Rawhide's are made of dried cow or pig hides and processed into a variety of shapes and sizes.  Some rawhide's also come with garlic, beef, or cheese flavors to increase your dogs interest.  A proper rawhide should have some flexibility and should be made in North America to reduce the amounts of added chemicals.  When selecting a chew, use caution.  To turn white, some rawhide's have been bleached with titanium oxide or washed in formaldehyde.

Rawhide's are good for the dog's teeth and gums, a great source to relieve boredom, and satisfy a dog's natural need to chew.  When selecting a chew, it is a good idea to select a size that appears to be slightly too big for your dog.  This will help prevent your dog from finishing the chew too soon and possibly choking.  Anytime your dog chews a rawhide small enough to fit in his mouth, the chew needs to be thrown out.  If your dog enjoys these chews and you notice small pieces of rawhide hanging off the chew, cut them off with scissors to prevent the dog from ingesting them.  Always supervise your dog with any type of rawhide.

1.  Dogs love the flavor and scent of rawhide's.
2.  Compressed rawhide lasts longer and is more durable than shredded  rawhide.

1.  Not ideal for aggressive chewers.  Large pieces can be swallowed or consumed quickly.  This can cause an intestinal blockage.
​2.  Compressed rawhide's can cause damage to teeth.
3.  Chemical preservatives found in inferior rawhide may be dangerous to a dog's health.
4.  Rawhide's with flavor can stain carpet and furniture.  This can possibly encourage the dog to chew carpet and furniture.

Natural bones with tissue will satisfy your dogs natural instinct to chew.  Plus they help to cure boredom.  

Pros.
-Unlike the sterilized bones, bones with tissue have an aroma dogs love.
-A good alternative to rawhide.

Cons.
-These bones are not good for aggressive chewers.  They may chew off and swallow pieces of bone that can cause digestive problems and broken teeth.  
-If grease and/or meat get onto carpet or fabric furniture, the dog may go back and chew the carpet and furniture at a later time.

Below are links for Natural Bones with Tissue on Amazon.com

Pros:
-Sterile bones are a great alternative to rawhide bones (rawhide can be consumed quickly).  
-Sterile bones are easy to clean.

Cons:
-Sterile bones are not meant for aggressive chewers.  If they chew the actual bone it may result in broken teeth and/or ingesting bone splinters.
-If filled with greasy treats, the grease can get onto furniture or carpet, and the dog may go back and chew them at a later time.
-If the bone is dropped on hard surface, it may crack and need to be thrown out.
-Unless the bone is stuffed with flavor, the dog may not show any interest since the natural flavors of the bone have been removed during the cooking process.

Below are links for sterile bones on Amazon.com

​Keep in mind that each dog will react differently to a variety of toys.  If you have multiple dogs, one may be very interested in one toy and the other dog shows no interest at all.  Of course, you can always teach a dog to have interest in a toy by simply using the toy during playtime and ending playtime by taking the toy away before the dog loses interest. 

​In this new series I am going to talk about the different chew toys and play toys.  I will list the pro's and con's of each, and how to use each one properly.

When addressing a problem behavior, it is important to treat the cause of the behavior as well as the symptom.  A proper treatment plan for unwanted behaviors will have four components.

1.  Positive Reinforcement of Alternate Behaviors
2. Managing and setting the dog up to succeed
3. Consequences for the problem behaviors
4. Consistency in Dealing with Problem Behaviors

With these four components you have a treatment plan.  In order to eliminate unwanted behaviors, all four components needs to be addressed.  

Most unwanted behaviors are typically normal dog behaviors that are not appropriate when mixed in our human environment.  Digging, jumping, and chewing are normal dog behaviors.  Dogs normally enjoy engaging in these behaviors, which is why we call them self-rewarding behaviors.  When addressing a self-rewarding behavior, you need to teach the dog an alternate behavior that is more rewarding then the unwanted behavior.  It is also important to find the trigger to the unwanted behavior and desensitize the dog to the object or situation while teaching an acceptable behavior.   

The idea to manage the the problem and setting the dog up to succeed means to provide the dog with every opportunity to learn that the alternate behavior is more rewarding than the unwanted behavior.  This means the dog needs to be supervised so the dog does not perform the unwanted behavior.  Every time the dog has the opportunity to perform unwanted behaviors the dog is being positively reinforced, and it will make reaching that goal much more difficult.  Until the owner is consistent in managing the dog and the dog's environment, the dog will not learn the alternate behaviors.  

A proper consequence should impact the dog so that he decreases his desire to repeat the behavior, and compels him to give the wanted behavior.  A consequence is designed to tell the dog that the behavior he just gave moves him farther from his reward.  

Dogs are happy, confident, and secure in their environment when the rules and expectations are consistent.  When rules are changing and expectations of compliance are sometimes and not others, dogs become suspicious and untrusting of the owner.  Allowing the dog on the couch when the owner is home alone, but not allowing the dog on the couch when company is visiting will confused the dog and make it very difficult to teach the dog he is not allowed on the couch.   Consistency plays a crucial role when treating unwanted behaviors. 

One of the most common problem behaviors I hear from my clients is jumping.  A jumping dog can be embarrassing when guest are over and a dangerous behavior when kids are involved.  Although this can be a problem for dogs of all ages, this is a common problem for small breed dogs and young large breeds.  Jumping is not a natural dog behavior, so why do they do this?  Jumping is a learned behavior that most owners don’t realize was taught by them.  As humans it is very natural for us to be drawn and attracted to large round heads of puppies, large puppy eyes, and of course that puppy smell.  We also like to show love and nurture the puppy by picking it up and holding the puppy close to our faces.  As we do this, the puppy is getting familiar with our scent.  The puppy is enjoying the smell of your skin, hair, and breath.  Plus, the puppy is enjoying the warmth from our body, the touch from our hands, and all the attention.  This is positive reinforcement.  Positive reinforcement is what you give when you want to increase the possibility of the behavior to repeat.  We have a puppy enjoying the closeness to its owner and receiving positive reinforcement.   As you notice the puppy is getting older (and much bigger for the large breeds) that “puppy attention” dies down but the dog has learned the positive effects of being close to people.  Not being aware of its own growth your dog wants to get close to you and to do that, he starts jumping. 

So how do we stop the jumping?  Make sure NO ONE gives your dog attention for jumping.  Most people like to hold a jumping dog down or pet the dog thinking it will calm the dog.  The dog will take any kind of physical contact as a reward, along with eye contact and spoken words which will make the behavior stronger.  Turn your back, look at the ceiling till all four paws are on the floor, then give lots of praise and attention.  
  
If you do not like your dog’s behavior, change it for an alternative behavior.  A good replacement for jumping is sitting.  Ask your dog to sit, then lower yourself to the dog’s level for its praise and reward.  Your dog will learn there is no need to jump for your attention.  He simply needs to sit.

To teach sit, first have your dog in a standing position.  Hold the treat between your thumb and index finger keeping your hand open with palm facing up. Hold the treat in front of your dog’s nose.  Slowly lift the treat above your dog’s head so your dog starts to look up.  This should cause your dog to sit.  Once the dog is in a full sit position say “Good” then “OK” to release.  Another way is to capture the behavior at home.  Always keep treats available.  When you see your dog sit, reward and give praise.  This will give the dog the idea that he or she is training you.  When he or she sits, you give treats.  There are different ways to use the capture technique.  Use a room that will be boring to your dog, this will be a room like a bathroom or a laundry room.  Take a chair with you (this could take some time in the beginning) and just wait.  The dog will get bored and eventually sit.  When that happens say “Good” and give reward.  DO NOT USE THE WORD “SIT” UNLESS YOU ARE 100% POSSITIVE YOUR DOG WILL SIT.  Repeating “sit sit sit” over again can make the word meaningless to the dog.  Reward the dog first for its sits, and the dog will learn that sitting gets him a reward.  The behavior then will increase.  When this happens, you can start to apply the cue to the behavior. 
​ 
The key to training is patients and timing.  Be aware of what you are rewarding.  Food, treats, touch, speaking and eye contact are all rewards to your dog.  Reward all wanted behaviors and do not reward unwanted behaviors.  

A training class never goes by without mentioning the importance of being your dogs leader.  We all love our dogs and love to spoil them.  However, when we spoil our dogs, we sometimes don't see the damage we are doing to our relationship with them and how it can cause unwanted behavior.  Just like raising children, dogs need structure.  Rules need to be established and enforced to maintain social order.  The leader of the pack chooses who is in the pack, and what authority each member has or doesn't have.  

Here are a few exercises to practice to show the dog who is the leader.

Leaders:
1.  Eat First.
2  Go through doorways first.
3.  Stay calm and in control.
4.  Set the pace and the direction.
5.  Do not let their personal space be invaded.
6.  Say when play begins and when it ends.
7.  Do not offer free treats.
8.  Assume the higher ground (beds, couches, etc.)
9.  Never change their direction or step over the dog.
10.   Assign resting spots for other pack members.

By implementing these leadership exercises consistently on a daily basis, you will see a positive change in your dogs behavior.

When a dog continues to make mistakes during training it is important to know the reason why before you can address the issue.  

1.  The exercise may be too difficult for the dog.  It is important to set your dog up to succeed.  Keep it simple and clear.  If not, the dog can become frustrated and/or uninterested.

2.  More practice may be needed.  It is possible the dog has not had enough shaping or being guided correctly into the behavior with a food lure.

3.  It is possible the dog is not motivated enough to respond.  This usually happens when the dog gets what he wants for free outside of training.

4.  Your signals may be unclear to the dog

5.  Check your surroundings, there could be too many distractions too soon for the dog.

When the dog give the correct behavior approximately 90% of the time, you can be confident that your dog is ready for the next training level.