Puzzled By Your Pooch?

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

(CBS)  Five Easy Steps to Leash Train Your Dog

1. Begin by placing the collar and leash on your dog while it eats, letting the leash hang loosely by its side. This allows your dog to associate the leash with something pleasant (food) and helps it get used to having a collar around its neck.

2. After two or three days, take the leash in your hand and follow your dog around the house for a few minutes after it has finished eating. Do this for longer and longer periods, until your dog is used to both the leash and having you walk beside it.

3. Next, go outside and let your dog drag the leash around, occasionally picking up the leash and following it. Offer a treat while showing the leash.

4. While walking, hold the leash in your right hand and coax your dog along your left side by holding a treat in your left hand. As you walk, repeat the phrase, "Let's go!" Praise your dog when it does well.

5. If your dog starts to pull forward, do a clockwise turn and walk in another direction; the leash will pull its head to the side so it will have to hurry to catch up with you. Repeat this exercise until your dog learns that if it wants to walk beside you and receive your praise, it'll have to stay by your side.

Another dog owner asked Bell about a common issue with dogs: chewing. The owner said her dog is usually well behaved, but when the family leaves, the dog chews shoes and remote controls.

Bell said knowing why your dog is chewing is a key to modifying the behavior. A puppy typically chews out of curiosity and because he is teething, she said, while other dogs chew because they are bored, like the feel or activity of chewing or have anxiety. Bell recommended asking your vet or a certified trainer about it.

If it is just boredom or teething, Bell said, then providing appropriate chew toys for the dog should suffice. With enough engaging toys, she said, your dog won't chew your furniture or favorite shoes. Bell also suggested making sure your dog cannot get to the items that you don't want him to chew. Though that may mean putting your pooch in a designated room or a dog crate while you are away, she said, there are a lot of great toys that can keep your dog busy for hours.

Bell recommends toys that are games or puzzles, which occupy your dog's time and provide positive mental stimulation at the same time. Food puzzles, such as ones filled with treats or peanut butter, she said, are usually quite effective at keeping your dog busy all day while they try to get the treat out of the toy.

Another reason for chewing is anxiety, according to Bell. There are some dogs, she said, that become anxious when left alone because they just don't like it when their owner leaves the house.

This anxiety over being separated from their owner, Bell explained, can manifest in a number of ways including excessive barking or howling, pacing, chewing, digging, excessive panting, even urination and defecation. This is a miserable state for the dog, Bell said, and not much fun for neighbors who hearing the barking. Bell said, addressing separation anxiety takes time and patience. She added you may even need to consult your veterinarian for some medical intervention. And Bell assured there is such a drug as "doggie prozac."

But for a minor separation anxiety problem, Bell said, the following techniques may be helpful by themselves. For more severe problems, she said, these techniques should be used along with the desensitization process described in the next section:

Minor Separation Anxiety Techniques

• Keep arrivals and departures low-key. For example, when you arrive home, ignore your dog for the first few minutes, then calmly pet him. This may be hard for you to do, but it's important!
  
  
• Leave your dog with an article of clothing that smells like you-such as an old T-shirt that you've slept in recently.
  
  
• Establish a "safety cue" - a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back. Dogs usually learn to associate certain cues with short absences by their owners. For example, when you take out the garbage, your dog knows you come right back and doesn't become anxious. Therefore, it's helpful to associate a safety cue with your short-duration absences.
  
  Some examples of safety cues are a playing radio, a playing television, or a toy (one that doesn't have dangerous fillings and can't be torn into pieces). Use your safety cue during practice sessions with your dog. Be sure to avoid presenting your dog with the safety cue when you leave for a period of time longer than he can tolerate; if you do, the value of the safety cue will be lost.
  
  
• Leaving a radio on to provide company for your dog isn't particularly useful by itself, but a playing radio may work if you've used it consistently as a safety cue in your practice sessions. If your dog engages in destructive chewing as part of his separation distress, offering him a chewing item as a safety cue is a good idea. Very hard rubber toys that can be stuffed with treats and Nylabone®-like products are good choices.

Desensitization Techniques
The primary treatment for more severe cases of separation anxiety, Bell said, is a systematic process of getting your dog used to being alone. She said you must teach your dog to remain calm during "practice" departures and short absences. We recommend the following procedure:

• Begin by engaging in your normal departure activities (getting your keys, putting on your coat), then sit back down. Repeat this step until your dog shows no distress in response to your activities.
  
  
• Next, engage in your normal departure activities and go to the door and open it, then sit back down.
  
  
• Next, step outside the door, leaving the door open, and then return.
  
  
• Finally, step outside, close the door, then immediately return. Slowly get your dog accustomed to being alone with the door closed between you for several seconds.
  
  
• Proceed very gradually from step to step, repeating each step until your dog shows no signs of distress. The number of repetitions will vary depending on the severity of the problem. If at any time in this process your actions produce an anxiety response in your dog, you've proceeded too fast. Return to an earlier step in the process and practice this step until the dog shows no distress response, then proceed to the next step.
  
  
• Once your dog is tolerating your being on the other side of the door for several seconds, begin short-duration absences. This step involves giving the dog a verbal cue (for example, "I’ll be back"), leaving, and then returning within a minute. Your return must be low-key: Either ignore your dog or greet him quietly and calmly. If he shows no signs of distress, repeat the exercise. If he appears anxious, wait until he relaxes to repeat the exercise. Gradually increase the length of time you're gone.
  
  
• Practice as many absences as possible that last less than ten minutes. You can do many departures within one session if your dog relaxes sufficiently between departures. You should also scatter practice departures and short-duration absences throughout the day.
  
  
• Once your dog can handle short absences (30 to 90 minutes), he'll usually be able to handle longer intervals alone and you won't have to repeat this process every time you are planning a longer absence. The hard part is at the beginning, but the job gets easier as you go along. Nevertheless, you must go slowly at first. How long it takes to condition your dog to being alone depends on the severity of his problem.

Interim Solutions
Because the treatments described above can take a while, and because a dog with separation anxiety can do serious damage to himself and/or your home in the interim, Bell said to consider these suggestions to help you and your dog cope in the short term:

• Consult your veterinarian about the possibility of drug therapy. A good anti-anxiety drug should not sedate your dog, but simply reduce his anxiety while you’re gone. Such medication is a temporary measure and should be used in conjunction with behavior modification techniques.
  
• Take your dog to a dog day care facility or boarding kennel.
  
• Leave your dog with a friend, family member, or neighbor.
  
• Take your dog to work with you, even for half a day, if possible.

For more information on pet separation anxiety from the American Humane Society, click here.

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Do you have a question for Debbye Turner Bell? Write to her by clicking on the "Ask It Early" box above at left.