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Excessive Barking and How To Stop It!

This cute little terrier mix Lexi gave Petspot a few poses between commands and basic obedience training.

Nuisance barking can be quite a problem and we are often asked what to do about it.
Barking is perfectly natural for dogs, be it for warning, protection or expressing excitement it is still one of their most important forms of communication. Usually it is not very long lasting and is hardly a problem for most dog owners, they are after all just talking to you, just letting you know what’s on their mind.
But excessive barking on the other hand could be an inconvenience and is mostly caused by plain boredom or lack of stimulation.

Undoubtedly, this is a strong indication that there is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Our initial reaction is to ask ourselves what problems the dog has but what we really need to focus on is us, the humans! Ask yourself these questions: Do you give your dog enough stimulation and exercise? Could you unintentionally be encouraging the barking? Or could the problem simply be that your dog suffers from anxiety?

It mostly comes down to how you treat your dog when they are excited. How many of you pat your dog when they bark, telling them “there, there, it’s ok…” or if the dog is smaller, pick them up when they get excited over something.
Think about that for a second.
You are actually rewarding a behavior that your are trying to get rid of. This is called unintended positive reinforcement and it can do more harm than good.
Touching and patting your dog is rewarding for them, if you give them that reward when they are displaying a behavior we do not want to encourage you are in fact doing the opposite of what you want to achieve.

When clients ask us this question, the first thing that comes to our mind is to teach the dog how to bark. This might seem a bit confusing, but let us break it down for you.
If your dog learns what barking is and knows how to bark on cue, they will also learn what not-barking (i.e being quiet) is and you can just as easily have a command for that too.

Secondly, we want to point out the importance of exercise and stimulation. A dog that gets to have an outlet for all that energy is often a dog that dosen’t feel the need to bark excessively.
Contact our trainer if you want to know more about how to deal with this.

 

 

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Pulling and biting the leash

This is Diego and Mia with their owner who struggles to have them walk nicely close to her.

There can be many reasons your dog bites or keeps mouthing the leash, for example they can be bored, overexcited, frustrated or just like having something in their mouth. You can prevent this by letting your dog have a stick or a toy to carry on the walk. You can also teach your dog the “out” command to let things go.
Some dogs might think the leash is a toy, therefore it might be useful to take away the “charm” of it. By putting the leash in front of your dog, wait until they switch focus onto something else (preferably you) and reward immediately for not being interested.

Pulling can become a big problem if not dealt with in time. If you are experiencing difficulty controlling your dog on walks it’s best to book a training session with us. But here are a few quick tips:

*Keep your dog on a short leash. Don’t worry, they will still get the exercise they need.

*Use small subtile corrections often rather than hard “pops” of tugs on the leash a few times. Sometimes you might need to give a less subtle tug initially to let your dog know that you only accept a certain distance from you.

*When they start pulling change direction. This will throw them off balance a bit and forget what they were pulling towards. Walk a few steps in the other direction and turn around again and continue your walk.

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Sirius Dog Sancturay in Limassol

Today we spent a few hours at Sirius Dog Sanctuary and helped out with a couple of troubled dog. There are many dogs there, so we focused on teaching our methods to the staff and volunteers and worked with the dogs that needed us most.

Helping and training a fearful, shy, scared and nervous dog can take time and it is nothing you do in just a few hours. It’s important to take your time and stay patient while you are gaining more trust and connecting with the dog. A dog can smell and sense your emotional state so the key to training a nervous dog is to stay relaxed, patient, happy and encouraging.

We spent some time with each dog bonding and getting to know them in a quiet room and eventually managed to take these dogs out for a walk individually without and major issues. A little pulling and a little protesting, but over all we believe we had some breakthroughs with them. Our main focus was having them follow our lead. Repeating a simple short walk back and forth again and again they slowly realized that there’s nothing wrong with walking outdoors.

 

You can visit Sirius Dog Sanctuary on Facebook or check out their website for more information on how to help them.
https://www.facebook.com/siriusdogsanctuary/
http://www.siriusdogsanctuary.com/en/home

Or contact us on our website or Facebook for more information on dog training and what we do at the shelters.
https://www.facebook.com/petspotpro

 

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Dog training for everyone in the family

Trainer's Tips, dog walking Cyprus. Amazing young girl with a beautiful young German Shepherd, taking a peaceful dog walk in Kato Paphos, Cyprus. Dog Training Made Easy is a great way to teach young kids how to handle bigger dogs in an easy and fun way!

We recently had en encounter with a family who had a problem with their dog who was pulling and gave them a hard time on walks. They had almost given up hope since the only person in the family that could take the family dog out for a walk was the father.

Our dog trainer came to their home in Paphos Cyprus, made an assessment and taught the family how to deal with pulling behaviour and daily communication in general. It didn’t take long until wife and kid was training and walking the dog without major issues. It’s remarkable how much a few rules and good treats can change the lives of a family struggling to train their dog. Under the right guidance anything is possible.

We left the family hopeful and happy to be able to share the experience of walking their furry family member.

PetSpot’s methods are truly made easy for pet dog owners and we are always so happy when we can help families join the exciting world of dog training.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information. We come to Paphos, Polis and Limassol in Cyprus and help you with dog training and behaviour issues.

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German Shepherd Rescue Centre Cyprus in Limassol Dog Training

2017 Calendar picture for GSD Shelter in Limassol

Last week we spent some time with the German Shepherds again in Limassol at GSDRC. There are many Shepherds there in need of training and stimulation.

We try to focus on proper leash walking since it’s an important part of their life in a new home and we need to teach them how to walk properly when walked by their new owners.

PetSpot’s dog trainer worked with a sweet boy named Rex. Rex had no prior leash manners and was totally running the show the second he left the kennel. We started by making sure we were walking along a wall where he had no other choice but to walk either ahead, behind or right next to us. We then added a lure in the form of a treat to get him walking nicely by our leg. Slowly we introduced switching directions and before we finished the session we could let go of the leash and he’d stay right next to us. Training German Shepherds is truly amazing, fun & rewarding.

PetSpot offers dog training services in Paphos, Polis and Limassol and we aim to help as many GSD find a home by offering our services and help to German Shepherd Rescue Center in Limassol.

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Dog training in Polis, Cyprus

PetSpot Pro Playing Prague Ratter in the sand ander a session with PetSpot dog training made easy

Last week we trained a very excited little 6 month mix breed puppy in Polis. His owners were in despair because he is a dog with a very high level of energy. That makes him become hyperactive and easily overexcited and it was too much for them to handle and they were afraid the problem couldn’t be controlled. So they did the right thing and hired a dog trainer to come to Polis and help them out.

Something that is important to think about when dealing with high energy dogs is to control your own mood and level of energy. If you are trying to calm down a dog, your state of mind has to be the complete opposite. Be calm, talk in a low voice, don’t do any sudden movements and get your puppy doing a lot of  “sit-waits” and “stays” before you move on with other commands and dog training.

PetSpot’s trainers teach you how to set the rules of the house, we don’t tell you whether or not your dog is allowed on the sofa or not. Instead we focus on teaching you as a dog owner (in Polis, Paphos or Limassol) how you teach your dog the rules you decide for them.

Another important aspect that is a key part to any sustainable training method is to be consistent in everything you do with your dog and when training them.

Our goal with this specific case is to train and prepare this very highly motivated puppy with basic obedience and move on to our advanced program. His owners will have a completely different life when we have completed the program we have for their four legged family member.

Remember, no dog is a lost case!

 

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Help! My dog gets overexited and is hyperactive.

This beautiful mixed breed takes a break from training basic dog obedience in Limassol to sniff Petspot's camera.

Overexcited dogs most likely lack stimulation or are just plain bored, and there are different ways of correcting this. First off, ask yourself what role you play in your dog’s behaviour? Dogs will sense their owners energy and reflect back. If you are full of energy, stressed, worried, sad, nervous or anxious you will see a changed behaviour in your dog. If you come home and the first thing you do is get your dog excited over the fact that you are home by greeting and cuddling them, they will learn that overexcitement is acceptable because they are being rewarded for it. Ignore them for just a few minutes until they settle down, then give all the love and affection you want. A dog doesn’t understand hello and good bye the same way humans do. They understand attention and no attention. Attention while presenting bad behaviour=reinforcement of that very behaviour. Also make sure that when you intentionally get your dog excited – follow through! Don’t wind them up and then call it quits when you’ve had enough. Follow through with the “play-time” until it is out of your dog’s system. Hyperactivity in dogs can come from psychological needs as easily as it can from physical needs. Take them out for a walk or give them a task to preform. Giving your dog a mission can change their state of mind completely. You will notice a sense of pride when you put a little backpack with your water bottle for your dog to carry. The hyperactive behaviour will redirect from being unfocused or easily disrtacted into getting this job done! Remember that even though you take your dog out for a walk to get rid of built-up energy it’s not an excuse to pull or walk uncontrolled. They will still get tired by walking nicely next to you.

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