Often for convenience, but frequently because of lack of proper control, we must tie or otherwise restrict our pets.
The barrier or chain that is used causes a natural frustration, because everything is out of reach. This can cause stress, which can result in serious behavior problems, even extreme viciousness.
How can we restrain a dog on a chain or behind a barrier without risking difficulty?
Either remove the source of stimulation, such as by keeping him out of sight and/or hearing of children, guests, etc., or work to break the cycle of over-stimulation.

EXAMPLE:
“I crate my puppy during the day when I’m at work. He seems fine, but gets really upset when we’re home and have to put him inside.”

SOLUTION:
Use the distraction techniques contained herein to break the barrier frustration syndrome.

HOW CAN WE BREAK THE CYCLE OF OVER-STIMULATION?
Four Properly timed interruptions! WITH PRAISE!

This condition needs further mention… It is natural for most dogs to become very protective or territorial about the area of their confinement or tie out.

Never allow strangers to greet or pat a dog while tied out or confined in a run or crate.

MALINGER/SUBTERFUGE:

To pretend injury or illness in order to avoid responsibility or work; a scam or ploy to avoid doing something.
Dogs are great, even witty when it comes to thinking up ways to avoid or get out of doing what you want.

EXAMPLE:
“every time I try to train my dog, he becomes “lame,” like the old “war injury.”

SOLUTION;
Make sure there is nothing wrong, start to train, and when that old affliction appears, say “you poor baby, I hate to see you so lame.

Let’s quit this work stuff and we’ll take a ride and buy you an ice cream.”
As soon as ‘old sooner’ jumps for joy and heads for the car, you’ve caught him

“FLAGRANTE DELICTO”.
Point it right out to him and really rub it in.
Dogs don’t like to be made fun of… the embarrassment might cause a good laugh!

SEPARATION ANXIETY:
When you leave, your dog may become worried that you may not return. Or, because while you-are-gone, a visitor or disturbance of some sort may have come by— causing a tense disruption.

EXAMPLE:
“Every time I go out, my dog barks/whines, chews things, soils the house, etc. He’s vindictive. He does it on purpose! I can’t leave him alone!
I can tell he knows he’s done wrong just by the look on his face!”

SOLUTION;
There could be several factors involved.
If a dog is indiscriminately relieving himself in the house while you are gone, it could be caused by stress if you have been in the habit of scolding him for any mischief he had indulged in, in the past.
That could make him nervous enough to need to relieve himself every time you go out.
Or, it might be the result of barrier frustration, or just a negative attention getting device satisfied by your response upon return. Don’t fall victim to these tactics.

Your dog is programmed to do what it must to insure the survival of itself and its species.
That’s one powerful tool that is often overlooked as a training aid. Most trainers utilize this with food bribes.
To get results at any price is their motivation.
Other aspects of survival instinct can be more successfully employed. At some point bribery will cause trouble, as with each treat, survival instinct comes into play.
Soon your dogs appreciation level of you is lowered from a mind appreciation to the gut level. When your dog would rather go to his food than you, look out!

Pack mentality is one manifestation of survival instinct.
Your dog looks upon his family as his “pack”. We can manipulate this instinct, or be victimized by it.
“Checking back,” a familiar term with hunters, is a side ways glance to keep from straying too far from the hunter, or in our case, the pack or family.
Praise when you see your dog “checking back,” and he will move in closer.
If he forges on ahead, turn and he will “check back” on you.

If you keep moving away he will turn to follow. Praise him and he will continue.
Just don’t get caught checking back on him, or he will expect you to follow. This principle will be used effectively in our program latter.
Symptoms of behavior, good as well as bad, may be attributed to survival instinct.
These symptoms may be manifest outwardly or inwardly. Over protectiveness or cowering could be examples of very closely related but opposite ways of dealing with circumstances of the environment.
They are often interchangeable within the same individual. Other symptoms of a self-concerned rigid nature could be compulsive scratching, paw licking side or leg sucking, hiding, balking, withdrawal, cowering, and submissive urination.

EXAMPLE: Fear biters can be made to be aggressive biters. “My dog bites/shies out of fear when strangers try to pat him.”

SOLUTION:
Don’t try this without our professional guidance
(This graphic solution is just one of several possibilities.)
Teach the dog to bite on command, thus building confidence, overcoming shyness or fear.

SOLUTION: Don’t allow pulling. When your dog pulls, just say “no”, relieve the tension on the leash and praise immediately.
Do this consistently. We have just a split second to praise him after telling him “no”, or else the message will not get across.
Pulling on the leash, even as little as one pound of pressure per square inch, for just a second and a half is enough to trigger the opposition reflex. That’s just one small example.

Here’s the real story on POSITIVE THIGMOTAXIS, the OPPOSITION REFLEX.
ANY PULLING OR~EVEN~SLIGHT TENSION on your dogs collar, or PUSHING OR-PULLING ON HIS BODY can SHUT OFF his ability to think and or listen to you, even while praising him.
Like when you might ask him to sit, and then reach back to place him, he may just stop going into position.
Look at it like this: Your’ dogs first obligation is to oppose you.
It’s built in. Once he understands the object of your desire, forget it! He is naturally obligated to do EXACTLY OPPOSITE…. - Physical opposition, say as you reach for his collar while greeting a guest at the door, will cause exactly the behavior you wanted to avoid.

Next, as he becomes familiar with your hand coming out to restrain him, he consciously goes faster to avoid being restrained. Physical opposition, as you try to prevent jumping or bolting, or even vocal opposition as you shout to prevent whining or barking or fighting, can trigger the opposition reflex, compelling the undesirable behavior to begin. In just moments your dog can learn to out-maneuver you.
This physical opposition soon becomes a mental opposition. Learn to control without restraint or confronting. Forced restraint, or forced control will always defeat its own purpose.

It’s like trying to grab a handful of water… Try to grab a fistful of water, and all you will get is a wet hand.
Scoop gently, and you could empty the whole basin.
Vocal opposition, or shouting, needs further mention.
We see this quite often, especially when people try to prevent fighting or aggression.
The first thing they usually do is express panic by screaming. Just think of how your dog might copy this.

EXAMPLE; “My dog barks every time I’m am on the phone”.
This always starts a cycle of disruption.
Any time your dog can break your routine, and command 100% OF YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION, HE WINS.
SOLUTION: DON’T FALL VICTIM to these negative attention getting devices. Don’t engage in a shouting match.
Break the cycle subtly, with distraction techniques as interruptions, and, as always, follow up with immediate, non-physical praise.
The most common cause of problems is the need for DIRECTED ATTENTION.
Unstructured love and attention alone won’t suffice.
Just exercising your dog cannot structure his thinking to make him calm and accepting of changes in your family life.

ALLLELOMIMETIC BEHAVIOR:
This comes from the word mimic.
Monkey see; monkey do. Monkey takes right after you!
That’s right.
Use this to your advantage.
Your dog will copy your ACTIONS and ATTITUIDES. If you handle roughly, he’ll respond likewise.
The more concerned or nervous we are about our dogs behavior, the more we MAY ACTUALLY COMPELL SUCH BEHAVIOR TO BEGIN!

EXAMPLE; If your dog is about to growl at a stranger and he sees you become upset, he doesn’t think we are worried about his actions, but those of the stranger.
Now he has a real cause to be wary.

SOLUTION: Use allellomimetic behavior to demonstrate a sense of calm and trust. Don’t take chances, but the more relaxed you must appear. Many times we see people try to calm their pet by patting. As they become more nervous, they pat faster and faster. This quick patting further excites their pet. Try to stroke the full length of the body at about the normal rate of respiration.

POSITIVE THIGMOTAXIS: The opposition reflex. This is the MOST DIFFICULT CAUSE OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, because we AUTOMATICALLY FALL VICTIM TO IT.

But, we have another secret to share!
Try this before laughing. Like your dog, we don’t like to the laughed at! Say “good bye” to an article of his, maybe a toy or a bone.
Do this last after saying good by to him. Make a big fuss over this article, explaining that you’ve got to go, and that you expect “it” to behave while your gone.
Put it down, without looking at your dog, and go. Upon your return, search for and find this article prior to speaking to or in a manner addressing your dog, even if he is jumping up and down to say hello.
Just ignore him until this procedure is finished.
Pick “it” up and exuberantly explain how you’ve missed “its” company while you’ve been absent, and how pleased you are that “it” has been so good while you’ve been away.
Then You May Look At And Address Your Dog, Regardless Of Any Damage Or Destruction He’s Imposed, and tell him he’s been good too, and that you’ve missed him.
Ignore any damage he might have caused. This is effective, and will probably “blow his mind.” The next time you need to go out, he’s going to try to emulate the behavior of this inanimate object.

Now you understand this procedure must be done for four consecutive occasions. Do this on a couple of brief absences, and you’ll see the problem disappear.

Of course, we do have a technique using sound to correct any malbehavior that might occur in your absence.
Upon your return, disregard any damage. Leave your attitude outside, don’t gasp, sigh, swear, or show any negative emotion.
Say hello, as you should ordinarily, and before touching any damaged or soiled area, search for one of those cans.
Picking it up very carefully so as to not create any sound, walk past the “bad spot” and casualty point toward it and ask “what’s that?” as you drop the can next to it, as you continue to go about your business not relative to this incident.

Put your dog out of sight while you clean or repair any damage. When your done, and you’ve invited him back in, he’s going to look at that area and look up at you.
Your going to tell him what a good dog he is, even though he wasn’t. This will “blow his mind.”
He’s going to wonder “what can I do to get your attention?”

I’ve never seen this technique successfully done on a mature Great Dane or St. Bernard, although I have often seen the results in mature dogs that had this practice performed on them when they were little.
They are the sorts that have problems only with the alpha in his life. Others are not considered a challenge worth confronting.

Of course, you as a human, would be told to grab the sides of your dogs throat with both hands, force him onto his back, stare into his face, and growl “No!” until he goes limp into submission.
While this is definitely a display of your dominance over him and in a language he can understand, it is perceived as a challenge, which makes this a very dangerous move, which frequently backfires, inviting a sneak attack in retaliation, at some point when the dog feels he has the upper hand.

In nature, this challenge might go on every season, until the alpha is no longer able to continue this winning streak. Then, the former alpha goes off alone, or to the rear of the pack if he’s lucky.

From watching mother dogs with their puppies, we have learned the correct way to use a different version of the Alpha Rollover as a way to cement the appropriate dominant/ submissive relationship between you and your dog.
A mom Dog, when allowed to raise her pups for several months, not just six weeks, will be seen standing over a resting puppy and chewing on the side of its neck, up behind the ears with her front teeth (as though flea-biting).

Pups enjoy the affectionate encounter, and usually go belly up, relaxed and happy. She is saying “I’m your elder, and because you respect my authority, I make you feel good.” We humans can use the same technique and get the same results.
* Approach your dog when he is stretched out on his side, relaxed and content.
Do not force him into this position, and don’t startle him if he’s asleep. Stand over him, bend down, and scratch him behind the ear. If he rolls over offering you his belly, that’s all you need to do.
Tell him he’s a good boy, and walk off before he gets up. Mission accomplished! No force, no punishment, no negativity.
Remember, your dog is going to model your behavior and act in kind. You set the standard for good behaviors by demonstration.

Certainly, you can’t expect your dog to understand that this long, unwieldy appendage can rearrange your knick-knacks or whatever.
“Maybe it’s best to keep him out of those areas. Besides, he’s like a bull in a china shop.
” We don’t need to put up with these sorts of “unavoidable” impositions on our lives or property.
“But, surely there’s no way to correct such innocent impositions”. *

If you believe that, then you’ve wasted your time reading this manual.
Either start over again, or reexamine your thinking.
Let’s look at how you might remedy these situations.
Remember, your dog is going to model your behavior and act in kind. You set the standard for good behaviors by demonstration.
Every puppy goes through a mouthing stage.
It’s usually out grown by the end of teething.
That means he needs to chew something to cut new teeth. Provide appropriate items to be chewed.
Everything else is not to be touched.
Establish appropriate mouth behavior right from first contact.
There’s no excuse for being abused by your dogs teeth until he’s finished teething.
There’s no such thing as being too young to learn any behavior, within the physical limits of his body. His brain is ready to be programmed to learn everything he will ever need to know by the age of 18 days old.
Training your dog is not much different than creating a filing system.
Just as you address each page that appears on your screen, each behavior your dog performs should be dealt with before moving on to something else.

Of course, if you are not prepared to cope with a behavior because of, perhaps time restrictions, make note of that behavior and set and appointed time to re create the situation and address it totally.

The first instance your dog puts his mouth on you is to be regarded as an issue. Each time you permit any inappropriate behavior to continue without being address, you are setting the precedent for more of the same behavior. *

All breeds are susceptible to unique, breed-specific health conditions through out their lives and, therefore, need to be fed with these conditions in mind, along with the size and lifestyle. For example, working dogs - like the American line of hunting Labrador will need a different type of feeding regime and nutritional content as that of, say, it’s English ’show breed’ equivalent. This is because the latter is more suited to a less active lifestyle. It is not sufficient to buy a dog with the sole intention of just buying the cheapest tins or dry mix on the shelf. This attitude is only going to doom the animal to a lower quality of life and, perhaps, a shorter life expectancy. Many of the cheaper brands of tinned dog food for example, are filled with chemicals and fillers to bulk the food out. What is the effect going to be on the dog’s stomach? Well, flatulence, runny poop and a less than healthy looking coat to name a few.

Unacceptable Demonstrations of Dominance
Your dog needs to totally control, or be totally controlled.
In the big scheme of things, barring any unusual tendencies, outward appearances should look and feel like you are expressing proper control.

Even in the best of situations, most of us try to get as much as we think we can get, or at least as much as we feel we deserve. For the most part, your dog doesn’t want to get your job, your possessions, or any thing else, except you.
All things being equal, you are the ultimate challenge. You might be considered kind of like a doggy version of Mt. Everest.
When climbing a mountain, one rule of thumb is to obtain a good purchase, before aiming for another handhold or foothold.
Just about every interaction with your dog might be considered a purchase on your summit.
We don’t want him to fall, but there’s no room at the top. You might look at the intricacies of the relationship with your dog kind of like a chess game.
Every interaction is a strategic assault that has to be analyzed, assessed, and at some point countered.

Most canine interactions center on control issues.
These power plays go on all the time, and usually take place without our even being aware, that we are the pawn in a power play. Although most of these ploys are harmless and laughable, they do add up and scores are kept.
You don’t have to play well, but like it or not, your in the game.
Being consistent means you get extra points.

Let’s look at an example of how we innocently participate, and the ramifications that occur as a result.
Your dog jumps up on your couch. You look over and tell him to get off.
Being a good dog he jumps right off, and resumes his appropriate spot.
Being a dog, he’s going to try again.
So he does.
And, doing your best, you remind him that you had just asked him not to do that.
But, he ignores you, and you insist.
So he goes.
But, he tries again, and being human, you’ve got other things to do.
Besides, he’s just been groomed, and your getting another couch soon, and you’ve decided to put this couch in a good spot so can have it, and your tired, and it really doesn’t matter.
So ignore him.
This One Instance Of Inconsistency Just Fractured His Entire Concept Of The Infrastructure Of Your Home And His Role In It.
If you cannot make up your mind as to what is important, then he needs to make decisions so as to insure stability in his den.