Search Results for: barking – Page 2

Dogs that bark and lunge at other dogs, people and a wide range of other environmental triggers around them are often viewed as being aggressive.  In most cases however, a reactive dog is 'acting out' due to fear and is using this dog behaviour to make the thing it fears go away. Having a reactive dog is a common dog behaviour issue A reactive dog...

Choosing a dog toy for your pooch might sound easy, but there are several important factors to consider that can make a big difference to both the enjoyment and safety of your dog. Meeting your dog's instinctual needs is essential for their mental health and can help prevent behavioral problems such as separation anxiety, excessive barking, destructive chewing and digging. Choosing a dog toy to suit their preferences and...

Independence training is important at all stages of a dog’s life to help build their confidence and comfort in being left alone. As a dog behaviourist, I am seeing many owners that are having problems with their puppies and even older dogs due to anxiety and a lack of proper socialisation, or even too much and inappropriate socialisation. Unfortunately, many puppies missed out on puppy...

With many friends and families preparing to get together over the festive season, I wanted share my top tips for keeping pets safe at Christmas during this fun, but often stressful time. With almost 70% of Australian households now being home to over 28 million pets, almost half having at least one dog1 and a third housing at least one cat2, Australian pet ownership is...

In a recent blog I discussed how dog behaviour problems in adult dogs often start due to a number of key reasons. These include: the dog having an aversive experience or series of events poor leadership and/or handler/owner inconsistency long standing behaviours that have been exhibited over an extended period of time (ie: from puppyhood) a lack of proper socialisation as a puppy genetics. The...

Many common dog behaviour problems including excessive barking, digging and destructive chewing occur when dogs are left alone in the backyard all day with nothing to do, so addressing boredom in dogs is vital. Dogs are pack animals and in the wild they would spend their days hunting and foraging for their food, keeping their brains and bodies active, so it’s not surprising we see...

When it comes to training our dogs, it is important that we use methods that support their physical and emotional wellbeing, strengthens our bond and allows them to still express their natural dog behaviours, rather than using excessive dominance and punishment - methods often used in the alpha dog training approach. What are some of the alpha dog training methods used Alpha dog training methods...

Anxiety in dogs is very complex topic to both understand and address and is recognised as a cause of many behaviour and physical problems. It is a major mental health issue, just as it is for us humans and is not to be dismissed as something "they will just have to get over." From fear-based aggression to Separation Related Behaviours (also commonly known as Separation...

Dogs have evolved with humans over hundreds of thousands of years.  And, as pack animals, it is not natural for a dog to be left home alone all day with no mental or physical stimulation, or to be kept exclusively outdoors with little family play time. Environmental enrichment is vital. Of course it is not always possible to avoid leaving your dog at home alone...

Anxiety is VERY common in our beloved dogs yet many people miss many signs of anxiety in dogs and truly don't understand why or how it occurs. In fact, according to a recent large-scale study, up to 70% of dogs are showing signs of anxiety. Anxiety happens when your dog experiences fearful thoughts and feelings which then trigger or cause a state of physiological arousal...