Friday, April 30, 2010

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

First, if your dog has repeatedly defecated in the house, then your dog should not be allowed to run amok enabling him to continue his inappropriate behavior. To your dog, defecating in the house is a normal behavior that provides immediate comfort. Why should he change his behavior if his needs are met by using your house as a toilet?
Therefore, you shouldn’t allow an irresponsible dog to teach himself proper housebreaking behavior. You need to teach him.
When you’re not home, to prevent repeated infractions, your dog needs to be crated or otherwise confined to an area where he is responsible. Most dogs will not defecate inside their crate. So, the crate will passively prevent him from having accidents while teaching him superior voluntary control of fecal behavior.
When you’re home, instead of allowing your dog to run free throughout the house, we recommend that you tether your dog to you with a thin, nylon, 6-foot leash. Tethering passively prevents accidents while allowing you to actively teach him appropriate housebreaking rules.
While he’s tethered, immediately take him outside when he communicates an imminent need to defecate. Then, after he defecates in a desired outdoor area, reward him with lavish praise. When he fails to communicate and defecates inappropriately in your presence, punish him with a harsh “No” or a startling noise from a shake can. By rewarding good habits, preventing bad habits outside your presence, and punishing inappropriate defecation performed in your presence, you should effectively modify his behavior.
The above solution plan should work in a majority of cases. However, inappropriate defecation can have several underlying causes that make the problem more complex. In such cases, for the best resolution to the problem, you may need to treat all the causes at once.
If you are still uncertain of the cause of your dog’s inappropriate behavior, or remain unable to effectively treat the behavior, you may wish to consulz a competent local trainer or behaviorist who schedules in-home private consultations and specializes in resolving complex housebreaking problems.

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