Aggressive behavior toward strangers
An owner should be concerned if their dog exhibits aggressive behavior towards any person.  It doesn't matter whether the dog was "just excited" was "scared" or had a bone.  Owners of dogs who show aggressive behaviors such as growling. barking at people, nipping or biting should seek training for their dog to help prevent serious problems.

Dogs with aggressive tendencies can be controlled with training and a behavior management plan.

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Aggressive behavior towards family members
Growling, showing teeth, snapping or biting behavior towards
any family member is unacceptable...
Do not ignore these behaviors
Do not assume that your dog will "grow out of it"
Begin appropriate training as soon as your dog displays any aggression regardless of the reason

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Aggressive behavior with other family pets
Pets that do not get along can seriously injure each other.
In extreme cases, aggression may result in the death of a pet.

The earlier the problem is identified and addressed the easier it is
to correct the problem...  If your dogs have had a fight that has resulted in an injury you should schedule a consultation as soon as possible.

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Aggressive behavior towards other dogs.
There are several reasons why dogs have problems relating to other dogs.  Many are afraid and they lack the social skills necessary to communicate with other dogs.  Some larger dogs see smaller dogs as prey. Some dogs get over excited, causing the other dogs to feel overwhelmed.

Two ways to manage dog aggression behaviors is to establish safe management techniques and teach your dog better canine social skills

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Destructive Chewing Behaviors
Dogs do not chew "to spite" their owners.  Dogs do not chew because they are angry at their owners,

Dogs chew because they do not know any better & they are unsupervised. 

Dogs chew because they are unhappy or incredibly stressed

Dogs do not "grow out of " their chewing habits

It is important to establish a supervision routine that will help teach your dog to chew only on appropriate things.
 
Chewing may be a symptom of separation anxiety. Separation anxiety can lead to very serious behavior problems.  Managing the separation anxiety will help eliminate the chewing problems.

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House-soiling Problems
There are several types of house-soiling problems|

* Puppies who are just learning where to eliminate
  (some breeds are more difficult to train than others)

* Older dogs who have never learned not to soil in the house

* Dogs who have regressed

* Newly adopted dogs who may be stressed and need help
   learning proper behavior

*Marking behaviors such as leg lifting through-out the house

House soiling problems may also be connected to separation anxiety issues or stressed caused by changes in their schedule or routine

Establishing an adequate supervision and walking schedule is necessary to help the learn the proper behavior.  With a few adjustments most dogs do very well learning what is expected of them.

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Separation Anxiety Problems
Destructive chewing, barking and even hyper-active behaviors may be caused by separation anxiety.  Unmanaged, separation anxiety problems can become very severe. 

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Barking
Barking behaviors may lead to other inappropriate behaviors such as aggression or chewing.   The dogs' environment should be managed to reduce barking and the dog should be taught that barking is an unacceptable behavior

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We offer In-home
behavioral consultations in Connecticut

Our consultations are generally an hour to two hours long. 

During the consultation we will discuss many of your dog's behavior problems and establish a step by step training program to teach your dog the skills necessary to behave better.

We will discuss both the things that you should do to improve your
dog's behavior and the things that you should not do because they
would contribute to your dog's behavior problems

All involved Family members should be present

Emphasis is placed on establishing a step by step approach
to improve your dog's behavior

Sessions include follow up phone consultations as necessary

In additional to the consultation it is recommended that your dog complete a behavioral obedience course to establish communication and skills with which to change unwanted behaviors.

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