your dog. However, if you find that your dog is difficult to control, by all means switch to a training collar while the behavior problems persist.

Having a dog with serious behavioral problems can be annoying, distressing, and even expensive. Show your dog who is boss while maintaining a calm, authoritative demeanor and your dog will be on the road to better behavior.

Getting fed up with your dog’s behavioral problems? Put an end to the stress, expense and annoyance of with this proven training guide: http://www.I-Feel-Great.com

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Dog barking is an indication that they want to tell their owners something, communicate with other fellow dogs, or express an emotion. All of you must have noticed that the pattern and style of dog barking is different when he wants food or when he is playing with other dogs or when in company of a stranger.

Unfortunately for dog lovers, we can only guess the hidden meaning of their barking behavior. However, with a little observation and patience we can understand the communication and interaction style of a barking dog in case of dealing with humans.

This does not mean that barking at any time and every time is allowed. If a puppy realizes that his barking always gets his master’s attention, resulting in getting him the object he barked at, he will soon be barking all time. In fact there are high chances that he will learn to bark intensely and alarmingly to get an instant response. You must train your dog against such indiscriminate barking.

• The first method is to patiently wait till he gets quieted down. Give him what he wants only after he is quiet. This will make him understand that barking won’t get him anything.




• Stop dog from barking at visitors by proper dog training and ensuring that your guests do not give any attention to the dog till he is quiet. You can also try to make him learn good social skills and how to greet guests nicely.




• At times your dog might bark in alarm to inform you about something. In a response, praise him and then ask him to be quiet so that he gets the message that you have understood what he wants to communicate and does not need to continue barking. This will help him to relax and stop dog barking.




• You can also use whispering as experts say that whispering is much more effective for dog barking than shouting at him.




• You can also try teaching pups to bark only at your command on a particular command word and then reward them. After this you can effortlessly get them to be quiet. The most important thing is that you should be able to control your dogs barking especially at night or in public places.




• There are barking dog collars available which have been found to be quite effective, the dog bark collars can be found both in real shops and online shops. It is very convenient to use them.




• Lastly, all your efforts to control the dog’s barking can only be successful if you are able to determine as to why your dog is barking so much and then improve those circumstances.




• Understand if he is barking to protect his terrain or because his surroundings are extremely stimulating, or from long confinement, or because he is getting bored, or maybe even since his barking always gets him what he wants.




• There are some situations when barking is necessary. You should teach the dog to discriminate between the desirable and the undesirable circumstances and it will go a long way in curbing the dog barking problem!

Vincent Y is a passionate animal lover and dogs especially infatuate him. His love for dogs has given him a wide experience and practical knowledge regarding their various aspects of rearing. For more useful tips that really work visit his dog’s website at http://DogLoverClubs.com

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Having a new puppy as an addition to the household can be very exciting. Although it is easy to get caught up with this excitement, it is important as a responsible dog owner to ensure that your dog receives proper socialization and obedience training.

Dog’s are not humans, and whilst this statement may seem obvious, it can be surprising how much we unconsciously expect them to behave or learn as we might. No matter how much a part of the family they may seem, they communicate in a different way to humans, and this is why obedience training is so important. The right obedience training can help to make your life easier in terms of relating to your pet, and it can even help keep your dog safe when there are hazard around. A good example of this is being able to make him stop if he escapes the leash and heads for the road during his daily walk.

Getting the right obedience training

There are a number of options available when it comes to obedience training, but do bear in mind that training - particularly for the novice dog owner - may not be easy. Each dog will respond differently to obedience training methods. Some dogs tend to be very responsive to training, whereas others can be stubborn, strong willed, and determined, which can make training difficult. However, you are not alone, as there are plenty of resources and help out there.

For those that intend to undertake obedience training without going to a class, there are a number of resources available, including books, DVDs, and Internet advice. However, it is important to remember that many dogs will assume leadership unless you have the confidence and assertiveness to show him who is the boss. The way you do this is important too - it should be done using positive methods and reinforcement, and not by shouting and screaming at him, as the latter can result in fear and even aggression in your dog.

If you are not confident about taking on obedience training yourself then there is help available. Properly trained and experience trainers can prove the ideal solution for your dog’s obedience training needs, and can help to teach your dog the basic commands as well as more advanced obedience training. The older your new dog is, the more difficult the training is likely to be Thus, those with adult dogs, or a new young adult, should consider using a professional trainer.

With professional training you can select from non-residential training, which involves going with your dog and helping with in the training process with the supervision of the professionals, or a residential course. In a residential course, your dog goes to ‘boot camp’ for a specified time and receives obedience training from the experts. Many owners prefer the former method, as it enables them to get assistance with obedience training whilst still enabling them to form a close bond with their pet. Plus, it helps them learn how to handle their dogs in an environment where good feedback is possible.

Learn how to teach your dog to come. Rebecca writes on dog training and other topics here.

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