In this article we look at some of the signs to look out for to identify if your dog is stressed and also some reasons why dogs get stressed. Finally, we touch on things you can do to help your dog achieve harmony in your household.
Although many owners are aware that laws exist relating to dog ownership, few are aware of the details and the responsibilities they place on them. This article takes a brief look at the recent acts of Parliament, which cover dogs and their owners......
All dogs are pre-programmed to soil outside their nest, so in this respect puppies already have an instinct to move away from the nest at around 3 weeks of age to go to the toilet. With time, puppies will learn by themselves to be toilet trained. All we are doing is speeding up the process and adding a few helpful things along the way.....
It's hilarious seeing a huge Great Dane doing this trick, as it takes them a fair bit of practice to get their balance right. Other than that, this is a pretty easy trick to teach most dogs :
Most puppies will start to learn bite inhibition when playing with their litter mates and mother. But when they are taken away from this social structure we must make up for their incomplete learning.
Dogs have a natural instinct to guard what they believe is their territory. They consider it their duty to warn other pack members (which includes you and your family) of intruders. Indeed many people value their dog’s ability to warn them of people entering their premises.
Dogs can become aggressive towards other dogs for a number of reasons. They may have had bad experiences and are fearful of other dogs or they may be inexperienced in body language and may be sending out the wrong signals to other dogs. ....
This article introduces the preventative and training measures that can be taken to stop your dog or puppy developing aggressive tendencies towards humans. Owners of dogs that have already developed dangerous behaviour towards humans should seek immediate professional help. .....
Dogs are social animals hence explaining why their ancestors, wolves, lived in communities we refer to as packs. Even after you have trained and conditioned your dog to feel confident when left alone, this should not be a period greater than 4-5 hours during the day......
By instinct, dogs are predatory animals. In fact, many breeds have been bred for their ability to chase and hunt prey animals. Dogs generally consider any animal that runs away to be prey, unfortunately this can include animals such as cats, sheep, horses, rabbits and possibly other smaller dogs.....
First of all, you can't and shouldn't stop dog chewing as it is a natural and healthy activity for puppies and dogs. This article explores the reasons for chewing and what actions you can take to minimise the damage your dog causes through chewing.
Nothing can shatter peaceful lounging more than the sudden shrill of loud barking when the doorbell rings. To many owners irritation, it can often take several minutes before their dog calms down.
Many dog owners inadvertently conclude that dog castration is the magic solution to all their dog-behaviour problems. The decision to castrate is often taken as a desperate measure, rather than a well-thought-out and considered judgement based on the likely benefits.....
My dog makes me laugh. He usually has little interest in digging, until he sees me doing it. If I dig a hole in one area, I guarantee that if I turn around, he will be giving a hand somewhere else in the garden. So why do dogs like digging so much and why in some cases this can be seriously destructive and requires corrective action ?....
Many dog owners are surprised to learn that what starts as fearfulness in a puppy, can readily develop into aggression as they grow up. Others mistakenly believe that aggression in their dog is a result of dominance issues and often punish the dog when they display it......
We love our dogs as they give us so much fun, enjoyment, love and loyalty. But there are moments when they can make us cringe. Eating either their own or other animal's stools is definitely one of them.
We know that dogs have descended from wolves that have a significant instinct to defend territory for it's mating and food resources. In dog's, territorial aggression often manifests itself as aggression towards humans as we are the most likely beings to broach on what a dog thinks of its own territory....
Many owners are caught unawares by the excessive energy that their dogs display. Sadly, this can be such that many dogs find themselves in animal shelters simply because their owners are unable cope.....
We invest so much time in socialising our dogs to accept meeting and playing with humans as exiting pleasurable experience. As a consequence, our dogs can't wait to greet us or our visitors when they arrive. When this excitement manifests itself in "jumping up", it is sort of ironic that we then tell them off for being over exited to meet us.....
In the wild, the mounting behaviour of wolves is the ultimate statement of dominance and rank. With rank comes the right to mate with limited females.....
The article Why is my dog aggressive to humans ? briefly discusses the background to pack hierarchy and how instability in this can result in dominance aggression. This article looks at the positive actions you can take to estabish yourself as the packleader and bring harmony to your pack.
Like humans, dogs understand the concept of possession and ownership of resources. Perhaps also like some humans, dogs can take excessive measures to guard these resources. The types of resources can be numerous, but the most common and problematic ones are usually food, objects (toys/chews etc) and particular locations such as their bed, your bed or their crate.....
Some dogs may be prone to leaking urine when they are excited, stressed or when meeting people or other dogs. This is often known as 'submissive urination'. This is a dog's way of showing appeasement behaviour to a higher ranking individual and is usually displayed in dogs that lack confidence....
For the vast majority of dogs, car sickness is related to stress rather than the motion of your car. Some say that your dog's most powerful memory is of the car journey that took it away from all it ever knew to be safe and secure, namely its litter mates and mother.....