Category Archives: Basic Training Info

My dog destroys all her toys

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My dog destroys all her toysIn my blog among others I try to also address problem behavior or general problems occurring when a dog, especially a Bull Terrier, newly comes into a household. Who does not know this complaint: “My dog destroys all her toys”.

This is what I want to talk about today.
I often hear of owners of Bull Terriers and other mid-sized dog breeds searching for the “indestructible” toy or complaining about how much money they spend on dog toys, because their pooch just destroys everything they offer – often within minutes.

And I confess: There was a time when I was one of them and was looking for this miracle toy, too. There are so many manufacturers out there using the term “indestructible” – which I personally find misleading with EVERY pet toy I have encountered so far. So we owners are spending hours on research to find the perfect toy, spend the extra Dollar on something that is labeled “indestructible” and make sure to choose something too big to just be swallowed by our dog – and still find it in pieces just minutes after we gave it to our Bull Terrier.

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The aggressive puppy – do I have an aggressive dog?

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The "aggressive" puppyThis essay was inspired by many stories of owners feeling overwhelmed by their puppy’s behavior or exasperated in their attempts of correcting aggressive puppy behavior in their English Bull Terrier puppies and tired of their nipping/ biting and dominance issues.

First of all, please note that young dogs DO nip, chase feet, even growl and guard – these are all absolutely normal behaviors for a puppy.
An aggressive puppy usually is not “bad” by nature. The puppy is behaving exactly the same way as before, when it was still member of the litter among its siblings.

Now in your household the puppy needs to learn which behaviors are acceptable, and which are unacceptable. Aggressive puppy behavior needs to be addressed and corrected by training through the owner.

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Obedience training & socializing your dog

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Bullterrierfun - Obedience training & socializing your dogAn obedience trained and well socialized dog is usually not only easier to handle and more pleasant to live with than an untrained dog. Obedience training is also a great help for your dog to develop positive routines, get to know you better, understand his position within the family and act accordingly.

Obedience training helps your dog to become more secure and confident and prevents him from constant challenging you or question his position time and again.
Therefore it’s true to state that obedience training is helpful for EVERYONE – you as the owner, your family, your dog and even strangers and other dogs or animals you may encounter during the life of your dog. I myself consider it mandatory for EVERY dog owner. And in my opinion it does not depend on the size of a dog.

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Ten common mistakes in Dog Training

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Seven common mistakes in Dog Training - Mila sitting prettyDog training at all times should be fun for both dog and owner. In order to minimize failure and maximize success, there are some thing that should be avoided when owners start to train their dog.

MISTAKE #1: Starting off with the fancy stuff

When new to dog training many inexperienced owners start off with the fancy stuff, such as trying to teach their dog how to sit pretty. Some wonder why the dog “does not get it” and eventually give up on dog training thinking their dog is just not smart enough. In reality dogs may have different learning speeds just as humans, but in general every dog is smart enough for dog training.
It is actually a good idea to start with obedience exercises, for example sit, lie down or stay on command for two simple reasons:

a. BETTER CHOICE: FOR STARTERS GO WITH THE Easy exercises

Those exercises are a lot easier to teach than many trick exercises simply because they involve actions that are more natural to the dog. A dog naturally sits, walks or waits at some point. So it is a lot easier to “catch” those behaviors, reward and train them during dog training. Once the dog is used to the training it will become easier to train more complicated exercises and the already learned ones may even help on the way to the more complex stuff.

b. Two benefits – only one effort

The basic obedience exercises are also a perfect way for your dog to mature into a well behaved citizen. So starting off with these actually serves two purposes.

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General Dog Training Information – five golden rules of dog training

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Dog training is not rocket science! Here are the five basic rules of dog training – really simple!

Hi all, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy lately. But there is still a lot I have to tell about the Bull Terrier breed.

Today I want to start filling this untouched section of dog training with some life, starting with some very basic, but useful – promised! 🙂 – training advice and five of my golden rules for dog training.
I was a training rookie before and I have never passed any kind of professional education for it. Yet, watch Mila’s videos and see what we have accomplished just by adhering to these five simple rules! She is not even two years old now.

General Dog Training Information - Mila during training

Mila is working on the “high five” basic rules of dog training.

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Dog nail trimming anxiety

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How to deal with dog nail trimming anxiety?

Dog nail trimming anxiety - Mila is scared

“Mommy, do we really HAVE to do this? That nasty thing with the metal muzzle that eats my claws is scaring me!”

The fact that you are reading this article makes me guess that you are familiar with dog nail trimming anxiety. And you have probably encountered the following situation in one or another way: Your Bull Terrier watches you taking out the nail clipper and magically disappears. Once you have found her, you try to pin her in order to reach a claw. This is when the wrestling and nipping starts. You end up with ONE clipped nail – well, that is if it’s your lucky day – soaked in your own sweat and with a terrified dog hiding in the bedroom.
This problem is certainly not a typical Bull Terrier problem, dog nail trimming anxiety is a general DOG problem.
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Dog Training

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Dog training is key, if you wish for a well behaved sidekick

Why Dog Training? - Mila in her training session

Mila doing her training

Imagine your puppy as an empty can ready to be filled with whatever is to come.
Not doing dog training with your dog in other words just means that you will just miss the chance to influence its view at the world and its desires and fears. Instead of you, environment and your dog’s best guess will take care of the “training”.

Thus no dog training, of course, will very likely lead to several undesirable results for you.
No, not because your dog was born as a “bad person”, simply because he doesn’t know better.
Besides what his instincts tell him, he does not know about attributes like “right” or “wrong”, “good” or “bad”. Continue reading →