Meet Lucy! Lucy (or "Lady Whiskers," as her owners affectionately call her) has just reached the teenybopper stage of puppyhood! At nine months, even after a successful round of puppy classes, Lucy has decided to test the limits again. Lucy started barking at other dogs from the window, antagonizing the cats and walking on the coffee table. Her owners felt like someone had come in the night to replace their affectionate and well-mannered pup with a feisty and demanding dog. We heard their cries for help and rushed to the rescue.
After recapping some of the basics from puppy class, it became clear to us that Lucy's owners had a superb understanding of how dogs learn. It was very apparent that they had done a lot of the hard work to teach Lucy what they expected of her. This was great because once Lucy started to regress, her owners were able to refer to the basic methods that they learned in puppy class. However, these techniques weren't quite working for all of the new behaviors that she was exhibiting. Because Lucy had such a strong foundation it was easy for us to apply more advanced methods to her new behavior.
Most dog owners are excellent at delivering praise or positive reinforcement. What is all too often the case for most people is that they lack balance or the ability to show their disapproval properly. We adore our dogs so much that it can be somewhat unsettling to reprimand them. It's okay to feel upset about your dog's behavior from time to time but acting on your emotions often makes the problem worse. Instead, develope a line of communication with your dog. Having a noise such "EH-EH!" or words like "Hey!" to indicate that your pup is headed down the wrong road as well as gently interrupting your dogs behavior can help your dog understand your expectations. For Lucy's owners, it was just a matter of learning the right way to show their disapproval.
To learn more about addressing problematic behaviors, visit Zen Dog Training Online.
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