Puzzled By Your Pooch?

Resident Vet Debbye Turner Bell Has Answers For Owners Troubled By Their Pets' Behavior

(CBS)  Don't know why your dog chews up every shoe in your closet? Why can't your pup stop pulling on his leash?

The Early Show correspondent and resident veterinarian Debbye Turner Bell answered viewers' pet questions in our "Ask It Early" series.

One viewer asked Bell if there is a way to tell the difference between a dog's happy bark and an angry bark.

Bell said there is a way. "Dogs sort of have tones of voice like we do," she said.

She added it helps if you know what the dog is doing while they are barking.

If the bark is a menacing snarl with accompanying growls, she said, then this a "warning-don't-come-any-closer" bark. If the bark is the same sound over and over for long periods of time, Bell said, then your dog is probably bored and just barking to hear herself "talk."

She added a bark with a whimper or whine thrown in may mean your dog is afraid or nervous. A loud, exuberant bark could just mean that she is happy to see you or really excited about something. The best way to interpret your dog's bark, she said, is to read her body language along with the sound of the bark.

Happy:
The posture of a happy dog is calm and relaxed. The dog will not attempt to look you in the eye, and it will probably go through the normal sniffing pattern -- you should offer the dog the back of your wrist to smell, and then you can probably pet it. The key identifying features of this behavior are: ears perked up and forward; eyes wide open; mouth relaxed and slightly open with teeth covered; body and tail relaxed.

Submissive:
This includes both "active" and "passive" submissive postures. Most people have seen passive submission - this is when the dog lays down on its back, belly up. This indicates a pacifying gesture that's offered to a more dominant individual (like the human owner). It seems as though the dog wants to have its belly rubbed in this position. Key identifying features of this behavior are: ears back; exposed belly; tail tucked in; head turned away and indirect gaze. Active submission is a pacifying pose used when the dog acknowledges another dog or human's higher ranking, or to inhibit another dog's aggression. The key identifying features are: ears back; tail hangs low or wags slowly; one paw raised; eyes half closed and mouth nearly closed with just the tip darting out.

Playful:
This is the position a dog takes when trying to solicit play. The dog bows down in front, which is a combination of submissive and dominant gestures. It's offered to invite another (dog or human) to play or as part of a courtship behavior. Identifying features are: front end of dog lowered, as if ready to leap forward; mouth open and relaxed with tongue exposed; ears up and tail up, loosely wagging.

Aggressive:
This includes "defensive aggressive", in addition to aggressive. In a defensive aggressive posture, a dog is fearful and is giving warning signals to indicate that it does not want to be approached, but if he is, he'll attack to protect himself. The key features of this pose are: ears back; pupils dilated; mouth is tense, wrinkled and snarling with exposed teeth; tail is down and tense; posture is mildly crouched with the weight over rear legs. Aggressive behavior is indicated by: open snarling mouth with exposed teeth; ears up; tail up and tense; eyes making contact; growling.

For more on dog posture, click here.

Another viewer asked Bell if there was any way to get her dog to stop choking himself with his collar when he pulls it.

Bell said there are dogs that just don't like to be hampered by a collar and leash. They will either charge forward, she said, dragging you along behind, or stubbornly stay in place, refusing to budge an inch. Either way, she said, you must use patience and consistence in acclimating your pooch to a leash and slowly coaxing him to walk calm beside you. It may take some time, she said, but it can be done.

When dogs pull on a leash, she said, they generally want to go somewhere you don't and are in a much bigger hurry to get there too. Bell said this can just be an excited dog or this can be a dominance and control issue. For both causes, she said, the beginning of the solution is the same.

"Do not give in to the pulling dog," she told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

She said owners should come to a complete stop if your dog pulls ahead on the leash. This may take a few minutes, she said, but hold your ground. As soon as your dog stops pulling, she said, praise him (and even give him a treat), then start walking again. If the pulling starts, Bell said, come to a halt and repeat the process. Bell said, soon the dog will get the message that he can't get far by pulling, and he gets rewarded for not pulling, so he should start to heel admirably by your side.

The type of collar and leash (or lead), Bell told CBS News can make a difference. A full body harness may make controlling your dog easier, she said. This is especially important, Bell said, for small breeds and "flat-faced" breeds.

Pulling on their collar can damage their neck and throat if pulled too hard, she said, so a harness is much safer for the dog. She added head halter collars are good for training an unruly dog (like puppies) or a stubborn dog. Another option is head halters, which control the dog's head, making the dog less likely to bolt forward or charge unexpectedly.

Bell also recommended the advice in "Handbook of Behaviour Problems of the Dog and Cat" by Butterworth and Heinemann:

• Be patient. Dogs, like people, learn at different rates. Some dogs may take weeks and even months of patient training before they completely learn how to heel on command.
  
  
• Young dogs usually take well to wearing a collar and leash, though temperament and energy level can influence how quickly they learn.
  
  
• Some breeds, such as Beagles and Dachshunds, often require more intense training because they are very easily distracted. This isn't to suggest that a dog is less intelligent if it doesn't calmly walk at its owner's side after a week of training, only that it may require a longer learning period.
  
  
• Older dogs may take a little longer to get used to a collar and leash, especially if they haven't had leash training before.

Go to page 2 for five easy steps to leash train your dog; plus, how to deal with your dog's separation anxiety.