Does Your Dog Exhibit Separation Anxiety?

Sometimes, even our pets can get anxious and worried when we leave them at home. You can help to ease separation anxiety in your dog or puppy so that he will feel safe and secure and you won’t have to worry about having your home torn up. Dogs are pack animals so when their pack leader leaves, especially when they are young, it can be a stressful event for your dog, but it doesn’t have to be.

A new dog or puppy is exciting, and because of this it’s likely that you’ve been giving your new pet heaps of love and attention, but this might not be the best thing for your new pet. When you give your dog or puppy every moment of your spare time, you could wind up with a problem when you get back to normal life. To help against this situation, try to get your dog used to being alone some times. Consider putting your dog or puppy in a crate for a short time while you are home so that he understands that everything will be okay even when you’re not with him.

Be sure to give your dog lots of love and attention during most of the rest of the time and when you bring him around your family again, so he knows that you still love him. If you separate from your dog slowly, it shouldn’t be traumatic for him when you have to leave for a longer time. Make sure to reward him for a job well done with lots of praise and show excitement when you arrive home again.

When you’re gone, your dog should feel happy and safe, but if you don’t give him something to look forward to, then he may not feel as if you leaving is a fun thing. You can change that by offering him some treats or a new toy when you leave so that he will be happy and satisfied even though you’re gone. You can also give him a chew bone or anything that he loves when you are away so that he can associate you leaving with being a satisfying experience. This will keep your puppy or dog from experiencing anxiety due to your absence and you’ll find your house will thank you, too.

If you need to confine your dog to one room when you leave, make sure it is a place where he feels comfortable. Some say that a crate isn’t a good place to confine your dog, but others will argue that some dogs actually like it. Many dogs will get to the point that they lie down in their crate even when the family is home, so as long as you give your space where you will be confining him a pleasant place, you probably won’t have any problems. Also, don’t treat your dog’s “confinement” space as a bad space; just make it a place where he can go when you are gone so he can feel safe.

Remember that you are not a bad dog owner by leaving the house. Everyone does it and it must be done. Your dog will be there when you get home and he will be healthy and safe. Make sure that you get your dog plenty of exercise before leaving for the day to ensure that he’s not going crazy while you’re gone and don’t make a big deal out of leaving, which can leave your dog feeling anxious. Instead, do what you need to do to get your pooch ready and head out. When get home, you can spend time.

Puppy Behavior Problems - How to Stop Your Puppy from Nipping

Puppies are naturally cute and adorable but while they haven’t been trained yet, they are also prone to get into some puppy behavior problems. As dog owners, we usually don’t mind these problems when the pup is still small but if you don’t correct these puppy behavior problems soon, they can develop into major issues when the dog has grown up.

Training a puppy early is key to making sure that he grows up into a well-behaved dog in the future. For instance, take one of the most common puppy behavior problems of nipping. Of course, the puppy only does it to play but this can get annoying, not to mention destructive and dangerous as the puppy grows older.

Ways to Prevent Puppy Nipping

At first, you might be at a loss figuring out how to stop your new dog from nipping at every single thing or person he sees, especially when he gets excited. But the training process is not really all that hard.

Right from the beginning, you should let your puppy know that nipping people is not allowed under any circumstances, whether in play or not. When you are able to teach him this, your dog will be less likely to bite people even when he becomes an adult.

During playtime, let your dog know that it is okay to bite or nip his toys but never a person. Every time he starts nipping at you while playing, offer him a toy or a treat instead. Toys that are made of rubber are excellent for this purpose because it give the dog some kind of satisfaction when biting.

It can also help if you react accordingly each time your dog bites you while playing. For example, you can say “No biting” or “Ouch” whenever he starts nipping, and ignore him each time he does it.

If he is stubborn and keeps trying to bite you anyway, stop playing with him and turn away. Eventually he will figure out that biting gets him punished and after some time, he will stop doing it altogether.

Teaching a young dog to stop biting, or any other puppy behavior problems for that matter, can take a while, especially if you have a particularly frisky and playful puppy. It would help if you can ask everyone in the household to participate in the training process. This way, the dog will learn that the puppy behavior problems are not acceptable to anyone and he will learn to stop them much sooner.

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