10,460 answers about dogs
From a puppy’s first feeding schedule to a senior dog’s comfort care, dog owners ask it all — this page gathers the dog library of KinsLe Answers in one place. Browse by topic below, from feeding and training to health, grooming, safety and travel. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
885 answers in Behavior & Training — page 13 of 37
Decide whether the sofa is fully off-limits or invitation-only, then teach that one rule the same way every time: the moment all four paws head up, calmly guide your dog back down and immediately reward settling on his own bed or a floor mat placed right beside the sofa. Blocking access with cushions or a throw when…
Howling at an empty house is usually loneliness calling for contact, sometimes set off by outside sounds, and it responds to longer relaxed absences rather than to being told off on your return. Practise brief departures and come back before the howling starts, leave background sound on as you would at home, and give…
A dog who herds children is rounding up the fastest, loudest movers in the house, usually by circling, barking and sometimes nipping at heels or clothing when the children run. Separate the games while you train: running and chasing games happen away from your dog, who gets a lead, a mat settle and rewards for…
Herding other dogs at the park is instinct doing its job in the wrong place: circling, crouching, staring and nipping at heels to keep a group moving together. Interrupt early with a well-paid recall before your dog locks into the pattern, and redirect that drive into games you control, such as fetch with rules, a…
Toy guarding between dogs escalates fast, so start by picking up the high-value toys whenever dogs play together and give each dog valued items only when separated. Reintroduce low-value toys in short, supervised sessions, call your dog away often and pay that recall with an excellent treat, so leaving a toy predicts…
Food bowl guarding means your dog believes people near his bowl predict losing it, so never take the bowl away as a lesson and never punish the growl, which is his early warning. Feed him somewhere quiet where nobody needs to walk past, drop extra tasty morsels into the bowl from a distance as you pass at a range…
Room-to-room following is usually habit and mild unease rather than a problem by itself, and it fades when your dog learns that settling away from you still pays. Practise short, boring separations: step behind a door for seconds, return without fuss, and reward him for staying on his bed rather than trailing you.…
Find the actual exit first, because a dog who squeezes under the gate, climbs the fence and slips a loose panel each need a different repair, and guessing wastes money. Watch from inside, check for gaps at ground level, move anything he uses as a launch step away from the fence, and keep him on a long line in the…
A dog digs under a fence for a reason, usually to get out, to reach something exciting on the other side or to burn off energy in cool earth, so block the escape route and give him a better digging option. Bury a barrier along the fence line or lay mesh under the soil at the base, fill and check his exit spots, and…
Destruction while you are out usually means panic, boredom or both, and the pattern tells you which: damage clustered at doors and windows points to a dog distressed by your leaving. Film a short absence to see what actually happens, then build departures up in tiny steps, starting with absences so short your dog…
Counter surfing persists because it pays: one stolen sandwich teaches your dog that the worktop is worth checking every day. Clear food off the counters completely, block kitchen access while you are learning together, and reward four paws on the floor heavily whenever food is being prepared nearby. Teach a settle on…
Most shoe chewing is a mix of your scent, a satisfying texture and having nothing better to chew, so the fix is to make shoes unavailable and legal chews irresistible. Put every pair behind a closed door or in a lidded box for now, scatter approved chew toys where your dog actually rests, and swap calmly whenever you…
You stop the chasing by catching the moment before your dog locks on, not by scolding him after the run is over. Work on a lead with the cat behind a baby gate or screen, far enough away that your dog can still look at her and then look back at you, and reward that turn of the head every time so choosing you pays…
You rarely remove the desire to chase squirrels, because chasing is wired into most dogs, but you can absolutely build an off switch. Keep your dog on a long line anywhere squirrels are active while you train, teach it to spot wildlife and turn back to you for a reward that beats watching, and give the chase instinct…
Lead biting is usually excitement or frustration with nowhere to go: the walk is thrilling, the pace is wrong, or a young dog is treating the lead as the nearest tug toy. Stop the game the moment teeth touch the lead by standing still and going boring, then restart the walk only when all four feet are down and the…
Begging at the table survives because it has been paid, usually by the one person who insists they never feed the dog, and the rule that ends it is absolute: nothing is ever fed from the table or from a plate, by anyone, including guests. Give your dog a job during meals instead, such as settling on a mat with its own…
Dogs bark at televisions because the screen delivers animals, doorbells, knocking and running figures at full emotional volume with none of the smells that would let a dog file them as not real. Start by lowering the stakes: play animal programmes quietly while your dog does something absorbing, such as working on a…
Window barking is self-rewarding, because from your dog's side every passer-by leaves right after the barking starts, so the fastest win is to remove the show while you retrain the response. Cover the lower glass or close off that room during busy times, teach your dog a place to go when it hears footsteps, and reward…
Proofing recall around other dogs means teaching the recall at a distance where your dog can still think, then shrinking that distance in small, successful steps. Work on a long line beside, not inside, other dogs' play: reward your dog for glancing at them and choosing you, practise recalls parallel to a calm dog…
Yes, for their size Yorkshire Terriers are among the barkier breeds, and a Yorkie often sounds far bigger than the small dog producing the noise, because terriers were bred to hunt boldly and announce what they found, and a Yorkie applies that confidence to doorbells, footsteps, bigger dogs and anything moving past…
Yes, a Standard Poodle usually barks more than the average breed, though the noise is mostly alert barking rather than endless chatter, and Standards are observant, quick-thinking dogs that notice visitors, delivery vans and changes in the street before you do, and they report their findings promptly. An…
Not in the usual sense: a Siberian Husky barks less than many breeds but makes up for it with howling, singing and theatrical talking, so a Husky household can be very loud while containing surprisingly little actual barking. A passing siren, another dog howling, or pure excitement can set off a long group-style howl…
A Shih Tzu sits around the middle overall, but in a flat or a quiet street the breed can sound like a much barkier dog than it is. These little companion dogs were bred to live closely with people, so they bark mainly to report arrivals and hallway noises and to demand attention from the humans they adore, rather than…
No, a Shiba Inu usually barks less than most breeds, which surprises people who expect a small, alert dog to be noisy. Shibas are reserved and self-contained, so instead of barking at every sound they tend to watch quietly, give a single sharp bark for something genuinely worth reporting, and save their loudest sound,…
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