Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Why Most Behavioral Problems Come From “Leader-Type” Dogs

September 5, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Most problem dogs are leader types, they are trying to control the activities of the family or certain individuals in the group.

In some cases the dogs are in conflict with their physical environment or external social elements, such as fences, tethers, neighborhood children, cats, other dogs, mailmen or visitors.

A dog that wants to control these elements or to lead the activities of its human family pack, is doomed to a life of frustration.

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Leader-type dogs exhibit any or all of the following behavior, both on and off their home territory:

– Precedes owner through doors or when walking in almost any direction.
– Does not obey the owner’s commands.
– Displays anxiety about new people or situations.
– Interferes with the owner’s interactions with other people.
– Nudges the owner persistently for physical petting.

When a dog assumes a leadership role in its owner relationships, it usually exhibits behavior that provides clues, even off the home property. Some easily detected signs are:

– Protectiveness of the owner.
– Nervousness (anxiety about the new area, scouting the area).
– Lack of response to the owner’s direction.
– Rushes in or out of doors ahead of the owner.
– Interferes with the owner’s interactions with other people in the new situation.

Filed Under: Dog Information Tagged With: Cats Dogs, Conflict, Dogs Types, Doors, Fences, Free Dog Training, Frustration, Home Territory, Interactions With Other People, Leader Type, Leadership Role, Mailmen, Neighborhood Children, Nervousness Anxiety, New Situation, Physical Environment, Problem Dogs, Social Elements, Tethers, Training Dogs

Dog Behavior Problems – Window Jumping and How To Prevent It

June 25, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

When your dog escapes to achieve social interaction in the neighborhood, the owner must establish a very strong leadership role or you’re end up with dog behavior problems.

This tends to fulfill its need for socializing within the confines of its own home, a step necessary for complete correction. This can be accomplished through basic obedience command responses, practiced daily over a 6-week period.

Some problems of this type have been solved by installing frosted glass in the dog’s favorite escape window, eliminating its view of the outside.

However, several dogs have switched to other windows when this has been done, so the owner must be prepared to face this possibility.

The more important adjustment is to eliminate the social gratification formerly sought, such as “bumming around.” If neighbors are feeding or otherwise accommodating the dog, their help must be sought to stop this.

It is always necessary to determine when the dog jumps out of a window. If it occurs shortly after the dog is left alone, the owner must leave the house, sneak back to the premises and apply some strongly distracting stimulus as the dog begins to prepare for the freedom leap.

In every case, a period of initial anxiety behavior, such as whining, pacing or barking, precedes the actual leap.

If the jumping occurs just before the owner arrives home, the owner should arrange to come home earlier than usual to apply the corrections.

Just as in barking cases, the distracting stimuli should not be painful, but should take the dog’s mind off its anxiety.

This may involve a rap on a door some distance from the escape scene, and even stomping on the roof while monitoring the dog behavior problems by listening through an air vent.

If jumping is associated with fear of surroundings, it is necessary to change the area in which the dog is confined (the simplest method) or to switch the dog’s emotional association with the area from fear to contentment.

This may be difficult because the fearful response usually occurs when the pet is alone; conditioning requires the presence of the owner or some other intervening factor.

However, if the dog has been severely punished in the area, especially at homecoming times, it is often practical for the owner to stop the punishment and virtually ignoring the dog behavior problems when arriving home.

Any interaction between the owner and dog at other times should consist of play, training work for command responses and quiet activities, such as just sitting around.

This sort of dog behavior problems correction takes several days to weeks.

Filed Under: Dog Health Tagged With: Air Vent, Behavior Problems, Confines, Contentment, Dog Behavior Problems, Fear, Frosted Glass, Gratification, Initial Anxiety, Leadership Role, Leap, Neighborhood, Neighbors, Obedience Command, Premises, Rap, Several Dogs, Social Interaction, Stimuli, Stimulus, Surroundings, window jumping

Puppies ? The Problem With Raising Two Or More Puppies Of The Same Age

July 14, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

When looking for a new puppy and attempting to decide which pick of the litter is best for you, there may be a time when you can’t choose just one. However, you may want to consider the pros and cons of raising two puppies that are the same age.

Choosing two puppies may be more trouble than it’s worth

When you raise two puppies that are the same age and from the same litter, there will be a natural hierarchy which develops and one of the dogs will grow up to be more dominant and bossy than the other. This means that the more submissive puppy may grow up without the proper social skills needed to be self-confident.

The dominant dog may grow increasingly aggressive towards the other dog when it comes to being the leader in all situations. This leadership role, while a natural part of nature, can unfortunately diminish your other dog’s ability to cope with certain situations and possibly develop stress related mental conditions. And in addition, both dogs will suffer from separation anxiety when they are apart from one another.

Be prepared for some dog fighting

As they grow older, the two dogs will eventually establish their roles with one another and you will rarely have to worry about your adult dogs fighting. On the other hand, in the beginning, when these puppies are young, both of them will have a natural tendency to physically fight with one another when it comes to competition. Such competitive situations would include getting more attention than the other, feeding times, and of course dominance over toys.

This situation will call for firm behavioral training and conditioning. If left unchecked, your puppies can hurt one another and the one dog who becomes the non-leader (submissive) may develop deep anxiety issues when he becomes an adult. All of these concerns become amplified if your dogs are of the same sex.

Having two puppies may hinder their training and behavior progress

This is an important aspect of bringing two or more puppies into the house that many dog owners do not take into consideration. Your two puppies will be so preoccupied with one another that they may not be drawn to needing your attention as much as you would like, or need for training purposes.

While this may not seem like such a bad thing, consider what happens when you are trying to train your puppies with the basic commands and rules of the house. The job will be much harder and stressful on you because their attention is understandably occupied by each other’s company, and not your commands.

Filed Under: Dog Information Tagged With: Adult Dogs, Dog Fighting, Dogs Fighting, Dogs Sex, Dominance, Leadership Role, Natural Hierarchy, Natural Tendency, Nature, Pick Of The Litter, Proper Social Skills, Pros And Cons, Puppy, Raising Puppies, raising two puppies, Same Sex, Separation Anxiety, Submissive, Toys, Training And Conditioning, Two Dogs, Two Puppies

Puppies ? The Problem With Raising Two Or More Puppies Of The Same Age

May 10, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

When looking for a new puppy and attempting to decide which pick of the litter is best for you, there may be a time when you can’t choose just one. However, you may want to consider the pros and cons of raising two puppies that are the same age.

Choosing two puppies may be more trouble than it’s worth

When you raise two puppies that are the same age and from the same litter, there will be a natural hierarchy which develops and one of the dogs will grow up to be more dominant and bossy than the other. This means that the more submissive puppy may grow up without the proper social skills needed to be self-confident.

The dominant dog may grow increasingly aggressive towards the other dog when it comes to being the leader in all situations. This leadership role, while a natural part of nature, can unfortunately diminish your other dog’s ability to cope with certain situations and possibly develop stress related mental conditions. And in addition, both dogs will suffer from separation anxiety when they are apart from one another.

Be prepared for some dog fighting

As they grow older, the two dogs will eventually establish their roles with one another and you will rarely have to worry about your adult dogs fighting. On the other hand, in the beginning, when these puppies are young, both of them will have a natural tendency to physically fight with one another when it comes to competition. Such competitive situations would include getting more attention than the other, feeding times, and of course dominance over toys.

This situation will call for firm behavioral training and conditioning. If left unchecked, your puppies can hurt one another and the one dog who becomes the non-leader (submissive) may develop deep anxiety issues when he becomes an adult. All of these concerns become amplified if your dogs are of the same sex.

Having two puppies may hinder their training and behavior progress

This is an important aspect of bringing two or more puppies into the house that many dog owners do not take into consideration. Your two puppies will be so preoccupied with one another that they may not be drawn to needing your attention as much as you would like, or need for training purposes.

While this may not seem like such a bad thing, consider what happens when you are trying to train your puppies with the basic commands and rules of the house. The job will be much harder and stressful on you because their attention is understandably occupied by each other’s company, and not your commands.

Filed Under: Dog Information Tagged With: Adult Dogs, Dogs Fighting, Dogs Sex, Dominance, Leadership Role, Natural Hierarchy, Natural Tendency, Nature, Pick Of The Litter, Proper Social Skills, Pros And Cons, Puppy, Raising Puppies, Same Sex, Separation Anxiety, Submissive, Toys, Training And Conditioning, Two Dogs, Two Puppies

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