Excercising your dog

Pierat said:

DearMissM - I'm all ears: How do you train the dogs not to be yappers? I could really use that right now!

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I should probably start a new thread on this, because there are 50 ways to keep your dog quiet and not be a yapper.

First and foremost is dogs are pack animals. You have to make sure you are the alpha dog, not the other way around.

Dogs LOVE to make you happy, so shower loads of praise and love on them for being so good. 

Second, RV dogs whether traveling for a weekend or living in an RV fulltime need lots of exercise. Small dogs need as much exercise as big dogs.  Exercise helps to calm the dog and balance them out.  Don't turn around and go back home once he pees or poops, continue the walk for awhile.

Dogs love to walk and exercise.  If you are dragging him right back home after every pee or poop then this signals him that his actions end the walk.  H may start dragging you around miles and miles, refusing to do his business, in order to prolong the walk.

By continuing the walk, the dog learns to pee and poop as he needs to, and that he is rewarded with a continuing walk.

Granted there are times when you may want to keep the walk brief, more on that later.

Include your dog in as many activities as possible, this gives you a chance to constantly train and retrain them.

Dogs don't multitask. Break the cycle and focus their mind elsewhere.

When my yapper goes off on a non-threat (he used to love yapping hysterically at the window whenever a squirrel went by) I broke this habit by poking him with my finger and snapping my finger to get his attention. Once he is calm and quiet, I can offer him up a toy or playtime and shower him with love to show him this type of fun quiet activity makes me very happy.  Dogs aim to please. 

Anyhow, we can start a new thread on how to keep your dog happy and QUIET, but the basics are:

YOU are the alpha dog.
Exercise, lots of exercise.
Interrupt the bark cycle.

I have someting of a lazy dog, he is not always into taking a walk, he will stop and anchor himself.  We call it taking him for a drag.  I have found ways of getting him too go, there seems to be a radius  of about 100', once beyind the boundary he is fine.  Sometimes he just wants to walk, usually when I am not prepared. 

I understand the breaking the bark cycle, a little poke in the ribs accompanied by a sound, eliminates the need for the poke.  Just the sound and distraction.  Some triggers are all but impossible to distract, the sound of a UPS truck!  Not another diesel, but something in the sound of a UPS truck will get him going. 

The squirrels on the roof, will not get him to bark, but will send him for cover!  In Yellowstone the squirrel will droop the pine cone on the roof, they usually bounce off, but sometiimes he will retrieve from roof, and usually joined by their chitter.  Scares the crap out of the little guy!