Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Tips & Warnings:
- By following the steps outlined in this article you can dramatically reduce the chances of your dog developing an aggression problem. When a dog bites it is very traumatic for everyone involved.
Step1
Socialize your puppy--that is the absolute best thing you can do. Bring your puppy everywhere with you. Expose your dog to different sights, sounds and smells. The more your puppy is exposed to before four and a half months old, the more stable your puppy will be as an adult dog.
Step2
Start training your puppy young. I start training as young as eight weeks old. When you start training, make sure that it is all positive. A puppy needs to develop mentally and physically; also you want to develop a strong bond with your puppy. The best way to do this is to constantly reinforce positive behaviors.
Teach your puppy to sit, stay, down, stand, come and walk on a leash. This can all be done by rewarding behavior.
Step3
Start handling your puppy young. Get your puppy used to being handled. Start touching your pup's paws, look at your dog's teeth, look in your dog's ears, get them used to being touched all over. It's also important to hug your puppy a lot. Hugging is not a normal thing for a dog. It is something they need to learn to accept. This can easily be done when your pup is small and young.
Step4
Spend time getting your puppy used to people being around their food bowl. In order to prevent food bowl aggression spend some time putting your hand in the food bowl while your puppy is eating. Take the food bowl away and then give it back to your puppy. About 90 percent of all dogs eat their meals in the kitchen. Most kitchens are high traffic areas. It's important for your dog to be comfortable when someone is close to them while eating.
Step5
Teach your puppy to release whatever he has in his mouth--toys, balls, bones, anything that he has. When your puppy has the toy give your dog the command "Drop it." Once your puppy releases the toy give your pup a treat or some praise.
Step6
Establish leadership by controlling the activities that are important to your pup. It's important for your puppy to understand that you are the leader. For more information on becoming the leader, see the link to my eHow article in Resources below.
Step7
Make sure your puppy gets enough exercise. It's important for your puppy to get physical and mental exercise. Some puppies develop behavior problems when they have too much pent-up energy.
