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We hope you are enjoying the spring season! We have added items to our Ask the Trainer and Additional Resources pages of our website. They are as follows.

ASK THE TRAINER ARTICLES [click here to see a list of all articles]

Adding Another Dog [Print This Article]

Published in the February 2008 Colorado Greyhound Adoption Newsletter. Although this article was written for greyhounds, it applies equally to all breeds of dogs.

Question:

We think our dog is lonely and are thinking of getting a second dog to keep him company. Any advice?

The Trainer Answers:

In order to make the best choice for your situation, there are several things to consider. First, do YOU want a second dog or are you only considering another dog for your current dog? In most cases, I do not recommend adding another dog unless you really want one. While another dog might give your current dog a buddy to play with and keep him company, you will have the extra work of another dog, including training, walking, feeding, etc. Some dogs really prefer to be an only dog and some are much happier with canine companions.

If your current dog suffers from separation anxiety, adding a second dog might or might not resolve the issue. If this is your reason for adding another dog, and it does not work, what will you do?

Are you thinking of adding a second dog to help burn off the seemingly nonstop energy of your current dog? Do you think your current dog is bored and you can resolve boredom and any resulting behavior issues by bringing home a playmate for your dog? What if you bring home another dog and the two dogs do not play well together?

Does your dog have opportunities to visit and play with other dogs now? If so, does he get along well with most other dogs? Or does he only seem to like certain dogs? Does he play well with other dogs, or does he not seem to have that much interest in the other dogs? Does he display appropriate social skills when interacting with other dogs? If your dog does like to play with other dogs, could you take him to day care, schedule play dates with friends, or take him to the dog park?

Does your dog do well in sharing your attention with others? Does your dog guard resources, such as food, bones, toys, beds and his human family members? Is your dog well-behaved in the house and out in public? If you have any current behavior issues with your dog, you should consider addressing those issues before adding another dog. A well-behaved dog will help a new dog learn to be well-behaved. A dog with poor manners or bad habits can just as easily teach a new dog those bad habits.

If you decide you do want to add another dog, carefully take into consideration the personality of your current dog. Is he submissive and easy-going? Does he tend to be bossy or pushy with others?

When adding another dog, you are generally better off choosing a dog that is not the same gender as your current dog, and is not the same age. Statistically speaking, dogs in the same household are more likely to have problems if they are the same gender and around the same age – particularly two female dogs. For example, if you have a more mature female dog who likes to control the dog toys and bones, you will generally have more success in bringing home a younger male dog who will easily give up the toys and bones.

If you want to make sure a new dog can play with your current dog, you also need to consider their play styles. A dog who loves to play rough and wrestle around will probably not play well with a dog who loves to play chase but never wants to wrestle. If you want them to play well together, you are usually better off (and safer) choosing a dog of similar size.

I recommend having the two dogs meet before you make a final decision. Have them meet on neutral ground, and take them for a walk together before you turn them loose to play or interact.

Boredom [Print This Article]

Published in the April 2008 Colorado Greyhound Adoption Newsletter. Although this article was written for greyhounds, it applies equally to all breeds of dogs.

Question:

If we leave our dog alone for more than a few hours, he becomes destructive. What can we do?

The Trainer Answers:

First, let’s try to understand WHY your dog is being destructive. If your dog is anxious about you leaving, the destruction is around windows and doors, and it happens every time you leave, then we need to consider separation anxiety. In most cases, however, the destruction is due to something else. How often does the destruction occur? It sounds as if your dog is ok for shorter periods of time, but not for anything more than a few hours. In most cases, this is a result of boredom. The dog becomes bored after a certain period of time or at certain times of the day and is looking for something to do.

Take down some notes about all of your recent departures. How long is the dog left alone? At what times of the day? When has he been destructive? See if you can determine any patterns – periods of time, times of the day, etc. that will help you narrow down WHEN the destructiveness occurs.

Next, note what was destroyed. Does he target particular items or areas of the house? Do they have a certain texture, smell or other similarity? Some dogs prefer wood or paper products. Some prefer soft items, such as pillows or couch cushions. Some prefer items that smell like a certain person – shoes, socks, etc. Some dogs choose to empty the trash or clear off the counter or table tops. Is there a pattern? What does your dog do with these items? Move them? Shred them? Chew on them? Consume them?

If your dog is bored and looking for fun things to do, we need to make some changes to prevent the destruction of inappropriate items. First, you need to ensure the dog does not have access to the entire house so you can manage what he can and cannot access. This might mean crating your dog or confining him to one room of the house until the situation is better under control.

Next, find ways to burn off your dog’s energy in more constructive ways. Find ways to help your dog burn off energy BEFORE you leave. Take him for a walk. Play with him in the back yard. Do some training. Have him work for his breakfast. Mental and physical exercise will both burn off energy so he will be calmer when you are gone.

When he is left alone, provide him with appropriate activities that he will enjoy. If he tends to chew up items, you should find appropriate but safe chew items to leave with him. However, simply leaving a bone or toy for him might not be enough. You need to find ways to ensure he does not have opportunities to chew inappropriate items and also find ways to make appropriate items more enticing to him. Simply leaving out bones or toys will not ensure that he will use those rather than chew on inappropriate items.

Give your dog some activities he can do on his own while you are gone. Some dogs love playing with toys if there is someone to throw the toy for them, but do not know how to play with a toy by themselves. Try some interactive toys in which you can place food or other toys so your dog must work to access food, treats, or other toys. Hide food or toys so that your dog must find them. If you can find ways to make appropriate items more interesting, your dog will begin to ignore the other items. You might need to teach your dog how to use interactive toys. Don’t assume he will simply know how to use them on his own. With some advance planning, management and appropriate exercise, your dog should learn how to handle being alone without destroying your house or personal belongings.

SUGGESTED READING AND DVD’S [click here to see all items on our Suggested Reading and DVD’s webpage]

We’ve added two new categories called “Difficult to Train Dogs” and “Children and Dogs” and have included three new books that we think are very good.

Difficult-to-Train Dogs

When Pigs Fly - Training Success With Impossible Dogs by Jane Killion - Some dogs are bred to work closely with humans and are therefore often easier to train than other breeds. Other dogs were bred to work more independently and are not as naturally inclined to want to work with you and please you. If you have one of those dogs, consider reading this book. The author does an great job of giving a step-by-step training plan to teach your dog to love working for you.

Click here for links to purchase this book

Control Unleashed - Creating A Focused and Confident Dog by Leslie McDevitt - Do you have a dog who seems to lose all focus when in the presence of distractions - for example, as soon as you walk out your front door? Although Leslie's book and her Control Unleashed program is geared toward performance/agility dogs, the exercises apply equally to other situations. If your dog becomes so aroused by other distractions that you are unable to obtain focus from him, consider reading this book. With dogs who are so easily distracted, it will take a good deal of training and work on your part - but it can be done!

Click here for links to purchase this book

Children and Dogs

Living With Dogs And Kids...Without Losing Your Mind by Colleen Pelar - If you have children and a dog; if you have a dog and plan to have children; or, if you have children and plan to get a dog, consider reading this book. Especially if you have either a dog or child and have not yet added the other to your family, you might want to read this before your family grows. The book contains chapters dealing with all age groups of kids from infant to teenagers.

Click here for links to purchase this book

OTHER

Please remember that we have a search engine specific to dogs, including training and behavior, events, pictures, and more. It will only search the web sites that we consider to have relevant and quality content and we will continue to add more sites as we find them. This tool is located on our website. Click here to use it.

Sue and Ed
720.279.4663
http://www.lovemydogtraining.com