Some Advice for Dog Obedience Training

Oct
16
2009

Dogs love to dig. Whether it is to bury a bone, look for a bone, or to just see what is underneath the dirt this time, dogs enjoy digging.

While it is a natural instinct in dogs, digging can be detrimental to your yard and to your dog’s discipline. How can you get your living breathing shovel to stop?

As with children, dogs do things for a reason. Why is your dog digging? If you can figure this out, you are halfway to a solution. Does he just love to fling dirt?

There are reasons why your dog may dig in your yard: he may need more exercise and stimulation. He may be hoarding food or trying to cool off or stay warm in the ground. He may be trying to investigate the smell of fertilizer or fresh dirt.

Knowing the reason behind the digging can help you stop the behavior. For instance, if it is due to boredom or lack of attention, you can start to offer your dog more play time with you.

If the problem persists, try one of the following:

1. Find the spots your dog usually digs and bury a balloon that has been inflated. If your dog digs, he’ll pop the balloon. This unpleasant reaction to his digging can deter him from continuing.

2. Fill some of the holes your dog has made with his own feces. When he revisits the holes, he will be disgusted by this. It is enough to deter him from digging.

3. Chicken wire is another thing you can bury in your yard to deter your dog from digging. He’ll hate the feeling of his claws against the wire and will be prompted to stop.

4. Spray him with a hose. Dogs hate being sprayed, especially in the face. Make sure if you do this that you have caught him in the act of digging or he won?t know why you?re spraying him.

Digging doesn’t have to be a part of your dog’s normal routine. With a little work and training, you can get past this behavior and have a hole-free yard

Clicker Training for Great Dog Behavior

The use of clickers in dog training has increased in recent years. It is a gentle way to condition your dog to repeat good behavior.

Clicker training works on the principle of operant conditioning. This is when a behavior is repeated because a reward is associated with it. Here is some more on how clicker training works:

You hold a small plastic box in your hand. It has a metal strip which produces a clicking sound when pressed.

The key to clicker training is to teach your dog to associate the click with the reward, such as a biscuit. After your dog successfully performs a command, you click. Offer the treat at the same time.

The dog learns to associate the click with the behavior and the click with the treat, which makes it more likely that he?ll repeat it. Soon, just the click will be enough, and eventually, it can be phased out altogether.

You can often train dogs with clickers faster and more effectively than with other means. Clicking is immediate, so your dog quickly learns that his behavior is producing the treat. This encourages repetition of the desired behaviors.

Trying the clicker method can lead to more effective, quicker training. It works with your dog?s natural urge to please you and earn a reward.

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