Confinement Archives - Edie MacKenzie

Dog Barking & What They’re Trying To Say

March 20, 2011 by admin 1 Comment

1. Continuous rapid barking, mid-range pitch: “Call the pack! There is a potential problem! Someone is coming into our territory!” Continuous barking but a bit slower and pitched lower: “The intruder [or danger] is very close. Get ready to defend yourself!”

2. Barking in rapid strings of three or four with pauses in between, mid-range pitch: “I suspect that there may be a problem or an intruder near our territory. I think that the leader of the pack should look into it.”

3. Prolonged or incessant barking, with moderate to long intervals between each utterance: “Is there anybody there? I’m lonely and need companionship.” This is most often the response to confinement or being left alone for long periods of time.

4. One or two sharp short barks, midrange pitch: “Hello there!” This is the most typical greeting sound.

5. Single sharp short bark, lower midrange pitch: “Stop that!” This is often given by a mother dog when disciplining her puppies but may also indicate annoyance in any dog, such as when disturbed from sleep or if hair is pulled during grooming and so forth.

6. Single sharp short bark, higher midrange: “What’s this?” or “Huh?” This is a startled or surprised sound. If it is repeated two or three times its meaning changes to “Come look at this!” alerting the pack to a novel event. This same type of bark, but not quite as short and
sharp, is used to mean “Come here!” Many dogs will use this kind of bark at the door to indicate that they want to go out. Lowering the pitch to a relaxed midrange means “Terrific!” or some other similar expletive, such as “Oh, great!” My cairn terrier, for example, who loves to jump, will give this single bark of joy when sent over the high jump. Other dogs give this same bark when given their food dish.

7. Single yelp or very short high-pitched bark: “Ouch!” This is in response to a sudden, unexpected pain.

8. Series of yelps: “I’m hurting!” “I’m really scared” This is in response to severe fear and pain.

9. Stutter-bark, mid-range pitch: If a dog’s bark were spelled “ruff,” the stutter-bark would be spelled “ar-ruff.” It means “Let’s play!” and is used to initiate playing behavior.

10. Rising bark: This is a bit hard to describe, although once you’ve heard it, it is unmistakable. It is usually a series of barks, each of which starts in the middle range but rises sharply in pitch – almost a bark-yelp, though not quite that high. It is a play barking, used during rough-and- tumble games, that shows excitement and translates as “This is fun!”

How To Banish Your Dog’s Destructive Scratching

March 18, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Destructive scratching is related to escape chewing, digging and jumping out of windows. This is a behavior that the dog normally undertakes when he has been confined and wants to escape.

To discover the causes of this destructive behavior, you must determine when and where the scratching takes place. Obvious causes of this behavior is when the female dog next door is in heat, or confinement because the dog is a social problem or is being punished, which are the usual causes relate to confinement alone.

One exception is the dog that scratches on the seats or cushions of furniture or through bedding or mattresses. These excavators are usually digging a hole for themselves to curl up in or are scratching in frustration at their owner’s anal and/or genital scents. When pillows and clothing are the target, the dog may be attempting to masturbate with them.

Scratching in order to escape can occur in dominant or overdependent dogs. In either case, correction involves the same methods as for destructive chewing. The owner must teach at least the “Come,” “Sit,” and “Stay” commands without the use of force. These commands should be used whenever the dog nudges for attention. The dog should be praised for desirable responses. If punishment has been used, this must be stopped immediately, as this is usually counterproductive.

To minimize the contrast between the owner’s presence and absence, all unsolicited attention, such as talking to the dog, petting him or playing with him in response to the dog’s attention seeking, should be stopped. Examples of these activities include tug-o’-war, wrestling, chasing the dog, and playing fetch when the owner must force the dog to give up the ball or stick.

In other words, interactions must involve the dog’s responding to the owner, rather than vice versa. Coming and going rituals must be avoided. It is also helpful to leave a radio turned on at a normal volume at all times to stabilize the acoustic environment and keep the dog company.

If the cause of destructive scratching is known, that cause should be eliminated, if possible. If a confined male dog is scratching because a neighborhood female dog is in heat, the use of some medication for the female dog in heat has proved to be successful, providing her owners are willing. If not, and if the problem is recurrent with a male that is not to be bred, castration has proven helpful if combined with the other steps outlined here. If the dog is unruly or shut away as punishment for some other behavior, the basic behavior problem should be corrected.

Dog Communication: How To Help A Dog With An Abusive History

March 6, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Last year, Angela, a single mother of three teenage boys, had been in contact with the Greyhound Pets of America (a rescue group that finds homes for retired racing greyhounds). She asked the group if they had an adult dog that would get along well with cats, as Angela also loved cats and had several of them.

A lovely greyhound named Bronze fit the bill. Just several days later Bronze was welcomed with loving arms in his new home.

Bronze didn’t know a lot of small things right away, such as how to climb up steps or comprehend a see-through glass door and windows, etc. He did not know how to play and was very weary of people, particularly very tall, thin males. And something also peculiar – he was literally afraid of his own shadow!

Any of these things caused fear in Bronze, and the resulting behavior was aggression, snarling and growling. Angelica was worried that his behavior would go beyond this reaction, leading into biting or attacking.

Soon Bronze showed fear towards another specific occurrence: Anytime Angela’s brother would come to visit, and wearing his usual leather jacket and ball cap, Bronze would again start his aggressive stance and snarling. The same thing happened when Angela’s sons would come home with their noisy friends.

The Cause Of Bronze’s Fear

As you know, Bronze was an ex-race dog, so once Angela was able to contact a canine psychologist, the doctor was able to identify the problem right away. He had asked Angela to obtain a picture of the dog’s ex-trainer, which turned out to be a very tall, skinny man that wore a long black coat, along with a specific hat that resembled a baseball cap.

Add to this evidence the obvious experiences of the dog having raced at the track: lots of noisy people, confinement, guns firing, running, more confinement, lots of harsh training commands from his trainer – it was no wonder why Bronze reacted the way he did when he was adopted.

Managing these issues was not going to be an easy task. It required Angela to have constant vigilance. The doctor instructed her to remove the noisy teenagers from his presence, teaching Angela to be cautious of how she gave commands to Bronze, as well as have her brother remove his black leather jacket and ball cap when visiting.

In time, Bronze was able to calm down and within 12 months was less afraid of noise and the appearance of any man that resembled his past trainer became less of a threat. Bronze lived to be thirteen years old and because of his new owner’s love and care to learn to communicate, he was a lucky dog – one that enjoyed the right that every canine has – to be loved and included in a real family.

What You Can Learn From This Story

If you are also considering bringing home an adult dog that has had a history of competing in sports, such as a racing dog, for example, then prepare yourself by taking lessons from the above story. It will not only teach you how to communicate with your problem dog, but could also save him or her from being sentenced to a lonely life inside of the pound.

House Breaking Your Golden Retriever

October 20, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Basic Golden Retriever Training

To properly train house break your Golden Retriever, you must stick to a routine regarding your crate, and ensure that he doesn’t spend additional time outside of his crate. When he is outside of his crate, you should watch him at all times. If you don’t keep an eye on him when he is outside of the crate and he has an accident inside the house, you can’t blame no one but yourself as you didn’t correct him the second it happened.

To help your dog learn the right way to relieve himself, you should always praise him when he goes to the right location. You can crate him at night, then take him out when he wakes up in the morning and show him the correct spot. Give him some time, then praise himself once he starts to go. If you avoid accidents, you should be able to train your Golden without any problems. Once accidents begin to happen though, it can be extremely hard to break the pattern.

When you house break your dog, you should never give him any freedom. Getting it right is a lot of work for him, and chances are he’d rather be doing something else. If you are tolerant with him and allow him to make mistakes, you’ll find yourself needing to be a lot more stern to break him of the bad habits that you have tolerated and allowed. If you start when your Golden is young and enforce the rules, he’ll be a happy member of your family in no time at all.

When you house break, you should use confinement as much as possible. Confinement basically means that until you have housebroken your Golden Retriever, he isn’t allowed to freely move around the house. You should always keep a watchful eye on him and make sure that if he’s outside the crate – you know where he is at all times and what he is doing.

If you happen to take your eyes off of him even for a second, he could easily relieve himself on the floor. Once he starts to go on the floor, it can be really hard to break him of this habit. The smell will be there, and he will smell it the next time he is in that area. Each time he smells it, he will instantly go to the bathroom in that same area. The best way to prevent this from happening is to watch him at all times and ensure that he only goes in the area you have for him.

To housebreak your Golden Retriever, you should also allow him a way outside. Normally, a doggy door is the best way to do this, as your puppy can go outside and relieve himself when the time comes, without disturbing you. You should also use puppy pads or a litter box inside as well, so that he always has somewhere to relive himself. During times when he can’t make it outside, he needs somewhere else that he can go.

Housebreaking your Golden Retriever can take you some time, although it will be well worth it once your Golden is properly trained. He’ll be an essential member of your family, and not use the bathroom anywhere he takes a notion. He will only relieve himself outside or in an area that you have trained him. Golden Retriever’s need interaction with people, and if you are going to keep them inside – you’ll need to ensure that they have been properly house broken.
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Dog Care Tips With How to Start Dog Potty Training

April 26, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Successful dog training is not just teaching your dog a couple of tricks because how good it will be if your dog knew how to sit and jump but does not have the proper potty training?

Dog potty training is not really hard, as it seems, you just need to create communication between your dog and you. The best dog potty training should include safe confinement, proper training, good timing and encouragement.

Safe confinement:

New dogs that are just starting to learn the basic of potty training should be put in a safe confinement. Safe confinement like crates or cages is recommended for this dog training. Crates or cages can give the dogs the right idea about potty discipline. The size of the crate or cages should not be large, because large sizes will encourage the dog to eliminate on any part of the crates or cage. To be more effective, don’t put any newspaper, box or blankets inside the crates or cage to avoid your dog from chewing it

Proper Training:

One effective way to train them is by using a leash. Since they are coming from crates or cage, they will be playful and distracted when you let them out so it is recommended that you use a leash.

Leash is an effective tool to get back their attention to their potty training. You can use the leash to also make directions where your dogs will eliminate. But remember that you should always supervise your dog when on a leash. Using a leash will be more effective with proper use of words in dog potty training. Words like “outside” or “let’s go pee” will show your dogs that the right place to eliminate is outside the house and not inside the cage or the house. Aside from the word outside or let’s go pee, you can create your own “command name” that will signal to your dog that it is time for eliminating or urinating outside.Whatever the “command name” that you will use, you have to be consistent in using it in training your dog to let your dog get used to it.

Good Timing:

Good timing is also important in dog potty training.

You can reward your dogs to stay outside the crates after they had properly eliminated outside. This practice will let them know that the good behavior of eliminating outside is rewarded properly.

But letting them out of crates should be supervised for you to see if the dogs will still do unnecessary elimination. The right amount of time inside crates or cage depends on month’s age of puppy.

For two months old = two hours of stay in crates without potty break

For three months old = three hours of stay in crates without potty break

For four months old = four hours of stay in crates without potty break

After teaching them the potty break, let them out immediately. Don’t extend the hours of stay in crates or cage.

Praise:

Like in any good behavior, you have to give praises to your dogs when the dog had successfully followed your commands. Praise is very important in dog training, as this will encourage them to be disciplined in their potty training.

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Settle Down Little Pup!

April 21, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

A dog is not like a television or a video game – you can’t just pull the plug or temporarily remove the batteries from a rambunctious puppy. Instead, you must teach him to settle down and shush. Right from the outset, make frequent quiet moments part of the puppy’s daily routine. Following a proper confinement schedule will help your puppy train himself to settle down. Additionally, encourage your puppy to settle down beside you for longer and longer periods. For example, when you’re watching television have your pup lie down on-leash or in his crate, but release him for short play-training breaks during the commercials.

When playing with your pup, have him settle down for frequent short interludes every fifteen seconds. Initially have the pup lie still for a few seconds before letting him play again. After fifteen seconds, interrupt the play session once more with a three-second settle-down. Then try for four seconds, then five, eight, ten, and so on. Although it’s difficult at first, being sent back and forth between “Settle Down” and “Let’s Play”, the puppy soon learns to settle down quickly and happily. Your puppy will learn that being asked to settle down is not the end of the world, nor is it necessarily the end of the play session, but instead that Settle Down signals a short time out and reward break before he is allowed to resume playing.

If you teach your puppy to be calm and controlled when told, you will have years of fun and excitement ahead. Once your puppy has learned to settle down and shush on cue, there is so much more your dog can enjoy with you. Your well-trained dog is likely to be invited for many walks, trips in the car, picnics, visits to the pub, or to Grandma’s, and even on incredible journeys to stay in ritzy dog-friendly hotels. On the other hand, if you let your dog play indiscriminately as a puppy, he will no doubt “want to play indiscriminately as an adult. Your dog will be hyperactive and uncontrollable because you have unintentionally taught him to act that way. If your pup has not been taught to settle down by the time he reaches adolescence, he will be unfit to be taken places. Your pup will begin a lifetime of confinement and isolation at home while the rest of the family go out to have a good time. That folks, is not fair!

Until you have trained your puppy to enjoy spending much of his day at home alone, you might recruit a puppy sitter. Just a few houses down the street, there may live an elderly person, for example, who would just love to live with a dog. He or she might be willing to come over during the daytime and sit and enjoy your TV or the contents of your fridge, maintain your puppy’s confinement schedule, regularly reward him for using his doggy toilet periodically play with the pup, and teach him household rules.

Basic Golden Retriever Training

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