Helping Your Dog Overcome Fear of Thunder and Other Startling Noises

While a good “KRAACK” or “BOOM” may have been good while Batman was taking down the Joker, such startling sounds are no joke for your dog. Firecrackers, thunder, and other loud, unexpected sounds often leave dogs frightened and wanting to flee to a safer place. These types of fears may develop even though your dog has had no traumatic experiences associated with the sound. The good news is that many fear-related problems can be successfully resolved. If left untreated, however, your dog’s fearful behavior will probably get worse.

The most common …

Dogs: Destructive Chewing

Sooner or later every dog lover returns home to find some unexpected damage inflicted by his or her dog …or, more specifically, that dog’s incisors and molars. Although dogs make great use of their vision and sense of smell to explore the world, one of their favorite ways to take in new information is to put their mouths to work.

Fortunately, chewing can be directed onto appropriate items so your dog isn’t destroying items you value or jeopardizing his own safety. Until he’s learned what he can and can’t chew, however, …

Dog Toys and How to Use Them

For dogs and other animal companions, toys are not a luxury, but a necessity. Toys help fight boredom in dogs left alone, and toys can even help prevent some problem behaviors from developing. Although cats can be pretty picky when it comes to enjoying particular toys—ignoring a $10 catnip mouse and marveling over a piece of crumpled newsprint—dogs are often more than willing to play with any object they can get their paws on. That means you’ll need to be particularly careful when monitoring your dog’s playtime to prevent any …

Dealing with Submissive and Excitement Urination

Most Pet Owners Appreciate an enthusiastic welcome from their dogs at the end of the day. But their pleasure can be substantially lessened when their dogs’ wiggles of delight are coupled with a puddle of urine requiring cleanup. Your dog may have passed his housetraining with flying colors yet still not be able to control his bladder in certain situations. Submissive and excitement urination are not housetraining problems; they are involuntary reflexes that require patience and specific training methods to correct.

Submissive Urination

With one second left in the championship game, the …

Dealing with Normal Puppy Behavior Nipping and Rough Play

It’s not always easy to convince a New Puppy not to bite the hand that feeds him…pets him…or plays with him, for that matter. When puppies play with each other, they use their mouths, so they may also be inclined to bite or “mouth” your hand during play or when being petted. This is rarely aggressive behavior meant to do harm, but it is a difficult habit to break unless you encourage your puppy to try an acceptable alternative behavior. The goal is to redirect your puppy’s energy onto acceptable …

Dealing with Normal Puppy Behavior Chewing

Whoever thought that Raising a Child is the toughest thing to do may not have raised a puppy. After all, at least babies can wear diapers! Much like infants and toddlers, though, puppies explore their world by putting things in their mouths. Puppies are teething until they’re about six months old, which usually creates some discomfort. Chewing not only facilitates teething, but also makes sore gums feel better.

Puppies may chew on furniture, shoes, shrubbery, and other objects. These are normal puppy behaviors, but they can still create problems for you. …