What to Do When Your Dog Constantly Destroys Their Fluffy Bed

Sometimes the best training tips arent training tips at all!

Let’s think about this for just a moment.  Our dog loves to lie in the rocks by the pool or on the marble floor by the back door.  Is there any reason why we need to provide him with a fluffy bed in his crate or in his corner?

If you haven’t come to the same conclusion, the answer is “No”.  In most instances, your dog destroys their bed, in their crate or outside, because of boredom.  If you constantly replace the bed, you are reinforcing the destructive behavior that is growing in your dog.  If you continue this process, your dog will move on to destroying your couch and chair.  This is not a good thing.

Here comes the easy answer that took me several years of case studies to recognize. 

Remove the bed and allow your dog to sleep on the ground.  Don’t worry; he won’t hate you for this.  You have simply severed the association of “chew my bed, chew the furniture”.

If you have any questions about this, we are more than happy to respond.  Please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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House Training Your Dog Quick Before You Can’t Take It Anymore

Just about had it with trying to house train your dog? Are you tired of coming home to find pee all over the carpet, pillows helter-skelter and garbage littered (and chewed) all over the floor?

Well, I know I was. The first few weeks after I got my new puppy, I was just about ready to call the pound. (Well, not really, I loved my dog; but you get the picture). I hardly got any sleep at night because my yelping charge was terrified of spending the night alone and I had to keep him company until he fell asleep. He would then proceed to make a mess at 2 in the morning and I would have to get up to clean it. I would come home late in the afternoon to find the garbage can turned over, pee all over the floor and furniture ridden with teeth marks. I knew I had to successfully train him soon – or I would go crazy.

Does my story sound familiar to you? How do you house train your dog to behave when he spends his time acting like a – dog?

You know you have to take action sooner rather than later. There are alternatives out there. If you get a trainer, it will be very expensive. There are dog schools, which can also be pricey, and with your busy schedule, this proposition might be a little more than you can handle right now.

The good news is that there is a great method that you can use to house train your dog. Dogs are naturally clean. They do not like to soil the place where they sleep, so they will cooperate with you. And all dogs can be trained, even older dogs.

This simple but straightforward method has made it very easy for thousands of people to house train their dogs. For more information, visit Cris Santeiro’s Dog Training With Love blog.

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What You Need to Know Before Starting to Train Your Dog

I am trying to teach my dog commands and to be a good dog, but nothing seems to be working.  He isn’t staying when I tell him to stay and it will be a cold day in “you know where” when he would ever come to me when I ask.  I am just totally at a standstill!  What is going wrong?

As dog trainers, we have heard this complaint from dog owners time and time again.  It is normally an issue with first time dog owners.  Before you can even get to the point of training your dog, you need to understand a few, basic concepts.

• Dogs need consistency.  They do not understand complicated or logical situations.  Every time they hear a specific sound (like SIT), they will put their rear on the ground.  They know they can never jump on people.  When things begin to get complicated, like you allow them to jump on you but not your guests, they have no idea how to respond.  So make sure that when you give them commands or expect specific behavior, the result will always be the same. 
• You must understand what your dog has the ability to currently learn.  Another way of expressing this is that you need to know your dog’s current skill set.  If you can’t get your dog to consistently sit, you will never get him to stay.  If you are calling your dog to come to you from across the yard and he doesn’t, yelling at him over and over again isn’t going to do any good.  He just doesn’t understand what you want.  With this said, you need to figure out what your dog can do and start there with your teaching program.  Just like a tennis player, you learn and improve by playing with someone just a little better than you. 
• You must be in control when you are teaching your dog.  Remember, you are the teacher and need the focus and respect from your dog in order to teach.  If you give your dog a SIT command and he runs out the door, that really isn’t a good “teaching moment”.  The best way to make sure that you have control is to have your dog leashed when you are training him.  If you tell him to SIT, he can’t run away and you can use the leash as a tool to help and guide him into the SIT.  If you tell your dog to COME and he doesn’t, you can give the leash a little tug to direct him towards you.

These are just three little concepts that you need to keep in mind when teaching your dog.  I know that they sound simple, but dogs crave the simple.  What you have done is to create an environment where they are prepared to learn.  If you ever have any questions, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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