6 Unwanted Dog Behaviors That Dog Owners Encourage




  1. Biting:



  1. Bark For Your Rights:



  1. Jumping Up In Excitement:



  1. Anti-Social Behavior:



  1. Pulling at the Leash:



  1. Begging:





3 Fun Yard Games to Play with Your Pup

Keeping up with hyperactive puppies is a tough job. Puppies have a lot of energy that needs to be invested positively in keeping them happy, healthy, and active. Outdoor games will protect them from developing anxiety, sadness, and depression. There are many games that you can play with your pup to strengthen their mental and physical abilities.

Pups are fun-loving furballs that can entertain you at all time with their naivety.  Engage them in something different from the common fetch-games in your yard.

Here are three fun yard games that will be beneficial for the pup; and will ease your way for future training. The following games can expand the learning capacities of your dog to a great extent.

  1. Hide and Seek:

There are two sides to playing hide and seek with your pup, either you can hide a dog treat, or you can hide by yourself. Dogs are hunters by nature and love to search out desired things or people by utilizing their strong sense of smell. It will give the pup or the dog a space to express his inborn hunting strengths. Your dog will experience not only a physical exhaustion but also mental stimulation.

By playing hide and seek, the dog can stay engaged in the activity for a long time and can invest his energies more positively. Otherwise, pups and dogs get bored. Boredom can lead to frustration, anxiety, depression, and even a development of destructive behaviors.

Does your puppy have a favorite toy? Hide some treats in that, and hide it somewhere in the yard. It will require the employment of double the amount of dog’s intelligence.

One more trick to play hide and seek is that you hide different toys around the yard and call their names for your dog to find the specific toys!

The puppy’s intelligence, smartness, and alert behavior will help you train him easily later on. The more time you spend together having fun, the higher are the chances for him to take the training for a game. He will love to follow you and obey you just to have some fun!

The plus point is, his destructive capacities that can develop from hunting instincts are toned down and are trained in a better way.

  1. Pool Games:

Do you have a pool in your yard? What else can be more than perfect!

Pool games are ah-mazing for pups to have fun, learn, and get confident around water. Yeah! Bathing can become even easier. Fears can be curbed down better at an early age of life. When the dog is young, allure him to get into the pool and have some fun!

Why not play the ‘common fetch-games’ in the pool?

Fear of heights, water, and so on can be eliminated at puppy stage of dog’s life.

If you are an adventure-loving owner, then, get your dog prepared for future to move around with you comfortably. The basic point of pool games is to give ‘confidence’ to little pups so they can face their fears better!

However, be careful in the beginning—send your pup in the pool with a life jacket under your supervision. Moreover, hydrotherapy

Caution: Some dog breeds don’t like water. It’s in their genetics. Some rescue dogs suffered from a bad experience in their past lives. So, it’s better not to FORCE the puppy against his will. Game by force can cause anxiety and depression in dogs too.

  1. Tricks and Treats:

So, here comes the real fun! Make your pup learn new tricks by positive reinforcements. Allure him with treats, rewards, and appreciation. Make him jump over the sticks or crawl from underneath the planks.

What’s the benefit? Your pup will become a quick learner for the sake of your appreciation. His tricks will invite and attract people to appreciate and love him. Altogether, this will earn him confidence and fame throughout his life!

What’s more? Strong bones and athletic abilities are a great plus for future training.

Why I highly recommend these three yard games?

A few years ago, I bought a puppy, a black Labrador, named Leo home. They are amazing companion dogs, get more information here. Leo is a fun-loving pup but requires a lot of exercises. Regular training is required to tone down his stubbornness.

Leo’s high energy levels and intelligence levels were creating a concern for me to engage him at all times properly. Due to his high intelligence level, it was required of me to train him at a young age.

Previously, if I ever left Leo alone for hours, he used to get aggressive and stubborn. I looked out for fun ways to engage my new pup to channelize his energies properly. The most effective games that have paid me, in the long run, are these three yard games. They worked for me as well as for a lot of my neighbor dogs. Try them out, and you will admit it by yourself!

How to Get Your Pup to be All Ears

Dogs are an intelligent species; they can assist the disabled and are great detectives. However, at times we do feel that our dogs aren’t smart as they don’t listen to our commands.  Of course, it is difficult to make your dog walk off leash or to get him to leave the chicken bone he found outside. You keep shouting “Bad Boy”, “Bad Boy” but he just won’t respond, and you end up feeling helpless & confused. Whether you are a new dog-parent or you have had your baby for years, you may experience this behavior. Well, keep your worries aside as this guide explains the basics of teaching your pup to listen to you.

Communication is Key

The first step is to build a connection with your dog. Dogs are animals, and we can’t expect them to speak our language. They begin to understand our commands when they are trained to do so. Begin with talking to your dog, use simple and short sentences. Make sure you use the same words each time as your pooch will learn with repetition. Use a tone that is soft and immediately catches attention. Don’t shout or whine as your pup may get scared or upset.

You can use gestures as well, teach your dog to sit, stand or stay using basic gestures. Combining gestures with verbal commands help the dog understand effectively.

Where to Begin?

Start with teaching your dog his name. Make sure you train your pup in a quiet place with no distractions involved. Say his name and if he looks at you, immediately say “Yes” in a praising tone. Repeat this couple of times, try doing it when you are in another room and see if he comes running to you. Afterward, you can teach the basic commands such as Stand up, sit, lie down and stay.

Positive Reinforcement

Your pooch needs a motivator to make him listen to your commands and what is better than his favorite treats. Every time your dog does what he is asked to, offer him something he loves. Along with the treats you need to use a signal as a cue, say “Yes” or “Good Boy” whenever he behaves well.

Keep Practicing

We have all heard of the phrase practice makes man perfect, well the same goes for dogs. You need to repeat the same commands multiple times, using the same words and tone each time. If you started teaching your dog in your living room without any distractions, practice the same techniques in different settings with distractions around. Eventually, your pooch will perfect the ability to respond to the cues.

Figure out Why Your Dog Isn’t Listening

If your dog doesn’t respond to the cue the first time, try to find out the cause. Is it because there are too many distractions that are overwhelming your pup? Maybe there are interesting things around that fascinate your pooch. Whatever the reason may be, find it and try to teach to your dog from the basics in the new environment.

Your puppy may also choose to ignore your commands if that is the case, reinforce the behavior by incorporating short training lessons into his daily routine. Once your little pup grows up and begins to have adventures on his own, the connection between the two of you may weaken. In that case, you are the one responsible for making things work, spend time with your dog, plan new activities and strengthen the bond.

One thing to always keep in mind is that it’s all about training. No breed or genes will influence your dog’s behavior as much as your teaching. Remember that it will require patience; there will be times when you’ll want to express anger, but that is never the solution. Combine the skills with the effective tools, and you’ll be able to train your dog in no time.

Talk to you again soon,

Jenny Perkins, Guest Blogger at DogBehaviorBlog & Blogger at HerePup.com