Just like in humans, your dog can develop anxiety for a number of reasons such as illness, a traumatic experience, lack of socialization as a puppy, spending time in a shelter, or being re-homed multiple times, PetMD explained. Once you identify that your dog has anxiety, it's important to talk with your vet or an animal behavioralist to develop a treatment plan that's best for you and Fido.
Be consistent. Your dog won’t understand what you want from him if his environment lacks consistency. Everyone who lives with your dog should understand and be on board with his training goals. For example, if you are training your dog not to jump on people, don’t let the kids allow the dog jump all over them. This will undermine all the training you’ve done.
One possibility that sounds interesting is the “safe area” idea. If the forecast predicts thunderstorm, then we can try keeping our dog in a low-stimulus (no windows/few windows), sound proof area, before the storm begins and *before* our dog starts to panic or becomes overly anxious. We can try masking out the sounds from outside with calming music, or a calm t.v. channel. At the same time, we distract our dog by giving him something interesting to do that he loves, for example playing a game, chewing on his favorite chews, playing with his favorite interactive food toy, etc.
It typically takes 4-6 months for a puppy to be fully house trained, but some puppies may take up to a year. Size can be a predictor. For instance, smaller breeds have smaller bladders and higher metabolisms and require more frequent trips outside. Your puppy's previous living conditions are another predictor. You may find that you need to help your puppy break old habits in order to establish more desirable ones.
If your dog exhibits a behavior you don’t like, there is a strong likelihood that it’s something that has been reinforced before. A great example is when your dog brings you a toy and barks to entice you to throw it. You throw the toy. Your dog has just learned that barking gets you to do what he wants. You say “no,” and he barks even more. Heaven forbid you give in and throw the toy now! Why? Because you will have taught him persistence pays off. Before you know it you’ll have a dog that barks and barks every time he wants something. The solution? Ignore his barking or ask him to do something for you (like “sit”) before you throw his toy.
_{I would like to restate that she never has this behavior at home and it feels like it only happens when she is in a new place. I recently took her on a longer walk, to a place she had never been ( we didn’t have to use the car) and my Fiance went into the store while I waited with her outside. The extreme panting began again, and I attempted to soothe her and kept a tight grip on the leash. Then an unknown man came out of the store, and our lab charged him, and wailed me into a pole so hard that it caused tissue damage on my arm. I must admit I am not the strongest person I know, but her pull was simply uncontrollable.}
Prior to the 1980s, Karen Pryor was a marine-mammal trainer who used Skinner's operant principles to teach dolphins and develop marine-mammal shows. In 1984, she published her book, Don't Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training, an explanation of operant-conditioning procedures written for the general public.[23] In the book Pryor explains why punishment as a way to get people to change often fails, and describes specific positive methods for changing the behaviour of husbands, children and pets.[33] Pryor's dog training materials and seminars showed how operant procedures can be used to provide training based on positive reinforcement of good behavior.[23] Pryor and Gary Wilkes introduced clicker training to dog trainers with a series of seminars in 1992 and 1993. Wilkes used aversives as well as rewards, and the philosophical differences soon ended the partnership.[34]
 Together, we will take a hands on approach to find a solution to resolve the problems you are having with your dog!  Take the Lead K9 Training offers board and train services for obedience training and dog behavior modification.  I will help you resolve a variety of dog behavioral issues like aggression, anxiety, fear, not listening, jumping up, barking, biting, chewing, running away, chasing the cat, pulling on leash, and not coming when called.  I teach basic dog obedience, such as proper leash walking, sit, down, extended stay, and recall to puppies and adult dogs alike!  I also train off leash advanced obedience with low level remote collar training, where your dog will respond to you off leash with high levels of distraction.  Big or small, your dog can learn and listen to you - in public, around distractions, off-leash, and without having to always have a treat to get your dog's good behavior!
Ah, the great crate debate. While we’d never recommend leaving a dog in the crate for 23 hours a day, crates are an indispensable tool for potty training young puppies. Properly trained, your puppy’s crate becomes a safe space where he sleeps comfortably. While your puppy is in the crate, you can focus on other tasks knowing that your floors, cords, and slippers are safe from the teeth (and bladder) of a young puppy.
In the 1950s Blanche Saunders was a staunch advocate of pet-dog training, travelling throughout the U.S. to promote obedience classes.[15] In The Complete Book of Dog Obedience, she said, "Dogs learn by associating their act with a pleasing or displeasing result. They must be disciplined when they do wrong, but they must also be rewarded when they do right."[22] Negative reinforcement procedures played a key part in Saunders' method, primarily the jerking of the choke chain. The mantra taught to students was "Command! Jerk! Praise!" She felt that food should not be an ongoing reward, but that it was acceptable to use "a tidbit now and then to overcome a problem." Saunders perhaps began the shift away from military and police training methods, stressing repeatedly the importance of reinforcement for good behaviour in training—a move toward the positive training methods used today.[23]
My Shiba is also very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. When he was young, I had a very difficult time with him, and it seemed that he would single me out for his bad behaviors. A big reason for this, was because of my own energy. I was frustrated with him, embarrassed by him, and also a bit afraid of him. He would pick up on these feelings, become stressed and fearful himself, and act even more crazy. This in turn made me feel even more frustrated and afraid, and it was not a good cycle.

2. Make her visible. This might sound like the last thing you want to do with an anxious dog—I’ve certainly spent my share of time hiding around corners and not opening my door until I’ve checked that the coast is clear—but drawing attention to your dog’s anxiety is a good way to tell other people not to approach. Put a yellow ribbon on your dog’s leash, or buy a bandanna or harness that says “nervous” or “no dogs” and you’re giving people a heads-up without having to yell at them.

Dogs are sensitive creatures and your anxiety can increase their anxiety. Try relaxation techniques to decompress and find your own inner calm. Anxiety is a complicated issue, of course, and often requires longer-term interventions to address the root causes. Life is stressful, after all! Even so, taking a few deep breaths before you greet your dog is one simple way to help them feel calmer, too.
Similarly, if you're having trouble with at-home puppy obedience training or would simply like a little guidance from someone with experience, a professional dog trainer will be able to help you. Trainers offer at-home classes or training at their facility. Before hiring anyone, do some research to ensure they're credentialed. Similarly, speak with them about their training philosophy to make sure their efforts are in line with how you want to educate your pet. If you need a referral, contact your veterinarian or ask a friend who recently went through professional training with their own new dog.
_{The American Kennel Club CGC is rapidly becoming recognized as the standard of behavior for dogs in our communities. Canine Good Citizen resolutions have been passed by 18 state legislatures and the United States Senate. Insurance companies are starting to use CGC to insure breeds they would not otherwise insure, and some condominium associations around the country now require that all dogs in the complex have earned the Canine Good Citizen award.}

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However, this doesn't mean you can't teach many other breeds to protect your kids. The big thing you need to know is that there is a big difference between guard dogs and attack dogs. In this article, we are talking about guarding, not attacking. Just remember: training your dog to guard or protect your kids is going to take some time and patience. 
As a pet parent, you need to act when your dog is suffering from anxiety. Avoid punishing or scolding your dog when it is having an attack. You should also avoid praising or patting because that may lead your dog to believe that you are encouraging its anxious behavior. The first step is to identify the stimulus that’s causing the reaction. Controlled exposure to the stimulus and giving rewards for positive behavior is a popular way of desensitizing the dog. It’s also advisable to seek help from a canine behavioral expert. If the problem persists, consult a vet. There are more than a few anti-anxiety medication and nutritional supplements that can help control the problem.
_{Thank you for your feedback, Tamara. We do not recommend using a pinch collar without proper training for the person first. I personally disagree that it is a negative reinforcement, but I respect your opinion. Sally has never been hurt using the pinch collar. I completely agree that using treats is a perfectly appropriate way to train a dog. However, treat training doesn’t always work for every dog, like in my instance with Sally. So I had to find an alternative and that’s when I sought out help from a trainer who recommended this method to me. Each dog has its own needs and its up to us as the pet parent to know their needs and help them be the happiest they can be.}
At Fur and Feathers, our training methods are dog-friendly and include positive reinforcement.  Dog training is individualized based on breed, age and temperament. We believe that praise is the best reward for your pet and that your dog will achieve the most positive results in a fun and challenging environment. Our award-winning dog training system is designed to do three things:
In the 1980s veterinarian and animal behaviourist Ian Dunbar discovered that despite evidence on the peak learning periods in animals, few dog trainers worked with puppies before they were six months old.[25] Dunbar founded Sirius Dog Training, the first off-leash training program specifically for puppies, which emphasizes the importance of teaching bite inhibition, sociality, and other basic household manners, to dogs under six months of age.[31] Dunbar has written numerous books, and is known for his international seminar presentations and award-winning videos on puppy and dog behavior and training.[32]

Also, please note that because of volume, we are unable to respond to individual comments, although we do watch them in order to learn what issues and questions are most common so that we can produce content that fulfills your needs. You are welcome to share your own dog tips and behavior solutions among yourselves, however. Thank you for reading our articles and sharing your thoughts with the pack!

In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about the signs and symptoms of anxiety in dogs. With a little guidance, you will be able to tell if your dog is feeling stressed and learn ways to help them overcome it. By avoiding triggers and training them to react differently, you will be able to reduce their anxiety and exterminate those bad behaviors.
Prong collars must never be turned inside out (with the prongs facing away from the dog's skin), as this may cause injury against the body and head. [1] Plastic tips are occasionally placed on the ends of the prongs to protect against tufts forming in the fur or, in the case of low quality manufactured collars with rough chisel cut ends, puncturing the skin. Like the slip collar, the prong collar is placed high on the dog's neck, just behind the ears, at the most sensitive point.[2]
Desensitization is the most effective method when your dog’s anxiety is brought on by a particular trigger such as fireworks, thunderstorms, or even car rides. This method means that your dog will learn how to reduce their reaction to the trigger or stimulus that is causing their issues. In this particular situation, you would want to overexpose your dog to this trigger and train them to act calmly.

When your dog knows the release cue and how to sit on cue, put him in a sit, turn and face him, and give him a treat. Pause, and give him another treat for staying in a sit, then release him. Gradually increase the time you wait between treats (it can help to sing the ABC’s in your head and work your way up the alphabet).  If your dog gets up before the release cue, that’s ok! It just means he isn’t ready to sit for that long so you can make it easier by going back to a shorter time.

In order to be certified as a therapy dog or emotional support dog, animals need to receive an evaluation/written designation from a licensed health professional: social worker, physician, psychiatrist typically. As for service dogs, which are allowed to accompany their owners into most businesses and pet-restricted areas, they can receive training, certifications, and registrations from several organizations such as TDI and United States Service Dog Registry. These certifications are not required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but may streamline the process of getting a dog access to typically off-limits areas. Service dogs and therapy dogs are not the same thing. The same dog might fall into both categories, but therapy and emotional support animals are not recognized under the ADA.
Training should begin in a quiet environment with few distractions. The chosen reward should be highly motivating so that the puppy focuses entirely on the trainer and the reward. Although a small food treat generally works best, a favorite toy or a special dog treat might be more appealing. It might also be helpful to train the puppy just before a scheduled mealtime when it is at its hungriest. For difficult or headstrong puppies, the best way to ensure that the puppy will perform the desired behavior and respond appropriately to the command is to leave a leash attached and to use a head collar for additional control. In this way, you can prompt the puppy into the correct response if it does not immediately obey, and the pressure can be released as soon as the desired response is achieved.
There is a normal, natural fear period that begins around 14 to 16 weeks. During this period, a puppy may become wary and suspicious of new people, species or experiences. This is a normal adaptive process. Watch your puppy closely for signs of fear (cowering, urinating, and refusal of food treats). Avoid pushing or overwhelming your puppy during this developmental stage.
Start by finding an AKC Club near you that offers training classes. Ask if you can observe a class before committing to make sure it’s the right one for you. Learn more about different types of classes here. To get the most benefit, you must plan on practicing at home as well. But don’t worry: Your at-home sessions don’t have to be very time-consuming and practice sessions should be kept short.
^{Crosby the border collie mix and I started to work on his e-collar training today! I love to teach recall as one of our first e-collar experiences, as it gets to shape a lot of handler engagement from something distracting! In this video I talk about when I use the remote and how it starts to cue him to come back to his handler. These motions will be very helpful when we begin working on his reactivity stuff, because we always want to disengage a reactive dog and bring focus back to us. Good boy! #calmdogscrazyworld #orlandodogs #orlandofl #dogstagram #puppy #balancedtraining #dogtraining #pitbull #gsd #labrador #doodle #goldenretriever #rescuedog #oviedofl #winterparkfl #floridadogtrainer #orlandodogtrainer #centralflorida #centralfloridadogtrainer #floridadogs #windermerefl #taketheleadk9training #boardandtrain #adoptdontshop #ecollartraining #disneydogs #ucfdogs #lakemaryfl #sanfordfl #bordercollie}
We really feel bad for her, because she isn’t a bad dog, her anxiety just takes over and we know this is not healthy for her. We don’t want to not take her out places either, because we also have another younger dog ( a pitbull mix) who acts very normal when out, and we would like to do things with them together. We would give endless amounts of desensitizing training as we are very eager to resolve this, but we are confused as to where to begin.
Before you begin dog obedience training, choose the best method for you and your dog. Training styles vary, but most trainers agree that dogs respond best to positive reinforcement, such as praise or treats. One common training variation, known as clicker training, includes the use of conditioned reinforcer. There are plenty of dog training books and websites where you can learn about training techniques and determine which best suits you and your dog. When planning out your training methods, don't forget about socialization.
Amy grew up in England and in the early 1990's moved to North Carolina where she completed a bachelors degree in Psychology in 2001. Amy's personal interest in writing was sparked by her love of reading fiction and her creative writing hobby. Amy is currently self employed as a freelance writer and web designer. When she is not working Amy can be found curled up with a good book and her black Labrador, Jet.
However, this is only a guess based on our online discussion. There could be other factors (environmental or otherwise), that I am not aware of. For a more accurate evaluation of the behavior, it may be best to consult with a good professional trainer or behaviorist. A good trainer will want to meet with the dog, read her body language, and observe the surrounding context.
As mentioned above, some dogs begin to feel anxious while their guardians get ready to leave. For example, a dog might start to pace, pant and whine when he notices his guardian applying makeup, putting on shoes and a coat, and then picking up a bag or car keys. (If your dog doesn’t show signs of anxiety when you’re preparing to leave him alone, you can just skip to step two below.) Guardians of dogs who become upset during predeparture rituals are unable to leave—even for just few seconds—without triggering their dogs’ extreme anxiety. Your dog may see telltale cues that you’re leaving (like your putting on your coat or picking up your keys) and get so anxious about being left alone that he can’t control himself and forgets that you’ll come back.

Hi, I just got a 9 month old Puggle who I believe may have been mistreated before because she’s very easily alarmed by any sudden sounds even if she’s laying with me and the sound comes from me. It also takes a while before she willingly comes to anyone in the house. It also took a while for her to eat treats and she doesn’t play with toys very often. We got her a crate that she slept in for a week in my room without a problem. The crate has her bed on one side and a piece of fake grass on the other side and she never had any problems with the crate. However 2 days ago I overslept so she ended up being in the crate for 12 hours and peed on the side with the grass. I took her out when I woke up and she still pooped outside and acted normal that day. Since then when we put her in the crate to go to bed she barks and howls and moves around anxiously until someone’s in the room. I’ve tried comforting her and letting her out when she’s quiet and scolding her when she’s yelling but nothing seems to have changed. Help!

• Sounds: Dogs can moan, whine, whimper, bark excessively or howl when they’re anxious or afraid. These sounds may differ from their regular sounds. A dog’s whimper for a treat or a happy bark at hearing you come through the door may sound different than a noise made out of fear. Owners know when their dogs react differently to stimuli. The more time you spend with your dog, the easier it will be to spot fear-based reactions.
Puppies should be at least eight weeks old before they’re taken away from their mothers and littermates for weaning. The first eight weeks of a puppy’s life are a crucial time for him to learn social skills. Playing with littermates, wrestling with Mom and enjoying life with their own pack helps dogs understand how other dogs communicate and interact.

For the last two days, I have been giving her valium and her regular pain medicine with her new food. It helps during the day to some degree, but as soon as the lights are out, she starts shaking and pacing again. Today, she jumped up onto the couch and placed her head in my lap. She has never tried to get on this couch before. Earlier in the day, she trapped herself in the bathroom when she was following my husband around everywhere and he left the house. She clearly tried to get out, but ended up shutting the door on herself instead. I speculate that she was in a panic once she woke up and couldn’t figure out where she was.

I completely agree with the above post. Also, I would never recommend a pinch collar to the general public. These are negative reinforcements and can be painful especially in the hands of someone who just reads articles like this off the internet. There is nothing wrong with using treats or anything else that floats your dog’s boat to help them learn and enjoy it.
The use of medications can be very helpful, especially for severe cases of separation anxiety. Some dogs are so distraught by any separation from their pet parents that treatment can’t be implemented without the help of medication. Anti-anxiety medication can help a dog tolerate some level of isolation without experiencing anxiety. It can also make treatment progress more quickly.
A Hungarian dog training group called Népszigeti Kutyaiskola use a variation of model-rival training which they describe as the Mirror Method. The mirror method philosophy is that dogs instinctively learn by following the example of others in their social sphere. Core to the program is including the dog in all aspects of the owner's life and positive reinforcement of copying behaviors. Mirror method dog training relies on using a dog's natural instincts and inclinations rather than working against them.[67]

Dog intelligence is exhibited in many different ways, and a dog that might not be easy to train might nonetheless be quite adept at figuring out how to open kitchen cabinets or to escape from the yard. Novice dog owners need to consider a dog's trainability as well as its energy level, exercise requirements, and other factors before choosing a new pet. Very high intelligence is not necessarily a good thing in a companion dog, as smart dogs can require extensive daily mental stimulation if they are not to become bored and destructive.

_{Reinforcement can be anything your dog likes. Most people use small pieces of a “high value” food for training treats — something special — such as dried liver or even just their kibble. Lavish praise or the chance to play with a favorite toy can also be used as a reward. Dogs must be taught to like praise. If you give the dog a treat while saying “Good dog!” in a happy voice, he will learn that praise is a good thing and can be a reward. Some dogs also enjoy petting. Food is often the most convenient way to reinforce behavior.}
An anti-anxiety drug is designed to be given once a day and to keep your dog calm overall. It is not designed to be given at a particular time when your dog becomes overly anxious or excited. The best thing to do at such times is to speak calmly to your dog in a reassuring but firm voice. Keep your hand on your dog, providing your dog does not become aggressive. Some dogs may become aggressive and try to bite. If possible, remove the dog from the anxiety-provoking situation. Above all, remain calm yourself, because your dog will take cues from your behavior.
I have a problem with my 6 month german shepard.She is afraid to go out for a walk that I will have to drag her out and then she will be fine.Then all a sudden it looks like she realise that she is outdoors and the story begins!!!She will start pulling on the leash her tail tucked between her legs and she will not respond to any command or treat not even her favourites.The only thing she will want is getting back home and then she will be fine!!What do you think is the problem and hpw should I tackle it?THANK YOU.
Discourage him from biting or nipping. Instead of scolding him, a great way to put off your mouthy canine is to pretend that you're in great pain when he's biting or nipping you. He'll be so surprised he's likely to stop immediately. If this doesn't work, try trading a chew toy for your hand or pant leg. The swap trick also works when he's into your favorite shoes. He'll prefer a toy or bone anyway. If all else fails, break up the biting behavior, and then just ignore him.