Every year thousands of dogs and cats end up at the shelter because of behavior problems that could have been solved easily of the owner took the time out to train and properly care for their pet. These dogs and cats face a grim future and most are killed. Most of these behavior problems are really natural behaviors, except that they are unwanted in a human household. Training is the basis of everything and every dog or cat can be trained to do a specific behavior or not do a specific behavior. In this report I will address the more common dog and cat behavior problems and discuss some ways to break your dog or cat of their “unwanted” behavior.

DOGS:

Dogs are pack animals and will do all they can to please their alpha pack member. The alpha is the main “dog” in charge and all the other dogs must obey them. In the human society the human is the alpha dog, canine. It is you who must show your dog that you are in charge. The first step in this is training. Without proper training, nothing will work. It’s just the case with retraining a dog to stop an unwanted behavior and lean toward a behavior that is more appropriate for their alpha human and society.

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is a common problem with dogs, especially dogs rescued from a shelter. Dogs have a very strong need to be in a pack and when the alpha leaves the pack, even for a short time, the dog might become highly depressed and destructive. Our dogs become overly bonded to us and when we leave they go into a panic. Rescued dogs have a highly risk of Separation anxiety due to their past experiences. They were abandoned in the past, or had no human to bond with. They could have been abused or neglected. Whatever the case, rescued dogs form a very strong bind with the person who rescues them. Older dogs are much more likely to suffer from separation anxiety. It may take longer to gain their trust, but once their trust is gained they form a very strong bond with their new owners. It’s even worse when there is only one person in the household that is bonded to the dog. Dogs can also get spooked into separation anxiety, which I’ll explain later. The signs of separation anxiety are as follows:

* Well behaved when owner is around, but panicky when owner leaves.
* Destructive behaviors when owner is not home
* Excessive barking / chewing
* Panicked attempts to get out to the owner
* Depression / sadness
* Whining
* Careful watch over owner when owner is around
* Won’t eat unless owner is around
*Panics if owner is in another room with the door shut
* Diarrhea/ Vomiting/ Self mutilation
* House soiling when they normally don’t

Separation anxiety is very hard on a dog. Some dogs can’t even eat when their owner is not present. These dogs can quickly destroy your house and belongings. This can be cured, but it may be a good idea to seek professional help, especially with extreme cases. There are many different ways to help your dog cope with separation anxiety. I will only discus three different methods – crate training, doggie independence, and desensitizing. Separation Anxiety is not something that will be cured overnight. Punishment does not help at all. Most damage occurs only within the first hour you are away and the dog will not associate your punishment for the behavior. It just makes things worse.

CRATE TRAINING: Be careful with crate training. This requires training other then for Separation anxiety. IN serve cases some dogs may go into a wild state and hurt themselves in their crate or even destroy the crate. It all depends on the dog and the quality of the crate. Start crate training slowly. Get your dog used to eating and sleeping in his crate. Train him to enter on command while gradually getting him used to the crate. It may take some time depending on your dog and the breed of dog you have. Once he has mastered the crate start leaving him in there for short periods of time and gradually increasing the time you leave him alone in his crate. Hopefully if you have done this right your dog can now be crated for short periods of time while you are out. It gives him a safe place, a den.

DOGGIE INDEPENDENCE: Some dogs are just so attached to their owners that they can’t be away form them at all, not even to eat. Dogs are not as independent as cats, but they need to think and act on their own without their owners always at their sides. A good way to teach a dog independence is some basic commands. Teaching your dog sit- stay and down-stay are vital in this stage of training. After your dog has mastered these basic commands you can start by leaving him in one room and going to another. He will learn that you will be back and are not leaving him. He will learn that being by himself is not so bad. Leave him with some treats, toys or food, it may or may not help. Remember to praise him for his accomplishment, no matter how small it is. He may only stay for a few seconds, but praise him and he will increase the time.

DESENSITIZING: This can be tricky, but it is the preferred method of many professional dog trainers. Many dogs will go into a panic even if they see their owner reach for the keys or even take a step closer to the door. Get him used to your morning routine. Again, sit-stay and down-stay work great. Take it step by step. Reach for the keys and out your coat on. Walk toward the door, turn around and sit down. If he panics on any step, go back and take it slower. When is doesn’t panic anymore walk out and give him a command like “Be good, I’ll be back,” which I use for my dog. Give him a few minutes and come back. When he gets over excited to see you, ignore him till he calms down. Gradually increase the time you leave him.

Freddy is my dog. I rescued him in September from Dog Town Rescue (www.dogtown.tv). Once he bonded with me, he really bonded with me and wouldn’t even eat unless I was right there. He never let me out of his site and was overly happy to see me if I was gone for even 5 minutes. One day I cam home form work and found my place a wreck. He ripped my rug in four different pieces. The Carbon Monoxide alarm was going off and it scared him. The battery was low. After that he was so afraid to be left alone and would destroy the house if I was gone for an hour. It got really bad, but I was not going to give up. I called shelters and did my research to try to stop this. I bought him a crate, which he destroyed. The second crate (he was crate trained by this time) was a piece of garbage and the locking piece flew off and cracked his tooth. Beside that, I used a series of methods to train him out of Separation anxiety. I used all the methods above. Now he lies down in the mornings and lets me leave. I come home and he’s very excited to see me, but not overly excited. He can now eat on his own and I can leave the house and know it’s safe to walk back through the door when I come home. He’s a very smart dog and it didn’t take him long to learn my command that I’ll be back. I also keep the blinds open because he feels locked in. This may also help.

Housetraining Puppies

Puppies are great additions to any family, but there are many responsibilities involved and one of those involves housetraining. Puppies are not born knowing that pottying in the house is not allowed. Some people actually believe they are. Puppies need to be taught where they can and can’t potty. Only people with time on their hands should get a puppy. Puppies require a lot of work.
The first step to housetraining your puppy is to control his feeding, playing, and confinement times. Feed your puppy at constant times. Puppies, as well as dogs, need a routine to follow by. It’s also good idea to get a puppy play pen and keep him in there with newspaper when you are not home. A crate also works, or the kitchen blocked off by a baby gate. Puppies will need to use the potty within an hour of eating, so take him out soon after eating, playing, and drinking. Take your puppy to a routine spot and praise him EVERY time he goes potty. Your puppy will make misstates and they cannot be avoided. When you find a spot your puppy has used, wash it with a commercial product to discourage him form going there again. This process takes some time, but soon your puppy will be a good, housetrained puppy.

Excessive Pulling on Leash

Dogs get excited and will pull on their leash even before they get through the door. Many times you may find yourself being walked by your dog. This can be corrected, but is better to correct as a puppy. Older dogs can be taught not to pull as well. This is another problem that can be fixed by basic training. “Heel” is a common command that will teach your dog to follow you and not get ahead or behind. If your dog does start pulling, stop and turn the other way. This will teach your dog heel as well as walking nicely by your side. Before you leave the house have your dog calm down. Some dogs start pulling before they are out of the house. If he gets too excited you could stop and wait till he calms down. This method requires a lot of patience on your part. This also works outside. If he starts to pull, stop and wait till he calms down, your dog will realize that you will not move unless he calms down. I feel that teaching your dog to heel is the best method you can use to stop pulling. If nothing works, there are products you can buy. Some of these products include:

* Head Halti Collar
* Harness
* Chain/ Choke Collar
* Pronged Collar (last resort, be careful. Not recommended)
* Any other no-pull collar or shock collar

Unwanted Chewing

Dogs chew naturally; it’s just what they do. What they chew is a different story. They could choose your $100 shoes, blankets, rugs, plants, ect. A lot of dogs end up at the shelter for ruining something of importance to their owners. These dogs have no idea what they did wrong and punishment doesn’t work either. Dogs must be corrected immediately or they have no idea what they did. You can train your dog to only chew appropriate items, but you cannot train a dog not to chew. When you see your dog or puppy chewing on a forbidden item, take it away with a firm no and give him something he can chew on like a rawhide bone or dog toy. Its’ also a good idea to puppy proof the house, even if you have an adult dog. Confining him to a playpen with toys and bones will also help teach your dog to only chew on them. It’s a good idea to keep many toys or bones around the house in every room so you can replace his chew “toy” with a real chew toy.

Cats are very independent and make great companions. They can be very protective of their owners and most are one person kitties. Cats are often the victim of abuse because there are many stays running the streets. These cats were thrown away, ran away, or were born strays. Cats, unlike dogs, are not pack animals. You may find them living in a colony outside or inside, but they are not “pack” animals. Cats can be very happy at home with just their owner and no other cats. Cats are very sensitive animals and can become stressed very easily. Cats have many behaviors that humans hate, but are very natural for them. I will discuss three of these “problems” and the solutions to them. Cats are highly trainable, even though they seem not to be.

House Soiling

Cats are very clean animals by nature and will not soil where their food and water is, so never place the litter box in the same room as her food and water bowls. In the wild cats have to be careful of predatory animals and therefore potty away from their food and water source. They also hide it when they urinate and defecate, that is why we use litter in a kitty litter box and that is why outside cats bury it in the dirt. Kittens must be trained from the start to use the litter box. They must learn that the house is off limits. Sometimes an older cat that is housetrained will help. This also helps if you bring a stay or feral in the house. My cat Kitty learned to use the litter box from watching Pepper use it and Kitty was a Feral, born a stray.
The key to stopping house soiling is litter box training. When you see your cat circling a spot or crouching down, gently pick her up and place her in the litter box while taking her paw and moving it through the litter. This also helps after a kitten has eaten. It not very hard to litter box train a cat. If you cat is litter box trained, but starts to soil the house, there can be a number of factors why.

• Change in the brand of litter
• Scented litter additives or the odor of cleansers/deodorants
• The litter box is not cleaned frequently enough
• The litter box was moved to a noisy area
• The kitten was frightened in or near the box
• Medical problems

Try to avoid changing the litter or moving the box and try to clean the box out as often as you can. I mentioned earlier that cats are clean animals and they will refuse to use the litter box. If you have made sure nothing has changed and nothing has spooked her, take her to the vet for a check up just in case it is due to a medical problem. There are also spray products that you can buy to help discourage her form soiling in the house. If you have to, confine kitty to one area of the house until she consistently uses the litter box. More then one litter box may help, especially if you have more then one cat. A cat may refuse to use a litter box after another cat has gone onto it.

Spraying

Spraying is a common behavior problem with make cats, and sometimes female cats. Male cats are usually marking their territory from outside cats or cats that live with them. Neutering or spaying a cat will usually change the behavior. 90% of cats who are neutered or spayed do not spray or have stopped spraying. Some will still spray, most will not. If your cat has never sprayed before take his to the vet to first rule out any medical problems, then look at his environment. Has a new cat moved into the area? Did you get a new cat? Is your cat stressed? All these can contribute to you cat having the urge to spray. Cats need a routine and even a change in your work hours can trigger spraying behavior. A new move, new pets, tension between pets, or even just a visiting cat can all start a cat on his “spraying way.” You can stop this behavior by neutering / spaying, stopping or controlling what is bothering your cat, reducing stimulus, and possible reducing the number of cats you have if you have a large number. The key is to get ride of or fix what is bothering your cat, after that is done your cat should stop spraying. The hard part is identifying the cause of his distress.

Unwanted Scratching

Scratching is a natural behavior of the cat. The have to scratch to keep their claws in tip-top shape. They scratch to sharpen their claws, while playing, for exercise, and for pleasure. They may scratch your favorite chair or couch. You can’t stop your cat form scratching, but you can deter them. It’s not very hard to teach your kitty to use a scratching post bought just for him. Cats love scratching posts. They are good for their claws and most provide a comfy place to lie down and hide in. If you do see you cat scratching on something that he is not allowed to, pick him up and place him on the scratching post while rubbing his claws on the post. He’ll get the idea. There are also products that will deter a cat form scratching on unwanted furniture or the rug. You can also use adhesive tape on the stop where they usually scratch. They hate the feel of it and will stop. There are two other methods for extreme cases:

• Declawing
• Softpaws

Declawing is very painful to a cat and it not only removes the claws, but the first knuckle as well. A cat may never recover and can develop many medical and mental problems. There are many other more humane methods that can be used, one being softpaws. Softpaws are caps that can be placed on your cats claws to prevent clawing. A spray bottle can also be used to deter a cat form scratching. Even if your cat loves water, I bet he hates being squirted with the water bottle. I already mentioned the adhesive tape, it does work really well. Another method is simply keeping up with claw trims. Avoid declawing at all costs, please.



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