How to break your dog’s bad habits.

Play biter. The play biter is one of the worst habits you could instill in a dog. It typically starts when the dog is just a pup, and usually males (sorry, guys) like to play wrestle with the puppy using their hands. They think it’s fun in an ultimate cage fighter kind of way. They wrestle with the little one, allowing it to playfully nip and pull at their hand with its harmless little puppy teeth.

Now flash forward a few months and Rover’s teeth are now pointy and razor-sharp. See the owner getting angry with the dog when it sinks its teeth into its hands wanting to ‘play.’ The problem only gets worse the bigger and older the dog gets. All the while, you’ll typically have the owner or visitors complaining about the dog’s behaviour.

One way to deter the dog is to encourage it to chew and bite appropriate dog items like toys, sticks, balls, and rawhides. The other is to discourage it when it shows a propensity for gnawing on human digits. A light tap under the chin and a firm, loud ‘no’ will suffice. Consistency of this action is of the utmost importance in curing your dog of a problem that it never would have had if some human hadn’t trained it to ‘play bite.’

Fear biter. The fear biter is a much more difficult case to contend with. You may want to get professional help for this matter. Talk to your vet and read up on your dog training. Somewhere along the line your dog got skittish about something, and true to Pavlov’s experiments, whenever it experiences similar scenarios it morphs into Cujo.

This is dangerous not only to you and your family, but to visitors and anyone else in the neighbourhood. The problem needs to be taken seriously and will not go away of its own accord. If anything, it may grow worse if steps aren’t taken to nip it in the bud, no pun intended.

One of the best things you can teach your dog at any age, is a submissive position. Some dogs and breeds are naturally submissive and will often run up to you and roll over on their back for a belly rub. Others are a little more alpha in their genetic make-up and may need to learn that you are indeed the boss of them, by learning how to roll onto their side when commanded.

Your home as a fire hydrant. One of the most common disgusting habits, and one that will get your dog tossed from any respectable home, is the lack of toilet training. Every pet has the odd ‘accident,’ but if your pooch is busy marking every table leg in sight, you’re in trouble.

Crate training is the best approach to this problem, since dogs will literally not defecate where they sleep. The crate needs to be large enough so the dog can comfortably stand up and lie down, but no bigger. If you crate the dog whenever you’re out of the house and in the evenings, you’re creating a safe haven for your dog and toilet training your pet at the same time.

First thing in the morning and after work, let the dog out in the yard or take it for a walk. A nice after-dinner walk never hurt anyone. Before bed, let it outside one last time. Once your dog’s habits have improved, eventually you will be able to dispense with the crate, although smaller dogs enjoy having a safe haven to run to, especially if there a little ones in the home.