Attention Seeking Dog - What Do I Do?

In a dog's mind, any attention is better than none. Therefore, although they may prefer pleasant, positive attention, negative attention is better than being ignored. If sitting quietly results in no attention, but barking results in being told to shut up, many dogs will choose to bark. When we look at the situation from the dog's point of view, we can see that it is not surprising that they often learn behaviors we do not want.

Possible causes for this behavior: Any unwanted behavior, including barking, jumping up, running around, pawing and stealing objects, can be caused by the dog learning that this is a good way of getting immediate attention.

Prevention of this behavior:

• Reward good behavior.
• Ignore unwanted behavior.
• It must be in the dog's best interests to behave in the right way.
• Ensure that your dog has plenty to occupy him, mentally and physically.
• For short periods of time each day, ignore your dog totally. Remember, ignoring means do not look at, talk to or touch him. If your dog is doing something that you cannot ignore, such as jumping on your knee, either gently move him off with no attention, or get up and walk out of the room, closing the door on him briefly.

• Look at what you are doing. Have you inadvertently rewarded the dog for doing this?
• Consider how you can change your reaction so that your dog gets what he wants - your attention for doing what you want.
• If this does not work, or you are unsure about what you should be doing, seek expert advice.

• Clever, affectionate dogs who love their owners.
• Opportunistic dogs.

Check out Snap On Screwdrivers and Snap On tools .

Puppy Training - How to Stop Chewing and Mouthing