Dog Behavior Archives | Page 4 of 21

All About Dogs

When Your Dog Is Afraid Of Men

One of the common fears people report their dogs having is of men in general. This seems ironic given that dogs are known as “man’s best friend,” but if there’s one class of people that some dogs seem to fear, it would be men. So why is this? There’s an old saying—a dog that’s been burned is afraid of a cold stove—and there’s some truth in it. Because dogs live by their instincts, it can take as little as one bad experience with something to make a dog forever fearful of anything similar. While it’s a bad thing when humans

February 8, 2016 No Comments

Chewing Things Up

Why Do Dogs Chew Their Paws?

Are you wondering why your dog is chewing his paws? You’re not alone! There are a variety of reasons why dogs might chew their paws. Let’s look at the most common reasons, as well as the signs that might let you know it’s time to take your pup to the vet. Allergies Dogs, like people, have allergies, and allergies tend to be the number one cause of paw chewing. Ingredients in their food, environmental factors like pollen and mold, and seasonal changes can trigger a dog’s allergies. Your dog might also develop dermatitis, a skin condition, if she comes into

February 8, 2016 No Comments

All About Dogs

Why Does My Dog Wag Its Tail?

All animals communicate with energy and body language, and it’s easy to tell just from body language whether they’re fearful or aggressive. But, beyond body language, for many animals there are three important body parts with which they communicate. Animals’ primary methods of communicating are through eye contact, their ear position, and their tails. When an animal is being defensive or aggressive, it will make eye contact to tell whatever it’s facing to back off. When an animal is alert to danger, its ears will stand straight up. But the most important thing to watch is the tail. A tail

February 2, 2016 No Comments

All About Dogs

6 Steps To Managing A Dog’s Over-Excitement

A dog that’s spinning in circles, jumping up and down, or barking and yipping is not a happy dog. These are all signs of over-excitement. The dog has excess energy, and the only way her brain knows how to deal with it is to work it off physically. Unfortunately, people often interpret these signs as happiness. Many also tend to think that it’s cute when a dog acts like this, and wind up unknowingly encouraging the behavior. Curb your dog’s excitement and you’ll be preventing misbehaviors in the future, including aggression. An excited dog is not happy. A calm dog is.

January 26, 2016 No Comments

Dog Behavior

6 Things You Do That Your Dog Hates

If you have a dog as a family member, it’s likely there are behaviors he engages in that drive you up a wall. Maybe he always covers you with love—and his fur!—right after you get dressed in your best, or he always paws at the door to be let out at five in the morning. But it’s just as likely that you engage in behaviors that drive your dog nuts! Let’s look at it from your pup’s perspective and explore the top things humans do that dogs hate. Shouting commands at me over and over Talking louder isn’t going to

January 26, 2016 No Comments

What Your Dog Wishes You Knew About Her

Your dog knows you like the back of her paw! For many Pack Leaders, the best part of the human-canine bond is that feeling of connection. You don’t have to tell your dog what you need or what you’re feeling. She just knows. But how much do you really know about her? Does she have the same feeling that you really “get” her? In our modern life, many of us have become disconnected from a lot of the things that are instinctual to our dogs. In fact, that is often the root cause of problem behaviors. If you really know

January 19, 2016 No Comments

What Your Dog Knows About You

Do you ever feel like your dog really knows you — perhaps even better than some of your human family members? You may be surprised by how right you are. In some ways, dogs have an advantage over humans in this regard. Humans can be misled by what we say, which sometimes doesn’t reflect what’s really going on in our minds and hearts. We also have our own complex thoughts and emotions distracting us from really paying attention. Dogs, however, are using more reliable cues to pick up on what we’re really thinking and feeling, and they are often laser-focused

January 12, 2016 No Comments

Going In Without A Bite: How To Enter A Dog’s Territory

A lot of our visitors have asked for advice to help letter carriers, meter readers, gardeners and other workers avoid being bitten when they have to go into a yard with a dog in it. It’s a valid concern. Just among postal workers in 2014, there were nearly 6,000 bites or attacks in the U.S. alone. However, this advice isn’t meant just for people who have to enter strange yards in their line of work. These tips will help anyone who wants to enter a dog’s territory without being bitten. First, make sure to apply Cesar’s golden rule of approaching

December 15, 2015 No Comments

All About Dogs

Stopping Your Dog From Stealing Your Food

After enjoying a delicious family dinner, you take your plate to the sink. You turn back to grab the dish of leftovers — and your dog is already standing on the table and chowing down! How did he get so fast? If your dog steals food, it can make you paranoid. You work hard to keep everything out of reach. You make sure to push in the chairs, so she can’t climb up. You hammer the lesson into your kids that they can’t leave food sitting around. But it doesn’t really stop the behavior. And it can be incredibly frustrating.

December 15, 2015 No Comments

Mouthy Mutt: Claiming An Object From A Possessive Dog

Many dogs can become possessive or even aggressive over a toy or other object. As a Pack Leader, you need the the ability to claim an object and make your dog give it up. This skill could someday be a lifesaver. So how do you get a large breed to give up possession? The same way you would any other dog! In this episode of “Chance Encounters with Cesar Millan,” Cesar helps an unsuspecting pair in the park learn how to get their German shepherd puppy to relinquish control of a favorite ball. Like 0

December 8, 2015 No Comments