Dogs are just like kids. They need love, affection, and mental and physical stimulation. A neglected dog, just like a neglected child, can develop behavior problems, such as barking or whining, chewing, separation anxiety, and leash pulling.

The first step to stopping bad dog behavior is determining the root cause. Many behavior problems can be caused by medical conditions. Once you discover why your dog is acting out, follow these tips, suggested by dog boarding facilities in San Rafael, to correct bad behavior.

Prevention

If you determine what triggers your dog’s bad behavior, you can remove the stimuli or train your dog to ignore it. If, for instance, the sound of the doorbell triggers barking, remove it or teach and reward an alternative behavior, such as sitting on a nearby mat and waiting patiently for someone to open the door.

If your dog begs, stop giving it table scraps. To stop your furry friend from counter surfing, train it to stay out of the kitchen.

Exercise Your Pooch

Several dog behavior problems, such as excessive digging and chasing, are linked to a lack of exercise. Exercising everyday (for 30 minutes to two hours) will help your dog release pent-up energy.

When you spend quality time with your pooch, the bond between you and your furry friend will become stronger, it will start paying more attention to you, and obey your commands.

Stay Calm

Whenever your furry friend exhibits bad behavior, stay calm. Shouting, yelling, or gesturing could be seen as signs of encouragementthat you approve of your pooch’s behavior. Instead, keep your gestures slow and your voice calm, low, and level to calm down your furry friend.

Avoid attention-seeking behaviors such as jumping up and begging. If you shout or yell, your dog will still get the attention it is seeking and the behavior will continue.

Redirection

Dogs are born with certain instincts. These instincts guide several dog behaviors such as chewing and digging. Completely stopping these behaviors is impossible. To manage your dog’s destructive behavior, give it safe chewing toys.

Refocusing your dog’s attention on more appropriate objects is one of the best ways of ensuring that it does not destroy your possessions.

If your dog likes to dig, designate a section of your yard as its digging area.

In many cases, destructive or bad dog behavior is a result of separation anxiety. A quality dog boarding center in San Rafael will provide your dog the mental and physical stimulation it needs while you are at work or out of town. At Bridewell Hilltop Kennels, we have separate facilities for dogs and cats. We conduct different activities to make our guests socialize and exercise. To make a booking, call us at (415) 897-5471.