5 Ways To Prevent Your Dog From Behaving Badly

Bad behaviors start when your dog has access to them in the first place. If your dog chews on shoes and he can reach your shoes while you’re not around, you’re setting him up to make bad choices. Management is the first step to changing behavior issues. You must prevent the dog from reaching areas that trigger the undesired behavior in the first place before you can teach him what to do instead.

 

 5 Dog Training Management Tools For Every Household

20′ or 30′ Long Line
Not an extendable flexi leash, but a really long nylon leash. This can come in handy in a variety of situations indoors and outdoors. You can use it as a safety precaution when teaching your dog to come when called in new environments. You can use it to teach your dog how to greet visitors politely in your home. A long line is one of the most important tools you can have to help you train your dog.

Baby Gates
Whether you have a puppy or an adult, baby gates come in handy when introducing new family members (two or four-legged) or when you have guests over but don’t want them to get jumped on. They are great to help new dogs acclimate to new homes or to give cats a space of their own away from dogs.

Crates
Crates should be used throughout your dog’s life. If your dog is unfamiliar with crates or despises them, this could mean increased stress while staying at the vet, while being boarded, or while traveling. In addition, crates help prevent a multitude of behavior issues such as potty accidents, unwanted chewing, barking, digging, and reactivity. They can ensure that a multi-dog household never fights while you’re not around. And it can keep other four-legged family members safe while you’re away. Crates are one of the best ways you can facilitate your life and your dog’s life and are necessary safety measures in many situations.

Visual Barriers
Many dogs suffer from reactivity (barking and lunging towards other people, dogs or animals). This behavior issue is usually based in fear and is triggered by being able to see those things walking by the home. Trainers often recommend using visual barriers – sheets, paper, or plastic – to cover windows in order to prevent the dog from being able to see the things they fear. This in turn reduces the chances that the dog will practice the undesired behaviors so that we can teach them how to behave differently in a controlled setting.

Tethers or Ex-pens
These are also used to prevent your dog from reaching certain areas of the home or yard in order to prevent undesired behaviors. Dogs that get over stimulated or are pretty aggressive at jumping can be tethered safely with a harness to a study object to prevent them from reaching their target (like a new guest in the home). Always be ready to reward calm behaviors instead when using a tether or it can cause additional stress or frustration within the dog.

These management tools are necessary when you want to change your dog’s behavior. They are not meant to hurt your dog and you should always be ready to reward calm behaviors with food or praise. Your dog needs to know what you want him to do instead of the behavior he has already been practicing.