A dog is said to be man's best friend, but you probably don't have any close friends who chew up your shoes and furniture and keep you up at night with incessant barking. Even though dogs can make wonderful companions, you have to train them to have proper house manners.
Things You'll Need
- Treats
- Chewing deterrent
- Toys
- Compressed rawhide bone
- Pennies
- Jar
- Spray bottle
Instructions
Stop Chewing
Dogs need to chew on things, so give your dog things that it will learn are safe to chew on. Buy a wide variety of treats that appeal to your dog. Select a few good quality chew toys for your dog, as well. Sturdy chewing toys, such as the Kong toy, are a good choice and hold up well. Compressed rawhide bones are also excellent chewing toys, as are well-made rope toys.
Avoid toys that are similar to items that you or your family members own, because you want there to be an easy distinction between your personal items and your dog's toys. For example, do not give you dog plush toys if you have small children who own stuffed animals. Do not give your dog old shoes or boxes to play with because it cannot tell the difference between his shoes and your shoes. If your dog has any of those items, take them away.
Spray a chewing deterrent on items that you don't want your dog to chew on, particularly those he has already shown a preference for. You can buy a commercial spray such as Bitter Apple, or mix hot sauce with a bit of water.
Introduce the approved chewing toys, and praise your dog with treats and petting when it is chewing on them. If you find the dog chewing on something it should not be chewing, say "No chew!" in a firm voice and replace the item with one of the approved chew toys.
Stop Barking
Identify why your dog barks. If it barks because it is hungry or bored, address those needs first. If it barks to alert you to visitors, then you need to train it not to do that.
Fill a jar with pennies to create an instrument that will produce a startling sound. When your dog barks, shake the jar and say "No bark!" in a firm voice. Once the dog stops barking, praise it and redirect its attention to a toy.
Repeat those steps as often as needed until your dog begins to learn to avoid barking. You can set up short training sessions of about 10 minutes to teach the behavior more quickly. Have someone else ring the doorbell, allowing you an opportunity to correct the barking action. Once the dog has stopped, wait a moment and have the person ring the bell again.
Set up training situations often. Training stimulates your dog, making it less likely to chew or bark out of boredom or frustration.
Gradually decrease the frequency of the reward and vary what you offer. Eventually, you can extinguish any tangible reward and simply offer praise or a pat on the back when the dog behaves well.