It is not hard to raise a puppy properly but it takes good communication. You have to pay attention to your dog and the signals he sends you. He is an animal. He can’t speak to you. You can only watch him and figure out what he wants by what he does.  >> more

The best way to train a dog not to bark is starting the day you bring him home from the breeder. Often new owners do not discourage the behavior – a small puppy bark is cute nor is it very loud at this point. Before long, the pup grows into an adult dog and that cute yipping has turned into a full-bodied and loud, big dog bark that will not stop.  >> more

Boredom barking is the worst kind of nuisance barking – it serves no purpose other then annoying everyone within earshot. It is also the hardest to stop in some ways because normally you are not present when your dog is bored so there is no way to correct the problem behavior except by relieving the boredom.  >> more

There are many options out there for stopping, or at least limiting, the impact of your dog’s barking on both your life and that of your family and neighbors. Training is essential but for many instinctual barkers, that is not enough. Research your options and try a bark collar – they work well for nine out of ten problem barkers.  >> more

Whether it is your dog that is barking, or the neighbor’s, nothing is more frustrating then a barking dog! Part of the reason we get a dog is for protection so barking at strange happenings in the neighborhood is wonderful – that is good barking and when our dogs are young, most of us encourage the behavior. But at some point, the good barking turns to nuisance barking and suddenly the neighborhood is turning against you and your noisy dog.   >> more

Teaching sit, stay, come can be fairly easy but it does take a bit of patience and it should be done in a positive manner. If the essentials of dog training are taught in a negative fashion, then your puppy will equate learning with something bad; trust me when I say that this will only undermine your efforts.  >> more

Domestic dogs still eat the feces of their pups at least when they are still newborns and rely on her stimulation to urinate or defecate. Usually by the time the pups are four or five weeks old, she stops this behavior, a few weeks earlier then the wild dogs.  >> more

Before you begin to retrain your dog in order to eliminate this behavior, it is very important to first realize where it came from in the first place. The fact is that if your dog has never been given food from the table, it is unlikely that he would waste his time begging. If the behavior had never been rewarded it probably would not continue.  >> more

Remember that not all dogs communicate exactly the same so if you an unknown dog is growling at you, always take it seriously – back away and do not approach again until the owner is around.   >> more 

Fear periods and understanding how a puppy develops is critical in raising a stable dog. Unfortunately, few breeders or new puppy owners understand how to raise a confident dog and the importance of fear periods.  >> more