Hey Woofa’s,

I saw this saying the other day and it screamed out at me!    If you don’t train them don’t blame them.

It related to dogs, obviously, but really it could relate to anyone.

How are you meant to know how to do something if you don’t learn or train how to do it?  Same goes for dogs.

Some people seem to believe that dogs are born knowing what we want them to do.  They see a well behaved social dog while they are out and expect that ALL dogs are like that with no effort involved.

It doesn’t work like that.  Granted some dogs pick up things quicker than others but mostly it’s about  whether the dog is trained and HOW the dog is trained.

It also comes down to the time and effort by both owner and dog!

In an age where we want everything immediately, it appears this is also how we want our dogs too!

GENERAL DOG BEHAVIOURS THAT ARE WHINGED ABOUT BY OWNERS!

• my dog keeps chewing everything;
• my dog digs holes everywhere;
• my dog keeps going to the toilet inside;
• my dog won’t settle inside;
• my dog is ruining the lawn;
• my dog gets into the kitchen bin;
• my dog keeps escaping;
• my dog pulls on the lead when we walk;
• my dog is anti-social;
• my dog hates the car;
• my dog won’t let me groom it;
• my dog barks at everything;
• my dog is an idiot or dumb;
• my dog jumps on people;
• my dog is destructive.

This list could go on and on, clearly these are behaviours that are unpleasant BUT whinging about them doesn’t change anything.

Neither does yelling at your dog NOT to do it!

What we need to do is to try to UNDERSTAND why the behaviour is happening in the first place.

I wrote this post – DOGS BEHAVING BADLY – OH THE DESTRUCTION, to help you to get to the bottom of the what is causing the unpleasant behaviour.

In another post called – WHAT’S DOGNITIVE THERAPY, that covers if you want to change your dog’s behaviour, first you must change your own.  Also covered is CPR when it comes to training – Consistency, Patience and Respect!

In this blog post, I want you to stop blaming your dog for it’s behaviour.

I’d like you to try to understand, from your dog’s point of view:

1. WHY your dog is doing what it is doing; and
2. WHAT YOU can do to help your dog change this behaviour.

Once you have an idea of these two points then you can put training into place to change the unpleasant behaviour.

BILLY’S STORY!

Billy turns 7 in a few weeks time.  I didn’t take him to puppy school, I trained him with the basics at home.  He grew up with another female staffy and they played rough.

He has been a very laid back staffy x, who only has a bit of excitement, frustration and anxiety when we go for walks.

His behaviour has recently changed thanks to a cat that now likes to antagonise him on a weekly basis.  It’s only one cat and it’s a new cat.   Before this Billy has been fine with the cats over the back and the older cat that lives with this antagonising cat.

When we leave Billy at night now he becomes destructive, his latest was his worst, he scratched at the wall beside our front door so much he got all the way through to the timber frame.  We were only gone for 2 hours!!!

This breaks my heart because I think of the heightened state of mind he must’ve been in to do this.  ESPECIALLY when he’s NEVER been like this before EVER in his life!!!

It appears he has nighttime separation anxiety now, this is my diagnosis only though.  The cat teases him during the day and wonders through our front yard at night!

This is an external situation that we have no control over, however we can help Billy.  He’s our number one priority.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO HELP BILLY?

a)  I’ve contacted a trainer who we are now working with to help him deal with his anxiety, frustration and over excitement when we go walking.  Lately, we don’t really go walking where he pulls our arms off, we go training so he’ll learn to walk calmly beside us.  It will also help with his anxiety.  AND, no change won’t happen overnight but we’re willing to work with him always, so we set him up for success, no matter how long it takes.

AND NO they are never too old to learn.

b) We’ve contacted a lady (who is also teaching me Canine Bowen Therapy) who works holistically with animals.  We’ve explained his behaviour change and his destruction and she has put together a solution of oils for him.  He takes this orally three times a day, 4-6 drops each time.

It’s not a general over the counter mixture, it’s a blend of oils used to suit Billy’s behaviour.

c) We’ll try to tire him out before we go out now as well.  Whether it’s playing ball with him in the backyard, or doing a bit of training with him out the front.  The objective is to get him tired so all he wants to do while we’re out is sleep.

d) Dean has put a camera inside the house so we can watch Billy while he’s in the house.  So when we’re out we can see what he’s up to.

e) To get Billy use to us being out at night again, we were thinking of trailing him for a few minutes at time.  So, we’ll tire him out, then get in the car, drive away so we’re down the street.  We can check on him through the camera and when/if he starts to get agitated we can come home.

We don’t make a big deal when we leave the house or come home, so it’s no big deal for him.

f)  Because I’m learning Canine Bowen Therapy, there are relaxation moves that can also help to assist with calming him down.  So I also try to do these on him when necessary.

g) Another option is to get a baby/doggy sitter in if we absolutely had to!

We won’t be setting Billy up for failure, we’re not going to do all this once and expect it to work and leave him at night straight away.

This will be an on going process.

WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?

Because, no matter how old your dog is if they are doing something that you don’t want them to, it’s up to YOU to help them to understand YOU want them to do something different.

YOU need to be the one to show them other positive behaviours.

Whether you can afford a trainer or look up YOUTUBE on how to change behaviours, it’s up to you.  YOU’VE got to guide your dog towards success.

I’ve heard people yelling and screaming at their dog because they’re not doing what the owner wants them to.  The dog just looks at them confused, and then the owner calls them an idiot!!!!

Imagine if someone was yelling at you in a different language you didn’t understand, and they were just getting frustrated and yelling louder because you weren’t doing what they wanted you to!!!

Will this help you to understand what they want, saying the same thing but louder and louder?  I think not.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

No matter how old your dog is, their behaviour can be changed towards more positive options that works for both you and your dog.

HOWEVER, YOU need to be the one to kindly guide them towards success.

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – HAVE YOU HAD TRAINING SUCCESS?

CHEERS