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What to do if the pee continues
Shouldn’t applying a dog’s behavioral instincts to her house training yield pristine results? Sadly, we humans and our pets are imperfect. If Kiki somehow lets loose on the rug again, fuhgeddaboudit.
Teaching a dog “where to do its business”
Teaching Kiki the Chihuahua where you want her to go will be simple if you, her grand poohbah, shoulder your share of the repetitive training.
Question:
I have a 3-year-old Chihuahua named Kiki who I seem to be unable to potty train. I have repeatedly tried the most commonly suggested technique of sticking the dog’s nose in it, scolding her and putting her outside. Yet she still does not understand and has daily accidents in the house. At her age is it a lost cause?
Isolation is a growing problem among us Americans. The younger generations, our future, face the worst of it. Social media hasn’t helped. Kindness and empathy from anyone, including pets, can make a difference.
Last in a series
Beer is a common canine dietary indiscretion. I’ve been asked, more than a few times, whether to allow a nonhuman BFF an occasional brewski. Who’s asking? Beer loving dogs are asking their beer loving people, who know their dogs are beer lovers because they’ve already served their underage pupsters, although no one admits it.
Third in a series
Eating is a self-rewarding behavior, making food stealing difficult to control. Your dog’s counter surfing needs to stop, for sure, but simple prevention may not be the best remedy. If those raids on your kitchen are happening more often they may be driven by a worsening internal disorder. That rapscallion of yours needs a medical evaluation.
Second in a series
You want to end your dog’s incessant food filching fast. I get it. Your first impulse may be to scream, swat, squirt or even shock the perpetrator. But punishment can only diminish a behavior if it’s applied with sufficient strength, immediately following the event, and – here’s the essential and impossible requirement – every single time.
First in a series
Dogs are known to pilfer and eat some funky food and often genuine junk, that’s not even food. They’ve consumed beer, cannabis, chocolate, raisins and roast beast because, well, it’s there.
A recently published study established what veterinary behaviorists have long understood about separation anxiety: physical discomfort is often a major factor.
If the pacing, panting, barking/howling, and damage of separation anxiety keeps repeating, it will continue to worsen. People get frustrated. They’ve tried everything – except the right medication. Some worry about drug safety as their dog’s suffering reaches new depths. There’s no need for that.