Correcting Puppy Behavioral Problems

Puppies are cute, cuddly, adorable, and fun to be with. They have oodles of energy and never give their owners a single moment of peace! They are naughty and mischievous and if not well trained can be a great source of embarrassment to their owners. Though inviting a pup into your life is exciting, disciplining it, can be quite a task by itself. Just imagine the puppy emptying its bowels on your expensive Belgian carpet, and that too when you have guests at home! It’s a situation you surely wouldn’t want to be in. However, before you press the panic button you need to realize that, your pup can get over this in a matter of time. Keep in mind that puppies are like kids who will happily follow what you do. It just takes a little endurance to train your pup. More than an outburst of anger, you will need patience to handle such situations. Remember that, your pup is just a baby and nipping its bad behavior in the beginning will perfect it into one disciplined dog.

 

The saying, “Barking dogs seldom bite” holds true for most dogs. It can be very annoying to hear your puppy bark incessantly at anything and everything. If the barking is going a little over the limit, it is better to get it checked with a vet or a dog-trainer. Too much aggression in puppies should be checked and cleared. Otherwise, it is normal for your pup to do so, and you just need to call its name for it to stop barking.

 

Dogs explore the world with their mouths. Chewing is one of those great pleasures and puppies are, ‘champion chewers’. Just like a human baby, puppies also lose their deciduous teeth (milk teeth) and get their permanent set of teeth when they are four or five months old. This is the time when your puppy will chew on anything to get relief from its hurting gums. You can provide it with some chew toys or raw carrots to chew on or anything that can give it some respite. Nevertheless, you should keep your puppy away from chewing anything that can hurt it, like an electric chord for example. If you are not able to keep it under vigil for a long time, confine it in a crate. If it picks up anything that it is not supposed to, just take that from its mouth, and give it, its chew toy, with a small warning.

 

Almost all puppies are attention seekers and they will do anything to get that from their owners. The act that you can do to get rid of it is to ignore its jump completely and it will quit it forever. If it tries to do it again, just give it a cold shoulder and pat it if it does not jump. Teach your puppy the commands, ‘sit, and down’ so that the next time it begins to jump at you, you can ask it to ‘sit’.

 

Train your puppy not to bite. If it does, just ignore it and leave. Make it a point to do the same every time it bites. Though it is time-consuming, it will be worth a try. However, if it is aggressive or snarls and bites without provocation, it should be immediately taken to a vet for consultation.

 

The last thing that you can imagine while you are going for a walk with your puppy is to be dragged by it through the street. It certainly is an embarrassing situation with onlookers having a chuckle or two at your expense. Since it is a puppy, you can restrain it and try the no forward process. For instance, the next time your puppy drags you in the middle of the road just stand still until it stops pulling. Then continue walking. Continue the same procedure if it pulls the leash again. You can give it occasional treats for correct behavior as well. If that doesn’t help, you can try another method. Instead of standing still when it pulls the leash, you could change the direction. So whenever it pulls the leash, change the direction of the walk. In this way, it will be forced to keep up with you.