Dog advice needed.

[porshiepoo]

I was very interested in your posts as i have just discovered that himselfs dog is howling when we go out. Neighbours have toild me. also the other day himself went out and the dog howled, a horrible whaling, even though i was upstairs, what a fright i got. He is a very loved dog and the radio is left on for him. when we go out he knows we are about to go and he runs up the stairs and lies at the top of the stairs. Maybe he is too loved and spoiled. Not sure what to do about this howling. He doesnt chew or damage anything and has my cat for company.

Your dog doesn't measure your love. He could care less if you live in a mansion or live on the steets, he is just measuring his own security by reading the security of the pack leader. If the pack leader isn't giving off an assertive energy that is what your dog will be reading and he will act accordingly.
Leaving music on does nothing more than make ourselves feel better, believing we are doing what's best for the dog. For all your dogs concerned music makes no difference.
What did you do when he howled? Did you rush to him and comfort him? We've all done it but it's not necessarily the right thing to do.
Your dog will pick up on your energy when you leave him, if you are worried he knows it, if you're sad he knows it, if you're anxious he knows it and all by reading your energy. If the so called pack leader is giving off that energy then that cannot be good for the pack as far as your dog is concerned and he'll act accordingly.

We all need to bear in mind that dogs are canines not humans so to use human psychology is as about as much use as using equine psychology on us. Once we all accept that our pets are canines first and pets second then we'll have a much easier time.

I know I rant on about Cesar Milan but I believe in his methods so much (I've tried and tested em) that had I been more aware a few years ago when I had to have two of my dogs PTS, then the situation would have been extremely different. The situation that happened would not have occured in the first place and if it had I would have bought my dogs home from the vet and sorted it. Instead I've lost two beloved pets (1 I bred myself) due to my own negligence of what dogs are and what they need. Believe me, that's harder to live with than the actual putting them to sleep.

[golden]

Hi everyone, here's what we've done with our current and past dogs regarding seperation anxiety :

( copied this from another forum i'm on but it works for adult dogs and pups )

• After the first 2 – 3 days once pup has settled you need to eradicate the pups separation anxiety “SA” , this is natural behaviour for a pup so please don’t get upset with him/her….
• To eradicate SA here’s what we’ve done:

a) When pup is enclosed in his/her area ( kitchen, crate, etc ) ignore pup until he/she is quiet then leave the area and close the door behind you ( don’t even look or talk to him/her ).

b) Chances are the pup WILL start to cry, re-enter the area and again ignore pup, wait until pup has settled again then repeat (a).

Doing the above for approx 10 times is showing your pup that even when you leave him/her alone you will return shortly.

c) Now that pup is starting to get used to you coming and going, you need to stop pup from crying. Repeat steps (a) and (b) however: don’t enter the room again until pup is quiet, this may take a few minutes. Once he/she is quiet for say 5 seconds or so NOW enter the room ( again ignore, you entering the room is enough of a reward )… do this again approx 10 times…. Gradually increase how long pup needs to be quiet before you enter the room….. Done correctly you WILL be able to leave him/her longer periods.

Good luck it will take time !


I know there are plenty of differing training methods, most of them very good, the above worked for us. I’m a very strong believer in reward based training, in this instance you entering the room is what pup wants and thus is the reward ( pup starts to think, if I bark nothing is going to happen, if I stay quiet mum or dad will come ). For us humans and dogs overcoming “SA” is a must, you can goto your bed, the shops, work, anywhere knowing that your lovely pup isn’t going crazy in the house ( stressing the pup, which isn’t good for him/her ) he/she is happy to chill-out knowing you will be back soon.

Hope this all makes sense and helps even just one dog/pup.

*** please note NOT to leave any dog/pup all day ***

[jean]

good advice is in the books the perfect puppy by gwen bailey and the culture clash by jan donaldson. both availiable on amazon.co.uk
they will keep you right and help you understand why your dog is behaving the way it is.
I thoroughly reccomend them.

[golden]

Agree with you there Jean, culture clash very good and well worth buying.

[porshiepoo]

Also make sure your dog is well walked before you cage them and leave them.
It helps enormously if the dogs mind and energy are quiet before they're left for ANY length of time. It's natural for a dog to want some quiet time after having been walked, if you try caging an unwalked or excited dog then you'll just be caging that energy with them and it has nowhere to go other than to make alot of noise, scratching at the cage to try to get out or to chew whatever blankets you have left him with.
Simply walking a dog really does help with alot of issues.
(I'm not suggesting you don't walk your dog just explaining what I do)

[Liz]

I know I rant on about Cesar Milan but I believe in his methods so much (I've tried and tested em) that had I been more aware a few years ago when I had to have two of my dogs PTS, then the situation would have been extremely different. The situation that happened would not have occured in the first place and if it had I would have bought my dogs home from the vet and sorted it. Instead I've lost two beloved pets (1 I bred myself) due to my own negligence of what dogs are and what they need. Believe me, that's harder to live with than the actual putting them to sleep.

Porshiepoo I never heard of Cesar Millan until I started watching 'The Dog Whisperer' on Sky Three.
Like you I wish I had heard of him long ago as what he says makes such sense and his training methods are so easy to put into practice.
Does he have any books or DVDs you would recommend?

[porshiepoo]

I know hw has at least one book out here : 'Cesar's Way'.
He has some DVD's too but you have to get them from his website for ones that will work in the UK.

I think his methods are a breath of fresh air, I always took my dogs 'training' but it never really entirely sat right with me. Now I know why!

I've had more success with a years worth of Cesar's Way than I did in the same amount of time with traditional dog training.
I still have a lot of work to do but it's amazing how all those problems just seem so 'doable' now!

[Liz]

Thanks!

I managed to get 'Cesar's Way' on CD from Ebay. Will have a look at his website too.

'Doable' is exactly the word! Other training methods can be so complicated that you give up whereas his methods are so easy to put into use and make so much sense!