Can a dog be left alone in an apartment for 8 hours

Question: Can a dog be left alone in an apartment for 8 hours while we are at work without causing damage and barking too much?

Answer:
If you are 100% the pack leader so your dog is secure when you leave him and you take him for a long walk that tires him out before you leave and another long walk when you get back, your chances are good that your dog will be fine. In nature dogs get up in the morning and walk to find food. 

So you if you simulate that by pack-walking your dog for a long time before you leave to tire him out and then feed him he will go into rest mode and should be OK until you return. It is important that you pack-walk him and not allow him to walk you. If you concentrate on exercise and leadership matching the needs of the dog, the dog should be fine. The higher energy the dog, the longer walk or even jog/run/bike ride the dog will need to go on. 

Placing a backpack on a higher energy dog helps to tire him out and give him a sense of a job to accomplish. A tired dog is a good dog. Dogs with pent up energy and that do not know their place in their pack generally are the dogs that act out. It is important that the dog heels on the lead so he sees you as his leader.

If your dog is restless when you leave and causes a commotion it means he has energy to burn and/or he is not secure with you being away from him. See Separation Anxiety in Dogs for more info.

Are there any dog breeds that can live in an apartment, yet make good jogging companions?

Almost any dog can live in an apartment, IF...and this is a big IF...they get enough exercise and the right kind of exercise. If you plan on jogging your dog, and as long as you can make the dog heel on the jog so the dog is not worrying about being your leader, but rather relaxing as he is following you, you have a very wide range of dogs to choose from. Most dogs in the shelters are there because their owners... ONE did not provide proper leadership and TWO did not exercise them properly. A big backyard is not going to cut it. So those people who live in an apartment who actually walk their dogs (assuming they make them heel on the lead) are often better off than those who are simply only let out into the fenced backyard for exercise. Dog park exercise is excited exercise and it is not recommended as the only source of exercise a dog receives. It keeps the dog in an excited state of mind.

why dog's ears go down around owner

I have a 4-month-old puppy whose ears stand up. Whenever she comes around me she puts her ears down but her tail is wagging. She likes me very much and gives me kisses. Can you tell me why her ears go down around me?

I have not seen your dog around you, but going by what you say without observing I can tell you that it is not necessarily a bad thing. A dog that is submissive of another being will slink themselves smaller and put their ears back. A lot of people misread dogs when they see them puffed out proud with their ears erect thinking it means the dog is happy, when in reality it is the way a dog who believes he is alpha reacts. If your puppy puts her ears back and lowers her head that is a sign of respect. The fact that her tail is wagging and not tucked under leads me to believe this is the case. Your pup respects you and it is a good thing. Keep being the pack leader that you are. Lowering the head, ears back and curling into a circle are signs of submission. A dog wants to know who is boss so they can be secure. The pup is acting towards you the way she would act towards her canine mother. Make sure you stick with showing her the rules so she can keep looking at you as her leader. It makes for a happy dog.

Don’t Pee Where You Sleep

“Oh great, here comes Bob. I wonder what MLM he’s going to try and sell me on now?”

How many of these people do you know? Everyone knows that Bob’s going to have a different Business-of-the-Week everytime you see him. And then he’ll proceed to try and make you join that system with him. It was an impulse buy for him and now he wants to spread the news to the world. Even worse, he’s doing if first to his friends and family.

I actually went forward with something similar once, and after a month, I was still at it. Meanwhile, the person who convinced me that it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, had already moved on to something else. That left a really sour feeling with me. It was as though he had made a really bad decision and was getting me to join in order to get his own money back. All of it was at my expense. It wasn’t one of my more expensive lessons, but it stuck with me.

It taught me that you should never take your friends or family for granted. They are a huge source of help and motivation throughout your entire life. Don’t jeopardize that for a quick buck.

I took the lesson to heart.

You don’t need to “sell” anything to your friends. Conversations should be a “pull” rather than a “push”.

When you’re online, you now have the ability to expand your circle of friends exponentially. The philosophy applies to them as well. Marketing should never be a numbers game. Its not a game, and people are not numbers.

I know you already know this, but like me, you probably need to be reminded every now and again.

Life throws you enough problems to deal with. You don’t want to come home and have to clean up a puddle of your own making.

dog gets jealous and wants to fight the other

Question:
I have a 3-year-old American Straffordshire Terrier and she is above and beyond the most loyal and loving dog I have ever owned. I take her everywhere I go and she is great with my 3 children. My problem is that I have gone to local shelters to find her a companion of the same breed but she gets jealous and wants to fight the other dog. Any suggestions?

Answer:

I suggest you tune into the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan on the National Geographic Channel (if you have not done so already). He shows over and over again how to get two dogs to get along. He deals with a lot of powerful breeds. What you do not want to do is just toss the dogs together face-to-face at the first meeting in a shelter environment where the dog you are adopting is most likely lacking in exercise and human discipline. Before you even consider a second dog you need to first master the walk with your first dog.

On the day of adoption take your first dog for a really long walk or jog so her energy is drained before she meets this second dog.

As for the second dog, that dog needs to be taken for a walk as well to drain her energy. Then you would have a second person with you at the time the dogs meet and pack walk the dogs at the same time. Do not just stick them face to face. Just walk and walk for a long time. Both dogs need to be heeling because if one dog is allowed to be in front that dog will instinctually feel he is the leader of the bunch and will try and dominate the pack. Correct any negative reactions the dogs may have towards one another. While walking you can allow the dogs to smell one another's rear ends if the dogs are acting civil. By the end of your walk the dogs will regard themselves as one pack and if the humans were successful in convincing the dogs the humans are the leaders, the dogs will not feel the need to dominate or be leader. You will need to find a shelter that is willing to work with you on that method. Unfortunately too many shelters do not understand this concept and a lot of dogs are put down because of it.

I highly recommend you watch a good number of the Dog Whisperer shows before proceeding so you fully understand the basis behind this method.

Is it ever ok for a dog to lie on a human?

It is not necessarily bad for a dog to be on top of a human if the HUMAN initiated it. For example, the human called the dog onto their lap. If it is the dog making the calls then it can be the dog being dominant. A dog that decides is a dog that is being the leader. Being on top is a dominant position in a dog's mind, but making the decisions is also a dominant position in a dog's mind. When humans are upset, dogs see this as a weakness. Keeping all of these facts in mind, you also need to know your dog and what frame of mind he is in, what frame of mind you are in and remain the leader at all times.

owner'd do if they are emotionally upset and their dog comes over and lies on top of them?

Question: What should an owner do if they are emotionally upset and their dog comes over and lies on top of them?

Answer:

If you are having a bad day and are emotionally upset and your dog comes over and lies on top of you, be it your feet or lap, what does it mean? To the human it is very comforting. We feel that our dogs care and are trying to make us feel better. That's the human side of the equation.

What does it mean to the dog? Dogs do feel human emotion and since they are pack-oriented animals that need to know who the strongest being is so that being can run the pack, they see the weak as lower. It's instinct and there is nothing we can do to change that. A dog will pick up on a human's weakness and will claim that person as their subordinate by lying on top of them, be it their feet or their lap. Sometimes a dog will lick the person. In the dog world the leader is on top. The leader will often cover up the lower member by standing over them.

It is not realistic to say a human who owns a dog can never get upset. But it is a fact that when they do the dog will feel the human as weak. Different dogs will have different reactions. Some may become worried, stressed, anxious and/or upset because his leader is now weak and/or become empowered and try to "save the pack" by taking over. If you are emotionally upset and a dog comes over and lies on top of you, send the dog away back to his dog bed (or other area). Do not allow the dog to get on top of you. Try and take deep breaths and do your best to not be upset anymore. But to say you can never get upset is not going to happen, so you just deal with it when it happens and don’t allow the dog to be "in your face" or standing over you during that time.

Why does my dog hate it when I touch his food?

Your dog is not necessarily "hating it" when you touch his food. Nor is he being "mean." He is communicating with you. What he is saying is, "This is MY food. Leave me alone while I eat it." Is this a problem? You bet it is. It's a big problem. It means your dog is alpha over you. There are different levels of dominance and even if your dog has never bitten, always keep in mind that growling or the bearing of a dog’s teeth eventually does lead to biting. It is time you reassess your human to dog communication skills and take the alpha position away from your dog before it escalates into a larger problem.

What does it mean when a dog licks?

There are a few reasons why a dog licks.

A dog's saliva contains a healing agent and dogs often lick another's wounds in an attempt to heel them.

Dogs will also lick as a way to show submission. A submissive dog will hold himself very low, slinking himself down to try to appear smaller. He will approach a human with his head lowered and his ears slightly back as if to say “you're my boss.”

Some dogs will lick another in a dominant manner. For example, mother dogs lick and groom their puppies and for the pups it is the mother displaying leadership. Mom says stay here and be groomed because she is alpha over them and she says so. Submissive licking and dominant licking have different body languages. A dominant dog will carry himself high and proud. He approaches things with an air of confidence. He may also be very persistent as to what he wants.

Sometimes dogs lick out of obsession. Dogs that lick others in an obsessive or dominant manner need to be corrected and the dog must be told not to lick.

have dog on a leash?

Question I take my dog for off-leash walks and she does great. She was trained to heel on a lead and did really well in classes but since we only do off-lead walks she pulls like crazy at first when I do have to leash her up. Are our "free" walks doing harm; should I have her on a leash?

Answer:

It's good to allow a dog to run free. However if that is all you do then the dog is not learning or practicing patience on a lead. I would not stop the free-roam walks, they are great, but for those times when you do need to leash your dog it is important that you teach good manners. I would start leashing the dog up at least a few times a week to practice lead walking, or even put the dog on a lead for only part of your walk in the woods just for practice. The dog needs to be trained that when you are free, you are free, but as soon as that lead snaps on you are to follow me heeling and not pull. I take my Bruno out to the woods and he runs and chases rabbits, etc...but as soon as I snap on the lead his entire demeanor changes and he knows it's time to follow.

You may want to bring the lead with you on your free walks. Put the lead on for a short time in the beginning and when the dog heels nicely for a bit make her sit and be calm, then take it off and allow her to go. Maybe even a few times until she gets the idea. I use my foot to backwards side-boot my dog in the butt below the tail if he starts to pull, but different things work for different dogs and owners.

Inside the house, practice making the dog sit calmly while you snap on the lead. At the gateway to the door practice going out the doorway first with the dog following. If you are on your way to an area where you can do a free-roam walk do not unsnap the dog's lead until she is heeling and walking nicely. Never unsnap her while she is pulling. You may have to take her out for some town walking for the socialization just so during those times she must be on a lead the dog is used to that type of environment. You need to convince her and condition her that when the lead is snapped on it means it's time to heel. It's going to take some time and a lot of work. But you can't give up or give in or the dog will learn to just keep pressing you in order to get her way.