Daily Dog Care|Dog Day Care|How to Take Care of a Dog

Did you know that the nose is the greatest asset of a dog? Dogs are noted to have heightened senses but the sense of smell is considered to be the most sensitive. The ultra sensitive senses make the dog an excellent hunter.

Some breeds are purposely developed to be hunting dogs because of their excellent scenting abilities. Breeds of hounds are capable of finding a wounded prey by sniffing blood dropped by the animal several meters apart. This is how powerful dogs noses are. Can this be the reason why the dog is often seen sniffing? Being a dog owner you certainly have been exposed to the varied habits of the pet. However, dog owners are still puzzled by the pets tendency to sniff.

The ground, the grass, the food and especially the feces will be sniffed by the dog. The pet really is really fond of sniffing as after sniffing humans, it will be seen sniffing the rear ends of other animals too. Something must encourage the dog to sniff. Dogs would always want to investigate their surroundings because they are curious animals but in the absence of hands they have to find other tools and what can be a better way than using their sensitive scenting ability.

Dogs hunt their prey but they are hunted by their predators as well. The nose is the dog’s greatest asset that will not only find the location of prey but most importantly an asset that will be efficient in detecting danger. Simply by sniffing the air, the dog in the wild will be aware of the presence of danger.

Dogs have a unique way of communicating with other dogs. To communicate with other dogs as well as with other animals, dogs use varied movements of the different part of the body. However, it cannot be doubted that the dog’s nose and consequently sniffing, have played an important role in dog to dog communication. Have you noticed how dogs would sniff each other’s rear end? The doggie smell secreted by the dog’s glands that is unique to every dog is used by dogs to identify each other. Although a dog‘s scenting ability is far superior to what we humans have, dogs are still seen sniffing a lot. People should be thankful at the dog tendency to sniff as this habit have saved countless lives from rubble and avalanches. Studies have also verified the dog’s ability to identify people with certain types of cancer. All these can be done by man’s best friends by sniffing.

If you have a new puppy, you may have already started seeing common puppy behavior problems in action. The most common of these problems are digging and excessive barking. Some people opt to ignore the issues because they think it will resolve itself as the puppy grows up. Unfortunately, that is not how it usually works. If you would like for your dog to grow up with good manners, it’s important to address the common puppy behavior problems as soon as you can.

A puppy that barks a little at strangers or when the doorbell rings is displaying normal dog behavior. If he doen’t stop until you leave, you need to teach him that it is unacceptable to bark like that.

How To Stop Behavior Problems

An effective way of stopping these common puppy behavior problems is to get a hold of the puppy’s collar and hold him firmly. You should be giving him a command which will tell him to stop barking. Pretty soon, the puppy will realize what you need him to do in regards to good puppy behavior. When you feel that your puppy has gotten the hang of it, you can take the anti-barking training to a higher level and teach him not to bark at strangers outside the house. Ask friends to help out and have them walk by your house a few times until the dog learns not to bark at them.

Barking & Digging

It’s at this time that you should keep in mind that common puppy behavior problems such as excessive barking will occur more often if the dogs aren’t given enough to do. Essentially, the dog barks when he’s not getting enough activity. In this situation, you might want to give your puppy more time to walk or play to stop the barking problem.

Another fairly common problem which new dog owners are forced to deal with is digging. If you’re planning to let your dog run loose in the yard, it’s important to train him that digging up the lawn is not acceptable. Since digging is a very natural instinct in dogs, it is very difficult to make them stop the habit altogether. What you might want to do is choose a special place in the garden where he can dig until his heart is content. All you will have to do to help him is to teach him where it’s okay to dig and where to stay away from.

At the start, this might be challenging, but when you’re patient, you will be able to do it with some secrets to dog training. Whenever you see your puppy digging in a restricted area, give him a command to stop and immediately take him to his digging spot.

There will of course, still be times when your dog refuses to listen to you and choose to dig in the areas you don’t want him to. To prevent such disasters, you may want to install temporary fences around your plants until he overcomes these common puppy behavior problems.