Rules Are Good For Your Dog
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Rules are good for your dog just like rules are good for your kids. We all like to know what the rules are upfront and what we are allowed to do and what we aren’t allowed to do.
There is nothing worse than doing something and then finding out it’s against the rules. So let’s share those rules with your dog from the very beginning.
Potty Training Rules
Starting off with potty training rules we need to teach the dog from the very beginning that the place for it to eliminate is on the grass and not in the house. Dogs develop a preference for where they do their business and you should be helping your dog by allowing them to spend time on the grass. When your dog is in the house he should either be in a crate are attached to you with a leash so there are no chances for accidents.
Furniture Rules
Furniture rules are going to be up to you and your lifestyle. Some people allow their dogs on the furniture and other people don’t. There isn’t a right and a wrong It simply is up to you. However, if your dog is getting on the furniture and you would like that to quit simply tell him “off” as you grab the collar and pull the dog off of the furniture. You will be amazed that by just doing this simple little exercise within 24 to 48 hours your dog will start staying off all by itself. It also helps if you have an alternative place for your dog to relax so when you tell him/her “off” they have another place to choose.
Bed Rules
Bed Rules are up to you. However, I will tell you a lot of aggression issues can occur that are related to dogs sleeping in beds. Now after saying that I will tell you that there are millions of dogs sleeping in beds that are not a problem so it all depends on your dog, it’s training, and if it knows its place in the pack. (I did an entire blog about whether a dog should be in bed…you can find it under the blog tab)
Walking Rules
Walking Rules are important. Nobody wants a dog that is dragging them down the street. It’s no fun to walk a dog like this and, in fact, most dogs that pull just don’t get walked. When your dog doesn’t get walked you end up with other problems because your dog needs to go for walks to burn off that excess energy and to build up serotonin in the brain.
I personally use a gentle leader collar for my pitbull/shepherd mix and from the first day I used this gentle leader collar, he stopped pulling. I did a whole blog post on this topic as well that you can find in the blog tab.
Barking Rules
Barking Rules are easy. Barking is a huge complaint about a lot of dog owners but it’s so easy to fix. As a dog owner you don’t mind your dog barking to let you know that somebody’s at the door are even when somebody’s outside that shouldn’t be. However, none of us want a dog that’s nonstop barking when it sees somebody or something and just won’t quit. Teaching your dog to quit barking on command is an important exercise. Once again, I have a blog post under the blog tab that gives some easy tips to stop excessive barking.
So tell your dog what the rules are upfront so that you and your dog can live in harmony. Then once he knows the rules start training him so he can be the perfect pet for your family.
