If you have got yourself a fully grown dog or if you have been lax with dog training in the early stages, it is likely that you may land up with a problem dog. Behavior training that aims to rectify the drawbacks in a dog are almost always successful – all it takes is a little extra patience. Behavioral problems often cause the owner feel as if they have to give up their pet. Problems may range from urination and elimination within the house, extreme playfulness and willing disobedience to dangerous aggressive behavior and destructiveness. In every such case getting rid of the behavior and not the dog is the solution. Problem dog behavior training may require renewed commitment from your part, but it can be done. Most pets are relinquished to shelters because owners were not aware of how to deal with the problem. Sometimes you win half the battle when you identify the actual cause behind the behavior. Some dogs get aggressive when they are bored or lonely.

1. A tired dog is generally a good dog. Allow your dog enough opportunities for exercise and play.

Dominance aggression and inappropriate marking (urinating) will disappear once you neuter your dog. Neutering also increases life span. In older dogs the effects of neutering may not be dramatic. As a general rule, the longer your dog has lived with an undesirable habit, the more difficult it is to get rid of the behavior. That is why problem dog behavior training takes time.

Staffi, thank you for posting about this! I often feel like no amount of dog training can get through to my dog.

I really do believe that what you pointed out in the post, is the exact reason that Spike was posted outside of PetSMART, via free dog banner. It hurts to think of how many pets go to the dog pound because an owner doesn't know how to deal with a problem.

Just remember, there is NO such thing as a FREE dog!! As soon as that dog comes home, you quickly realize how much dog food, dog toys, and time and commitment you will have to put into the new member of the family. Not to mention spay and neuter, and keeping up to date on shots.

I get so upset when I go to craigslist and see how many people are looking for free animals, of anykind.
Nothing about having a pet is free.

I adopted an 8 year old doxie from the pound. His owner had died so I don't think he had any particular problem with him, although the vet said he had little tolerance for the other dogs. I guess he thought age earned him respect. I love most everything about him except his name - FuFu. Who would name a male doxie fufu???? But that is not my problem. When I am with him, he is a perfect gentleman. He barks a little too much but we are working on that. My major problem is any time I leave him alone he will scatter the trash, and also look for anything to eat that is low enough for him to reach or knock off. He ate a whole box of chocolate chip cookies that he knocked off the bookcase. He opened the cat food container and ate most of it. He got into a box that we had packed for a trip and ate a full bag of potato chips... You get the idea. He never does this when I am around so I am at a lose as to how to fix it. My husband has suggested putting an electric wire on the garbage can to shock him but this seems extreme. I would appreciate any reasonable suggestions that I can use before he eats himself to death. Thanks!

The best recommendation for "FuFu", is prevention, putting everything out of reach, maybe even in locked cabinets, baby locks work well. And of course, crate train, and always put him in when you are not there. What kind of food is he eating? A high quality food, would perhaps stop his need to fill up, but that will take him time to get used to the fuller feeling that he will get after a change of diet. Good Luck!

I have thought about crating him but he has never, to my knowledge, been in a crate for any length of time and I didn't know if it was too late to start this type of training or if it would make him more neurotic when I am gone. He gets a good quality of food and the vet has told me to put him on a diet since he has gained 5 pounds since I have had him and that is even without the "extras". I think it may be a "nervous" or "bored" type eating - something I am very familiar with myself. He was at the pound for 3 or 4 months before I got him and he doesn't seem overly interest in food unless he is alone.

Thanks alot. Those are some really good tips. Keep em' coming!