The Key To Introducing A New Puppy To Your Older Dog

March 29, 2017 by Fanna Easter

How to Introduce a New Puppy to Your Older Dog

Introducing a New Puppy to Your Older Dog — Tracy King/Adobe Stock

Bringing home a new puppy with a current older dog at home can be challenging, but it can be done peacefully and positively. As dogs get older, they prefer quiet and comfy spots with minimal distractions. In contrast, puppies are loud, move really fast and can pester older dogs, which can quickly cause conflicts.

If you’re wondering how to introduce a new puppy to an older dog, start by separating them first. Keeping them separated in the beginning is the first step to peaceful co-existence. It’s a tool for teaching boundaries and polite manners while preventing dog anxiety and aggression from developing later on.

Watch Your Older Dog’s Body Language

Some pet owners assume their senior dogs will flourish with a new puppy around, but the opposite actually happens. When you introduce a new puppy to your older dog, you may notice your new puppy harassing him. If this happens, watch your older dog’s body language. If your older dog moves away from or ignores your puppy, support her decision by redirecting the puppy away from her.

Keep squeaky toys and yummy treats close by to give your puppy something else to do instead of chase his older sister. Your older dog will soon warm up to the puppy. It just takes a while to trust a roommate, especially if you didn’t pick your roommate. 🙂

Feed Meals Separately

Keep your new puppy and older dog separated during meals. Puppies should eat in their crates, so they learn good things happen there. If your older dog finishes her food quickly and walks over while your puppy is eating, redirect her with a potty break outdoors. Prevention is key to keeping your older dog from stealing food. Resource guarding behavior can easily rear its ugly head before you know it.

Never Allow Harassment

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Allowing dogs to “work it out” never works. It never ends nicely.[/perfectpullquote]

Puppy zoomies and sharp teeth? Yikes! It’s important to provide your new puppy plenty of playtime, but never allow him to harass your older dog. If your puppy chases, climb ups or harasses your older dog, that’s your call to intervene. Immediate intervention prevents an older dog from growling, snapping or biting your new puppy. Allowing dogs to “work it out” never works. It never ends nicely.

If your new puppy runs over to pester your older dog, call him to you and reward with super yummy treats. If your puppy continues to chase your older dog, quickly walk over and pick your puppy up. Now, walk to the other side of the living room and play with your puppy. Soon, your new puppy will learn that fun happens with you, and it’s rewarding to not pester an older dog.

Keep Them Entertained While You’re Away

Teach your new puppy that crates are fun, and keep your puppy crated whenever you’re not home. By now, your older dog has already earned free access to your home, so continue to allow your older dog to nap on the sofa while you’re away.

Do keep your puppy’s crate away from your senior dog’s favorite napping spots though. Try placing the dog crate in your bedroom or dining room. Turn on soft music and toss everyone a frozen food stuffed toy before leaving.

Having your new puppy and older dog in the same house with relaxing music on and letting them enjoy something yummy together teaches them to associate good things with being together. Soon, your puppy and older dog will enjoy chilling at home while you’re away.

Puppies and older dogs can get along happily, but it takes time.

House Training An Adult Dog

March 15, 2017 by Fanna Easter

How to House Train an Adult Dog

House Training Adult Dog — nenetus/Adobe Stock

Potty accidents, caused by adult dogs, is much more common than you think. Most adult dogs will potty outside in the backyard, but will also potty inside when the right opportunity arises (e.g. when it’s raining outside :)). Regardless of the reason, some adult dogs may need a house training refresher course. If your dog potties inside your home, follow these simple steps to house train an adult dog.

Dog House Training 101

When teaching an adult dog potty training skills, you should follow the same steps you’d take for potty training a puppy. Remember, it’s up to you to teach a dog house training skills. Dogs aren’t pre-programmed to understand pottying indoors is considered rude. 🙂

Crate Your Dog

Confining a dog to a small area is an important step for house training an adult dog. Usually, dogs won’t potty where they sleep, so confining them in a crate teaches dogs to “hold it.” Crate training can be extremely helpful when used properly. However, you shouldn’t leave your adult dog or puppy in a crate for more than 4 hours. If you’re unable to keep an eye on your dog, toss a food filled toy into the dog crate and close your dog inside. This will prevent her from wandering into the formal dining room and pottying. When in doubt, crate your dog before chatting on the phone or reading through text messages.

Leash Your Dog During Potty Walks

When asked if their dogs potty in the backyard, pet owners swear their dogs do, yet their dogs come right back indoors and urinate on the carpet. While this raises a red flag from a dog trainer’s perspective, it’s important to rule out any health issues with a veterinarian first. Once health issues are cleared, it’s time for leashed potty breaks in the yard.

Bring your dog outside on leash in the most boring part of your backyard. Now wait for “it” to happen, and reward when your adult dog potties. Once she’s done, give her a treat and unsnap the leash. Leash walks aren’t forever. It’s a dog training tool to verify a dog is actually pottying outside, and it provides plenty of opportunities to reward good behavior.

If a dog doesn’t potty outside, bring her indoors and place her inside the crate with a food stuffed toy. After 20 minutes, take her outside again. Continue until she potties outside and reward her, so she learns that pottying outside makes treats happen.

Set a Schedule

Life gets busy, and dogs are usually forgotten. Creating a set potty schedule is key. Following a set schedule will certainly jump-start a house training protocol. Set your dog’s potty training schedule in a highly visible area, such as a refrigerator. Even better, set a reminder on your smartphone. Check out an example of a house training schedule.

There is One Big Difference Though

When house training a dog, the core principles and skills are the same regardless of a dog’s age. But there’s one big difference that most pet owners seem to forget, and it’s a challenging one. When dogs practice a behavior for a long time, they get really good at it. Behaviors become patterns and habits, which are challenging to fix. It will take longer to house train an adult dog than a new puppy.

This applies to humans as well. Don’t believe me? Try shaking hands with your left hand next time. It feels weird, and most people quickly return to what they know, which is shaking hands with their right hand. You’ve shook hands with someone’s right hand for years, so it feels weird doing anything else. Remember this when your adult dog has a potty accident; they’re relearning new habits and skills.

It Can Be Done

Patience and consistency is key. When your adult dog has an accident, it’s usually because she was allowed too much freedom too soon. Take a step back, and follow the three steps for house training an adult dog. Never punish your dog for potty accidents, as she’ll learn to potty in far away areas, which is counterproductive. Reward often and keep an eye on your dog until she’s had 30 potty accident free days.

UP NEXT: 5 Tips for Sharing a Home With an Incontinent Dog

Dogs Find Choices Very Rewarding

March 3, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Choice Dog Training

Easiest Way to Train a Dog — alexei_tm/Adobe Stock

As with everything in life, trends appear, stick around or rapidly disappear. Lately, a new dog training trend focuses on giving dogs choices during the training process. This “trend” puzzles me a bit because choices should be a part of all dog training. Dogs deserve choices, and sometimes dogs find choices more rewarding than food. Below, we show you the easiest way to train a dog through choices.

How Choice Dog Training Works

Dogs should be allowed to make choices during training sessions and in life. At first, this concept scares most pet owners and a few dog trainers alike. However, giving dogs choices actually speeds up training when dogs learn they’re able to control their environment.

Making choices in situations is super empowering, and giving dogs the ability to make their own teaches them to trust their pet owners completely. As humans, we must honor our dog’s choice and not push the issue. This is where pet owners become concerned and confused, as they’re envisioning dogs walking across kitchen countertops or running freely through the neighborhood. Nope, you’ve envisioned the pendulum swinging too far.

Instead, you reward your dog for making the right choice, which increases the likelihood that your dog’s certain behavior will happen again.

Giving Your Dog a Choice

Participation is a huge choice that most dogs don’t enjoy. Many dogs don’t have a choice, and are forced to participate during vet visits or petting from strangers. Some dogs dislike having their nails trimmed, and will growl whenever someone reaches for or touches their feet.

Example: Dog Dislikes Nail Trims

The first step is to acknowledge whether or not your dog is worried about nail trims. Then, teach your dog that touching his feet and trimming his nails make hot dogs appear when he chooses to participate.

Sit on the floor with diced up hot dogs in your lap. Click and reward your dog for walking up to you. Yes, hot dogs are encouraging your dog to walk over to you, but we want to reward dogs for choosing to walk toward us.

Reward your dog a couple of times for walking over to and standing near you, then reach toward his paw, but don’t touch it. If your dog pulls his paw away, sit still and return your hand back into your lap. It’s no big deal. At first, your dog might look a bit confused because this might be the first time he’s given a choice.

Some dogs may back away, and that’s fine. If your dog chooses to walk away, at anytime, honor your dog’s choice. Wait a few seconds, and reward him when he chooses to walk toward you again. Remember, you’re holding something he wants (hot dogs).

Reach for his paw again. Click/treat when he chooses to stand still (doesn’t move backwards or pulls foot away from you). Practice 2-3 times, and then end the session. Continue to practice slowly until your dog allows you to touch his paw and eventually trim his nails.

Honoring Your Dog’s Choices

When pet owners honor their dog’s choice, something magical happens. Dogs learn that they’re able to stop something scary without becoming aggressive. Also, they learn that their pet owner won’t force the issue. This is empowerment at its finest, and it will positively change your dog’s behavior.

Forcing a dog to comply gets you nowhere and actually stops the learning process. This type of dog training has nothing to do with “everybody wins a trophy” phenomena. Instead, it’s based on learning principles, consequences and scientific data.

Choice dog training is the easiest way to train a dog, so why not use it?

Dog Training And Human Ego: Not A Good Mix

February 20, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Leave Your Ego Behind During Dog Training

As humans, we try our best to stay out of our own way, but it’s so hard. While humans are extraordinarily complex, we overthink situations and our ego gets in the way. Human egos will certainly derail dog training, which ultimately hold back a dog’s progress. Here’s how to check your ego at the door when training your dog.

How to Not Let Your Ego Get in the Way

Give Your Dog Space

Learning happens best when humans aren’t around. When dogs learn, humans want to be a part of it, which is a good thing. However, it’s better when dogs learn how to make good choices on their own without help from their pet owners. Sometimes, humans just get in the way, unfortunately.

Think about changing behavior this way: It’s better for a dog to choose how to positively react and be rewarded than having someone tell him what to do instead. It’s like cutting out the middleman—a dog learns how to behave politely when no one else is around. Now, that’s freedom for a dog!

Cater to Your Dog’s Personality

Every dog is an individual, and learns on his or her own time. Assuming Labrador Retrievers learn quicker than Basset Hounds is false. I know some Basset Hounds that fly through agility courses. Some dogs punch in and work fiercely while others prefer frequent breaks. Each dog personality has its pluses and minuses, so it’s important for pet owners to understand their dogs’ learning style and adapt to it. Take your time; there’s no hurry.

Laugh and Let It Go

Oh, this is a big one! Dogs aren’t pre-programmed machines, so they make hilarious choices sometimes. Instead of frowning with embarrassment, laugh it off! Every pet owner has been in your shoes, including dog trainers. Once, I had a male Rottweiler urinate on my leg while presenting to a large group of fellow dog trainers. Consumed with teaching, I didn’t notice it until my sock felt warm. Everyone giggled and I laughed until I almost urinated myself. Mistakes happen. It’s a valuable part of the learning process. Don’t sweat the small stuff; laugh it off and move on.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Dogs aren’t plotting against you.[/perfectpullquote]

Stop the Blame Game

Learning is difficult, yet necessary. Mistakes are part of the learning process. When challenges pop up, and they will, take a break and reevaluate the situation. Assuming your dog is stubborn when things become difficult won’t help the situation. When this happens, the pet owner is playing the blame game.

Dogs aren’t plotting against you. They’re simply doing what works for them, or they don’t know what else to do in that situation. Before teaching your dog a new behavior, decide what you want him to do instead, so your dog training plan is super clear. When a learner (dog) is stuck, it’s up to the teacher (pet owner) to figure out how to solve the issue.

Pet owners will become frustrated when training dogs. It’s that ego again. The moment frustration bubbles up, or your dog becomes confused, take a break and reevaluate the entire situation.

UP NEXT: 7 Tips on Being a Responsible Dog Owner

Deaf Dog Training: How To Stop Barking

February 13, 2017 by Fanna Easter

How to Stop a Deaf Dog From Barking

Deaf Dog Training — alexei_tm/Adobe Stock

All dogs bark just like humans talk and birds chirp; it’s natural dog behavior. However, when dogs bark incessantly, this can become an issue with neighbors. Plus, barking is annoying and frustrating to pet owners too. When barking happens, it’s important to teach dogs to do something other than bark. This principle applies to deaf dogs too. Learn how to stop your deaf dog from barking.

Why Deaf Dogs Bark

First, let’s address this question. Do dogs bark if they’re deaf? Yes, deaf dogs still bark and they bark for numerous reasons. Frustration is usually the main cause for excessive deaf dog barking. When deaf dogs are frustrated, barking becomes a calming mechanism in a way. Think about it this way: When people are nervous, they talk a lot. It’s an easy way to calm oneself when stressed or frustrated. Soon, deaf dogs learn to bark every time they’re frustrated and hence excessive barking.

Sounds and visual stimuli are other reasons deaf dogs bark. While hearing impaired dogs are unable to hear certain distractions, they’re able to see. Hearing impaired dogs will bark whenever they see people and dogs walking nearby too. Plus, deaf dogs learn super quickly. When their pet owners walk to the front door, they’ve learned that someone is there and will bark.

On the flip side, hearing impaired dogs will bark when they’re excited too. It’s fun when visitors walk through the door or their pet owners arrive home from work. By far, this deaf dog behavior is the easiest to redirect with toys and games.

Training a Deaf Dog Not to Bark

Take a day or two to figure out what causes your deaf dog to bark. Once a trigger is discovered, it’s time to get busy and teach your dog to do something else besides bark. You’ll need lots of super yummy treats, a pen flashlight (as a marker) and leash. In the beginning, set your dog up for success by keeping him leashed until he understands what to do instead of bark.

For Visual Stimuli

It’s best to take a two-prong approach and use management tools to change your dog’s behavior. One way to manage your dog’s behavior is to block access to windows facing foot traffic with baby gates. If blocking access is impossible, keep curtains and blinds closed. For a deaf dog that barks at visual stimuli when you’re away, consider crating your dog.

To stop your deaf dog from barking, leash your dog and stand next to the window with super yummy treats. Ask a friend to walk on the sidewalk and wait for your hearing impaired dog to stop barking. It will happen, even if it’s just for a nanosecond, so catch it when it does. The moment your deaf dog stops barking, point the pen flashlight near his front feet and give him a treat. Continue to practice 1-2 minutes per day.

For Frustration

Hearing impaired dogs become frustrated for many reasons. If visual stimuli are an issue, follow the above recommended dog behavior protocol. For bored dogs, it’s important to offer daily mental stimulation. Take your deaf dog for a 30-minute walk every day, feed meals using interactive dog toys and hire a pet sitter for midday walks. Playing a game of tug or fetch is an excellent way to release pent-up stress too. You can also purchase a food dispensing toy, such as Pet Tutor, to reinforce quiet behavior while you’re away.

When Professional Help is Needed

Hiring a positive reinforcement dog trainer is always a good idea, especially if he or she has experience with deaf dogs. Having a dog training expert in your home is worth its weight in gold! Deaf dogs can suffer from separation anxiety or general anxiety as well. When in doubt, bring a professional into the mix to pinpoint exactly what’s going on.

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