As a dog trainer, I help people with behavioral problems. Common issues include: dog aggression, house training, barking, and running away. After years of helping dog owners solve behavioral problems, there’s one thing that I would like all dog owners to know about caring for their dog. If your dog could tell you one thing this is it: Your dog needs to be walked daily. Take your dog out on two walks per day. Each walk should be a minimum of thirty minutes. Walk your dog on separate routes in your neighborhood. Take your dog out once in the morning and once in the late afternoon / early evening. You can do more than two walks per day (especially the more athletic breeds), but do this as a minimum. Take your dog to open space fields, open space parks, and trail areas. This activity will solve 50% of all dog training problems. If you already know this basic truth about dog training, please pass it on towards your friends and neighbors. Not doing this activity enough is a big part of why dog behavioral problems develop.
Dogs are curious. They want to explore the world. They crave to know what is outside their yard. The yard is a prison. In the past, when rescue organizations tried to re-home a dog, one of the questions was: “Do you have a yard for the dog?” More recently dog evaluators have realized that not having a yard is positive trait for potential dog owners. With no yard, the dog owner is forced to take the dog outside on walks. It’s more important for a dog’s well being to be taken out on daily walks than it is to be confined in a yard.
Typical problem #1:
“My dog is acting very aggressive. Sometimes he will bark at me. Recently my dog growled at me and showed his teeth. I’m very concerned because I don’t want my dog to bite someone that comes into my house.”
Dog aggression is a common reason people contact a dog trainer. When I first started training dogs, I used to be very perplexed at why this is happening or how I could help solve this problem.
Now when I get this call, I engage in some small talk and after I notice that the dog owner has calmed down, I ask what really matters: “How often do you walk your dog? And how long is each walk in minutes?”
Here are the typical answers:
1.) Well, maybe once a week for five to ten minutes.
2.) Maybe once a month.
3.) I don’t walk the dog.
4.) I don’t walk the dog. I have a yard.
Not walking your dog or not walking your dog enough creates problems. Aggression is one of the behavioral problems that can develop. When a dog is confined to an area for long periods of time, a type of territorial aggression can develop. Any person that enters the dogs confined area can be exposed to the dog’s aggression. So part of the solution is to take the dog outside. Take the dog on walks. If the dog is charging at people on the walks, then put a plastic basket muzzle on the dog. Take the dog to open space parks, open space fields, and trail areas. Let the dog smell the grass / ground. This activity will reduce the dog’s aggression. The dog became aggressive because he was confined to an area. So get that dog out of that jail yard to solve the problem.
Typical problem #2:
Dog owner: “My dog is going to the bathroom all over the house. I need help.”
Dog trainer: Ok, how often do you walk the dog? And how many minutes is each walk?
Typical answers:
1.) Well, I guess I should be walking the dog more. Maybe once a week. For ten minutes
2.) Oh, is that important? I take my dog out once every other day. For about ten to fifteen minutes.
3.) Listen, I don’t care about walking the dog. I want the dog to stop going to the bathroom all over my house.
If you want to house train your dog, taking the dog out on walks is a very important part of this training. Dogs are not robots. Walking your dog once in the morning and once is the late afternoon / evening encourages your dog to eliminate. The act of walking and the act of smelling (which is what dogs do while on walks) both encourage dogs to eliminate. Plus, the morning time and the late afternoon / early evening time are times that dogs have more natural urges to eliminate. Take your dog out at these times and 50% of your dog’s potty training issues will be solved.
Problem # 3:
“My dog is constantly barking. My neighbors are complaining about the noise. I have to do something.”
Again, I ask the same question: How often do you walk the dog and how many minutes are the walks?
The answers are always the same as above:
1.) I don’t walk the dog. I have a yard.
2.) I go out once a week for about fifteen to twenty minutes.
3.) I don’t walk the dog. I take the dog to the dog park.
To solve a barking problem, you have got to be walking the dog twice a day. Each walk has got to be thirty minutes minimum. And you’ve got to take the dog on trips to new areas in nature. This will solve 50% of your dog’s barking. Dogs have a lot of energy. They need activity: mentally and physically. The mental aspect of walking is that they get to smell what is going on in the world. Dogs are not interested in the smells in your yard. Nothing is novel. I’ve been to estates where the owner has fifty acres of land. The land is fenced in, and those dogs are not interested in enjoying their fifty acres. These billionaire dogs want to get outside their confined space. Their primary activity is they stay right beside the fence and bark. This is a way of telling the world that they are frustrated by being confined. No matter how big your yard is, your dog wants to go outside the yard. Explain this to your friends and neighbors. Pass on this article to them.
Problem #4:
“My dog is constantly running away. If he escapes the yard, I can’t get him to come back. How can I stop this problem?”
Answer: the problem to this issue is that the dog is confined inside a yard. He hates the yard because it is a prison. So whenever he gets a chance, he escapes to enjoy being in the world. The dog wants to smell new smells, and be exposed to new experiences. This is why the dog runs away. The solution is to walk the dog. The more you walk the dog, the more you satisfy your dog’s natural desire to explore the world. When you walk your dog enough, then the dog doesn’t run away so much, because you are giving the dog what he needs. So when the problem is my dog runs away: 50% of this problem will be solved by walking your dog more. The other 50% can be solved by consulting with your local dog trainer.
As you are trying to solve your dog’s behavioral problem, keep in mind that part of the answer to all dog training issues is to walk your dog. Let your dog explore the outside world. As your dog explores the world, his brain will be gratified by the new stimulation that he takes in through his nose. When your dog receives this activity enough, then the issues that your dog is fixating on will become less important. Dog problems will be reduced with an increase in dog walking and an exposure to nature. Dogs live in the world of smells. This is their most dominant sense of perception. By keeping your dog confined to your yard, you are depriving your dog. Imagine getting the most advanced television set with the best sound and stunning visual displays. You place the new television set in your living room. And every time you sit down to enjoy it, you realize that you can only watch one program. No matter which channel you turn to, all you can watch is the same program on every channel. That is what your yard is like for your dog. Your yard is not a substitute for walking the dog. Going to the dog park is not a substitute for walking the dog. The best present you can do for your dog is take him to places in nature. If you walk your dog enough and you take him to new places in nature, you will solve 50% of your dog’s behavioral problems. This answer may seem obvious to you, but believe me there are lots of people that are unaware of this simple truth. Please share this message as it will improve the lives of many dogs.
