Cultivating Obedience In Your Dogs

They are man's "best friend", but like your real friends, dogs also have annoying habits that you normally despise. But because you love them, you suffer for it until you can't take anymore. Just as we all try to talk to our human friends about their bad habits, it is also vital that we do the same for our pets. This is not impossible since dogs are proven to be intelligent animals. Experience also proves that they can pick up and understand instructions with proper training. In fact, training your human friends to ditch their bad habits is harder than training your pets.
Dogs are naturally diggers. It might be some part of their genes that make them such enthusiastic diggers. It is amusing to watch them dig and bury whatever they like. But, it is equally irritating when your pets leave unsightly clumps of dirt on your manicured lawn. Other than the cartoon tradition of burying bones, there are other reasons why your pets dig. These reasons also differ depending on their breed and age. Younger and more "macho" breeds like Great Danes or Rottweilers dig because of pent-up and excess energy. If this is the case, frequent exercise, walks, and training release these energies. Your pets are likely to be too exhausted to think of digging and your lawn efforts are not wasted. However, if your mutt is of the breeding age, the most likely reason behind its digging is a female. Your pet is probably digging to reach the next door bitch. Having your pet neutered is the only solution. However, there are cases when your pets dig because they just want to. In cases like this, your best bet is to train your dog not to dig by spraying the grass with non-toxic repellants. You can set aside a portion of the yard in which your pets can dig as much as they want. Remember to find them a spot in your backyard and not on your front lawn.
Other than lawn-digging, destructive chewing is a common problem of most pet owners. There are three reasons why mutts engage in this activity: attention, boredom, and teething. Neglecting your pets' play time but chasing them when they got hold of your shoes are common scenarios. Scenarios like these teach them that chewing stuff is a way to frolic with you. Bored pets also have strong inclinations to be chewers. Teething is also a likely cause of chewing problems especially with younger pets. A way to stop your pets' chewing habits is to spend time with them through playing. Provide dogs with chewable toys and play catch. They will soon understand that these chew toys are the only things they are allowed to chew.
These problems are easily prevented if you make it clear to your dogs that you expect obedience from them. There are dog training camps for unruly pets and lots of articles in the internet for personal dog training. Dogs are not problems at all if you cultivate obedience in them. ( by Pat Murphy )