Questions and Answers

Dogs are great manipulators. All it takes is big eyes and a waggy tail to get exactly what a dog wants. Dogs learn by association between an action and a consequence. Consequences can either be ‘safe’, it gets rewarded or a punishment, it gets an undesirable result. In dog training we call rewards ‘positive reinforcement’ and can range from food, toys, freedom and most importantly, attention. You can also use the withdrawal of a reward as punishment or ‘negative reinforcement’ to stop an inappropriate behaviour. The principle is that the dog stops whatever he is doing because he is no longer receiving the desired reward, e.g. attention. Always give Dog a choice between ‘dangerous’ vs. ‘safe’ behaviour. Dog will always go for the one that gets rewarded, you just have to show him which one it is! For example, jumping gets ignored but sitting gets attention, which one would you choose?

My Daschund pup continuously nips the back of my trousers. If I say no he gets very excited and bites even harder, what can I do?

Biting is normal puppy behaviour. When the pups start biting too hard, their mum knows they are old enough to stop suckling. Biting also gets attention! Puppies in a human environment need to learn how to play without biting/touching human skin and clothes.

Your puppy has learnt that biting the back of your trousers gets your attention. This behaviour is probably worse when he first sees you after being apart as he is very excited. Saying no can still be attention to your puppy (even though it is meant to be negative), and this is why your puppy continues to bite and gets more excited. This has now become a great game for your puppy and what we call an attention seeking behaviour

Your puppy should learn that his biting gets no reward e.g. no attention and that calm behaviour and no biting gets your attention. You need to start by interrupting the behaviour by making a loud noise, e.g. clapping your hands or using a shake tin (a can with stones inside). When your puppy stops biting you can now reinforce his good behaviour, by giving him attention in a calm manner. To learn more about puppy behaviour... click here for more details.

I have a 7mth old male Cocker Spaniel, he is brilliant inside the home, but when we go out he pulls on the lead and will not come back when called. A friend suggested if I had him neutered it would solve my problems is this true?

Castration can help when the behaviour problem is of a sexual nature e.g. not coming back when called because your dog is roaming after bitches, or he is continuously going around marking his territory by cocking his leg. Castration can help calm dogs down in some situations as it removes the hormone that drives such behaviour. However castration alone will not solve either problem

Pulling on the lead is a very common training problem. The pulling becomes reinforcing to the dog because when they pull, the owner walks forward, therefore going where the dog wants to go. Also, if your dog associates walking on the lead with going to the park, he is much more likely to pull. It is best to do daily training sessions walking in the street to teach your dog to walk on a loose lead. When your dog pulls the lead tight, stop walking and get your dog back to your side before walking on. When he is walking by your side, praise him. Your dog may not come when called for many reasons. For example, he may be distracted by something else or he has learnt that when he does come, his walk is over! Whatever the reason, you can control the situation by putting him on a tracking line (a long lead that is left on the ground) so he cannot ignore you when you do call. When he does come, give him a reward e.g. a treat or play a game and let him go off again. Using a whistle or squeaky toy can help to get attention when distracted. To learn more about lead and recall training click here for more details.

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