Its that time of the year again the Christmas holidays are approaching. For many people their pets will play a different role during the holiday. Some people I know they wouldn’t dream of spending Christmas away from their dogs while others seek out boarding kennels as they feel that it is better for them or their dog due to the high volume of visitors and family members visiting.
Recently a few owners have being asking me questions as to what I would suggest so their pet is not overlooked during the holidays and also about specific concerns they have. So below I thought I would share ideas on how to deal with one such concern.
“Too Much” Barking at the Doorbell.
There may be lots of reasons why your dog is doing what he is doing and we may not know exactly why. However I will outline a non-specific training plan that I hope will help.
If the dog barks as soon as the doorbell goes off and they keep barking then I would suggest you try the following:
The first definition in the dictionary for ANXIETY is
1. distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune: He felt anxiety about the possible loss of his job.
I define it in my dog behavioral consults as manifestations of behavior including poor impulse control and see it on a scale from 1 - 10... 1 would be, "yes I have stress in my world but I handle it gracefully and within what I define as normal limits for me" and 8-10 being "whoa, things are really not going too well and it negatively affects function and, well, it's a big problem." That scale is subjective and varies from person to person and, well, also from dog to dog.
It is winter and our thoughts turn to holiday celebrations and family time. As Canadians, we relish the thoughts of hitting the ski slopes, visiting friends for Christmas, or even heading down south for some rest and relaxation. And of course, we don’t want to forget our four legged buddies. While it can be a great experience to travel with Sparky, there are some things to consider before you ask him to jump into the car.
Most of the people reading this are avid dog lovers. So, let me ask you, as a dog lover, how would you feel if this happened? Let’s say you and your dog came to my home for Thanksgiving. Let’s also say that your dog was afraid of…hmmm…afraid of the centerpiece on the table.
How would you feel if I told you that your dog was being silly because the centerpiece is not dangerous? What if I forced your dog to spend time with the centerpiece and laughed at him when he got anxious? I’m guessing you wouldn’t be hanging around for dinner.
Sadly, this is exactly what some people go through who are afraid of dogs. In fact, there are hosts who will be joking about the dog-anxious guest before she even arrives. When she does arrive, already amped up because she knows there will be dogs at your house and that she will be chided about her fears, she is repeatedly informed that her fears are irrational and encouraged to just "don't be afraid".
As dog trainers one of the many questions we are asked is “How do I stop my dog from begging at the table?” or worse, “How to I stop my dog from jumping up on the table?”!!! This is both annoying for the humans, embarrassing if you have guests and not good for the dog if he’s being given food that is unsuitable for him.
The most important rule is never to feed their dog from the table at any time. This only serves to encourage the begging and makes it almost impossible to modify the behaviour.
