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With the help of Cesar Milan The Dog Whisperer and So many other dog training programs on the TV, training and understanding of your dog has now become easier to undrstand, though it is advised you seek the advice of a professional behaviourist when dealing with any problems you may have with your dog. The reason for this is not that they wish to get money from you, it's because when you train your dog..... Timing is everything.

You can so easily train your dog to do the things that you dont want them to do, by just being compasionate to them at the wrong time.

Moving House with a dog -

Dogs seem to be very aware of their owners' emotions and what is going on around them, so it's no wonder that dogs get anxious in the middle of a house move. Unfortunately, this can often make the owner more anxious too. Here are some tips and hints to help the move go smoother

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There are millions of excellent dogs and cats in rescues. These animals are not "reject" animals, but animals who were unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of people who decided they didn't want the responsibility, those who did not research the type of pet they were getting and those who didn't treat the dog like a dog, but rather a human, which always causes behaviour problems, sometimes major ones. If you are in a position to help these poor animals, by offering them a full time loving home or maybe even becoming a foster home, to help rehabilitate the animal ready for adoption. Then please contact your local Rescue centre or try our rescue page.

Worldwide Pet Overpopulation Epidemic, who's at fault?

Breeders vs. Rescues

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Dog Psychology

The way your dog thinks is not always the way a human would think, which is what causes alot of behavioural problems and misunderstandings between canine and humans. The case is usually the smaller the dog the more issues they have. We aim to highlight some common issues to help you to understand your dog, in the hope of reducing the many thousands of dogs in Rescue homes today.

If you are thinking of getting a dog,then please consider looking at Rescue homes. Many of the dogs in Rescue homes have been put there because of the misunderstandings between humans and dogs. NOT because they are dangerous or unsocial, but usually because we as humans have believed them to understand the human way of thinking and this has confused the dog to the point where the owners are unable to cope with them. The other poor dogs in Rescue homes have been put there through no fault of their own, but due to society issues.

Many Rescue centres will retrain the dog to understand what is expected of them and this site aims to help you to understand how important it is to communicate properly with your dog.

Please take the time to try to understand your dog.

Below is a basic insight into dog psychology and an outline of somethings you need to know about helping your dog to be a well balanced happy dog.

It is very important to remember that your dog is simply an animal. Yes, the one you treat as a baby, laying on the sofa having his tummy tickled! He's an animal too, and he must be treated as one to give him a healthy, satisfying life. Small dogs are especially prone to being treated as children and this can lead to a variety of serious problems, not to mention confusion and misery for your dog. Also your dog will never understand what you say, but will try to workout what you want from your body language before he hears any sounds you make.

Although animals do try to communicate with us.....

 Most of us love our dogs and think that we get shown that love back when we see our dogs. Do the dogs feel any love for us? We have to assume that they do not, because love is a human emotion and no matter how much you believe your dog to be your little baby, he is not. He is happy to be in your company or that of your family because he is naturally a pack animal - his attachment to you is almost certainly very deep. But he doesn't have the psychology of a human being when it comes to love. He relies on us for his health and survival and if he does loves us, his experience of love is a different thing to ours, though it can be based on similar things like respect, honesty, trust and security. Though you may of got your dog for security reasons, he also needs to feel safe himself. For him to feel safe he needs to respect you and to gain that respect, he needs to trust you. To earn that trust you just have to be as honest as you can with him. Obviously I dont mean you shouldn't lie to your dog, because he wouldn't understand anything you said anyway. I mean have a set way of controlling your dog that the whole family can understand and strictly follow. You can gain all these from your dog by simply doing obedience training with the whole family effectively. By doing it with the whole family you will stop the chance of sending inconsistent signals that will confuse and stress your dog. 

He looks to us as a leader/protector (if we are successful in our training of him) of his pack and training with the whole family will put your dog at the bottom of the pack, relieveing him of alot of stress, as he will trust us in our decisions. If you are unsuccessful in helping him believe you are the pack leader, he will lose respect for you and take on the roll himself, causing him lots of stress with trying to keep his pack safe. Can you imagine being stuck in the house and your dogs that you are supposed to be keeping safe, suddenly walked out the door in the morning. I understand that we allow our loved ones to go off to work or school in the morning, but we have an idea where they are going and that they will be safe in doing so. He doesn't have the same concept of ethics or morality and he certainly doesn't know anything other than his animal instincts are telling him. He will look at his whole pack (you and your family) as his responsibility and not knowing where you go or that you are safe when you leave in the morning, will stress your dog and this stress will stay with him all day, every day. 

This will lead to Separation Anxiety   when left alone for a period of time and would include howling, barking, chewing (items it shouldn't or even it's own fur), scratching at doors/windows, messing in the house, urinating when you return, over excitment or even fear.

 

Whilst your dog is feeling this stress, a friend of yours comes to your home and your dog is more likly to take a dislike to them, he's not going to “be nice” to the friend because he loves you! Your dog doesn't misbehave or sulk to get attention or to get revenge for something you did. These are human emotions and motives that we attribute to our dogs almost continually. But when we react to these emotions, we confuse our dog.

 

The people that stress their dogs the most are the dog lovers, the ones that dont want to give their dogs stress and allow their dogs to do as they wish. If the dog was human, i'm sure that this method would still not work. But the dog is a canine and can only understand canine emotions, which really means that you need to take control of your dog to relieve the stress. Now that doesn't mean you can no longer spoil your dog, it just means that you dictate to your dog when it can jump on the sofa or bed, when it is time for dinner, when he can have his tummy rubbed or go for a walk and not when your dog tells you that these things are what it wants. He will respect you so much more for doing this, because he will not have to worry so much. By allowing your dog to do all the things named above and more that usually go with it, you will make your dog a nasty dog that will not allow anyone near him. The reason for this is

1: because he can and 2: because the only way to relieve this stress is to stop anyone from coming near him... This will make the stress manageable for your dog.

 

Ways your dog will manage his stress levels 

• Aggression                                    

• Fear                                              

• Pulling On Lead                             

• Running Away                               

• Barking A Lot                                

• Chasing Cars                                 

• Biting / Nipping   

• Messing At Home

• Snapping/Growling

• Howling

• Chewing (even his fur)

• Possessiveness

• Anxiety

• Untrainable

                         

If your dog does show signs of this stress, please consult a professional.

Because when correcting these problems, timing is everything.

We should also look at the concept of praise and correction in training. On the whole, you should never hit your dog, though a dig with the ends of your fingers on the side of the neck can help remind your dog that it shouldn't be doing the thing you need to correct it for. I personally recommend rewarding good behaviour and ignoring or preventing misbehaviour. I do not in general believe in punishing a dog for bad behaviour, but sometimes a sudden shout can be a good reminder to a dog that it is doing something that is likely to hurt him and that can also reinforce the bond of you as the protector. Whilst training, try to work with your dog through hand signals and no sound. Once your dog understands what each signal means then you can add a single word to each signal. It is important to remember that you can only praise or give correction to your dog WHILE he is exhibiting the behaviour in question. He is not a person and will not know nor remember what he was doing five minutes ago, no matter how much you try to explain it to him. These are major differences between people and dogs and if remembered, will make training a much easier task.

So the key to all of this is “think like a dog”. Imagine you are an animal, a part of a pack, just like him. Don't ever think of him as a human, let alone a child or a baby, whatever his size and however cute he may be. By making sure you feed yourself first, walk through a doorway first, well really do everything first and having your dog in your control,even through play, will take all the stress away from your dog. You have to make this concept a cornerstone of your relationship with your dog, he will certainly benefit from it and so will you. That is not to say he shouldn't sleep on your bed or jump on the sofa for a belly rub, but only on your command and never before you are comfortable. And Please try to find things to tax his brain, like hiding his favourite toy or even buying him one of the many toys on the market that will make him think about how to get the treat out. But please dont be tempted to get the treat out yourself or even show him how to do it, that really defeats the object of buying the toy for him in the first place and by you doing it, he will not be sure if he should do it or wait for you to do it again. Play with it with him for a while if its something you can throw around, but always let him watch you fill it with treats whilst feeding him a few of the treats intermittently, but please dont feed him anymore treats after you have given him the toy. He'll get the message. By taxing his brain for 15-20 minutes, he will feel like he has been out for an hours walk.

 

 He is a dog, an animal, and only by truly understanding this will you be able to satisfy his needs and form a meaningful, fulfilling relationship for both of you. Please enjoy every minute you have with your dog, because they are truly amazing animals and if you want to believe your dog loves you, no one will blame you. My dogs love me..

 

Please if you are thinking of getting a dog,then please consider looking at Rescue homes. Many of the dogs in Rescue homes have been put there because of the misunderstandings between humans and dogs. NOT because they are dangerous or unsocial, but usually because we as humans have believed them to understand the human way of thinking and this has confused the dog to the point where the owners are unable to cope with them. The other poor dogs in Rescue homes have been put there through no fault of their own, but due to society issues.

 

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 If you need Help to understand your dog or if your dog has some behavioural issues you wish to seek help with. Connors Legacy Dog trainer, psychologist, counsellor and behaviourist

Based in North Essex is here to help.  Click Here....

 

 

The Dangerous Dogs Act

Most dog owners believe that the Dangerous Dogs Act is only for the so called dangerous dogs, when infact it covers EVERY dog. If your dog is out of control in a public place, you have a dangerous dog and the owner/walker (or both) come under the laws of that act.

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Can you give a rescue dog a loving home? They need your help to find a full time loving home, just click the link below on The Dog Rescue Pages