10 Rules of Canine Home Management

Limit Your Dog’s Resting Areas

Do not al l ow your dog on the be d or the furni tu re unti l you know your dog’ s
te mpe rame nt.
I t take s some dogs a w hi le to show you w ho the y are . I t i s al w ays a good i de a to w ai t
unti l the y are at l e ast a ye ar of age and have compl e te d at l e ast one trai ni ng course
to re l ax thi s strate gy for structure . I f you re ce ntl y adop te d an ol de r dog, re se arch
show s (and fro m our expe rie nce ), i t take s about 9 0-1 20 days for the dog to be
comforta bl e e nough to show the i r true col ors. I t i s ve ry i mportan t that new l y adopte d
dogs go ri ght i nto a structure d e nvi ronme nt.

I f the dog has be e n all ow e d to share re sti ng are as wi th fami l y me mbe rs and has
grow l e d, or snappe d for any re ason, the n thi s i s not a dog w ho shoul d be al l ow e d
furni tu re pri vi l e ge s.
Have the dog we ar a l e ash i n the house (onl y w he n supe rvi se d), and re move the dog
ge ntl y from the furni tu re wi th the l e ash.

El i mi nate acce ss to the be droo ms and bathrooms by cl osi ng doors or usi ng baby
gate s. Thi s ke e ps the dog from be i ng de structi ve or pl ayi ng the “ catch me i f you can”
game wi th ti ssue or othe r vari ous i te ms he / she shoul d not have stol e n.

Schedul ed Meal Times

Food shoul d be pre se nte d to the dog afte r he or she re spon ds to a si mpl e obe di e nce
exe rci se l i ke “si t” or “ dow n” , or “ ke nne l ” . I f the dog doe s not e at all of hi s/ he r food
w i th i n 1 5 mi nute s, take i t aw ay unti l the i r se cond me al ti me w hi ch shoul d be 6 -12
hours l ate r. Thi s w i ll re al l y he l p those pi cky eate rs.

I f you have food out all the ti me , thi s wi l l make your trai ni ng se ssi ons di ffi cul t to
mai ntai n. Your dog w i ll not be moti vate d or e age r to w ork wi th you.

Fre e -choi ce fee di ng can al so l e ad to posse ssi ve -agg re ssi ve dogs. Many be havi ori sts
re comme n d hand- fe e di ng at le ast 3 me al s pe r w ee k to dogs that show re source
guardi ng te nde nci e s. Each handful shoul d be e arne d by the dog’ s re sponse to si mpl e
comman ds or tri cks. I f your dog has grow l e d or snappe d ove r food or bone s, contact
us.

Control Your Walkin g Space

Do not le t your dog drag you on w al ks or choose the di re cti on. Te ach your dog to w al k
at your si de wi th manne rs and w i thout pul l i ng. The ri ght col l ar, he ad- hal te r, or
trai ni ng harne ss w il l w ork w onde rs.

Te ach your dog to “w ai t” as you go fi rst thro ugh doorw ays and passage s. Wai ti ng i s
not about domi na nce ; i t i s safe r for you and your dog.

Have your dog le arn how to move out of your space . Dogs that l ay i n the hal l w ay or
doorw ays can be dan ge rou s. You can te ach the m a “ ge t back” or “ up” comman d w he n
you approach the m.

Taking Back Your Home

I f your dog che w s, house - soi l s, or has di spl aye d pushy/ bra tty be havi or, i t i s ti me to
l i mi t fre e dom. We re comme nd crate trai ni ng: The crate i s use d w he n you are aw ay
from home , and w he n you are busy arou nd the house and cannot supe rvi se your dog.
W he n you are home you can al so use baby- gate s or “ stati oni ng. ” Puppi e s,
adol e sce nts, and re ce ntl y adop te d dogs nee d to be re mi nde d ofte n of app ropri a te
be havi ors and shoul d drag a l e ash supe rvi se d w he n the y are not crate d or out i n the
backya rd. Thi s le ash be come s a trai ni ng handl e to he l p make your ti mi ng and control
more eff icie nt .

St at io ning ( mus t req uire sup e rvis io n) :

Ti e your dog to a doorknob or he avy pi e ce of furni tu re and provi de a comfy be d or
bl anke t for the dog to l ie dow n on. The n gi ve dog some thi ng acce ptabl e to che w. For
exampl e , a Kong, a stuff e d re al bone - not cooke d or smoke d bone , or any durabl e safe
che w toy. You can al so try at thi s ti me a puz zl e . You can look up puzzl e s for dogs on
many onl i ne ve ndors. We re comme nd N i na O ttosson’ s Puzzl e s. The dog can be
stati one d duri ng the fami l y’ s me al ti me s, w he n gue sts arri ve , or anyti me you w ant the
dog to be part of the fami l y but unde r control .

Start the stati oni n g proce ss for 2 -5 mi nue ts, e spe ci all y i f your dog has se parati on
anxi e ty issue s. You w il l w ant to w ork ri ght unde r the i r thre shol d. Each ti me you stati on
your dog, tack on a few more mi nute s than the l ast se ssi on. Wi thi n a w ee k, the dog
can be stati one d up to 2 0-3 0 mi nute s. Soon the dog can be stati one d up to an hour or
tw o. B e sure and gi ve your dog appro pri ate potty bre aks.

Structure The Games

Don’ t pl ay tug - of- w ar wi th your dog unl e ss you do so w i th control and te ach an “out”
or
“ dro p- i t” comman d. W he n you pl ay “fe tch game s” the se toys shoul d onl y be use d for
pl ay- trai ni ng and not le ft i n the backya rd or arou nd the house for dog to de stroy or
be come bore d w i th the “ spe ci al toys” . The next ti me you bri ng out the toys and start
anothe r pl ay- trai ni ng se ssi on, the dog wi l l be al l about you and more re sponsi ve to
comman ds the n the l ast se ssi on.
Gi ve toys and bone s to the dog onl y afte r he or she compl i e s w i th comma nds or hand
si gnal s.

Limit The Rewards

You w i ll ne e d to i gnore nudgi n g, w hi ni ng, or bri ngi n g you toys; have your dog gi ve you
space be fore gi vi ng hi m/ he r atte nti on. Have your dog come to you on your te rms. Do
not approach a dog that has e ve r grow l e d or snappe d at anyone for any re ason to pe t.
Have the dog ge t up, come to you, and “si t” for pe tti ng and prai se . Many dogs w i ll
“ di sci pl i ne ” ow ne rs for bothe ri ng the m w hi le the y are re sti ng. B y maki ng the dog ge t
up and come to you, you avoi d thi s si tuati on.

Grooming Session s

Start off w i th tre ats i n one hand a brush i n the othe r hand. St roke the dog one ti me on
hi s/ he r si de or on the back. Le t the dog ni bbl e the tre at. N ow try 2-3 brushe s. Stop for
a fe w se conds and the n handl e one paw for 1 -2 se conds w hi l e conti nui ng to l e t your
dog i s take li ttl e bi te s of the tre ats. Stop all acti ons for about 3 0 se conds gi vi ng the
dog a smal l bre ak. Start agai n w i th the brush. Each day, do j ust a li ttl e bi t at a ti me
w hi le the dog i s eati ng tre ats out of your hand or a partne r’ s hand. You can gradual l y
have the dog e ndure more brushi ng on hi s/ he r si de , back, and face , and the n handl i ng
of the fee t, e ars, and tai l. Try the se s se ssi ons at l e ast 3 ti me s a we ek. Your ve t and
groo me r wi l l l ove you!
I f your dog grow l s or snaps duri ng groomi n g se ssi ons pl e ase l e t us know.

Control How Your Dog Responds To Guests In Your Home

The thre shol d of your home is yours – not the dog’ s. Te ach your dog how to be “ qui e t”
so that al arm barki ng doe s not be come uncon trol l e d nui sance barki ng. Me e t and gre e t
gue sts wi th the dog on le ash to he l p control barki ng, j umpi ng, or ci rcl i ng. Many
re porte d bi te s are to the back of the l e gs of gue sts.

Structure Your Dog’s Exercise .

B ri skl y w al k the dog at le ast 3 ti me s pe r w ee k. Mal e and fe mal e dogs shoul d not be
al l owe d to re pe ate dl y uri nate duri ng the w al ks. Thi s i s cal le d marki ng; dogs w ho are
al l owe d to do so, may thi nk she / he ow ns a ve ry l arge te rri tory. If your dog trie s to
mark tre e s, mai l b oxe s, e tc. do not stop for the m; conti nue w al ki ng at a bri sk pace .
Dogs w ho thi nk the w hol e nei ghbo rhoo d i s the i rs are more apt to di spl ay unw ante d
barki ng or l ungi n g at othe r dogs and pe opl e duri ng rou ti ne w al ks.

Suppress Your Urge To Punish Or To Excus e Behavior

Dogs are not pe opl e; the y do not have the same re asoni n g capabi l i ti e s. Dogs are not
ve nge ful or vi ndi cti ve ; the y are not capabl e of compl ex re tal i atory acts l i ke che w i ng
your ne w shoe s be cause he / she is angry at you some thi ng you di d ye ste rday.
Dogs re act throug h i nsti nct; the y re qui re posi ti ve and cl e ar de fi ne d re pe ti ti ve trai ni ng
se ssi ons, and supe rvi si on.

“ 10 Rule s of Canine H o me M anag e me nt ” Co p yrig ht © 20 17

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