Barking continuously while their owner is away is a mild (unless your a direct neighbor) form or separation anxiety and is usually caused by boredom.

One of the easiest ways to combat boredom is by ensuring the puppy or dog is tired when you leave them all day.  You can take them for several walks…hire a dog walker for the middle of the day.  You can put them on a treadmill while you are getting ready for work in the morning.  You can take them to a doggy day care a couple times a week.  Anything you can do to ensure the dog is good and tired, and I almost guarantee, your neighbors won’t hear a peep out of him again!

The amount of exercise needed will depend greatly upon the breed of dog and it’s temperament, but when you find the perfect amount…you’ll know it!  And your neighbors will love your dog as much as you do!  A bored dog is a stressed dog and a dog that has enough exercise on a daily basis will be much more happy and balanced.

WHY?

Well, for one thing, it may take a while to find the right one, and you want to be able to take your time and be sure your choice is right for you.  You wouldn’t want to just take the first trainer or behaviorist that seems alright, just because you are desperate for some problem to be solved.

You should also just accept that you are going to need one or the other, whichever dog you end up choosing.  If you get a puppy….training should be your number one priority.  If you end up with an older dog, then a behaviorist will probably be needed to help ease the transition and help the dog adjust to it’s new life….and leave it’s old life behind.

So, before you even find the newest member of your family….start building a network of professionals that will help your new member become a trusted and well-behaved companion.

I understand that a puppy is really cute and that it seems that you will have more control over a puppy’s ultimate behavior, but adult dogs are really much easier to bring into a household.

Image a puppy as a human toddler.  Image all the time it takes to look after a toddler and how taking your eye off of this toddler can often result in such things as broken items and ruined carpets.  Raising a puppy is very similar.

Adopting a dog is much different.

It’s true, you may be getting a  dog that has fears and bad behaviors associated with it’s former life;  but, in my experience, a couple months of love and training are all it takes to get the new dog used to you and your house.  Weight that against a year or more of training for a puppy and you can see that an older dog is much easier than a puppy.

There are plenty of dogs in shelters and rescues who just need one person to take them home and love them.  Be patient with them and understand that you may need to clean up some pee on the carpet or take them to a behaviorist for a few sessions, but then they will be your most wonderful companion for the rest of their lives.

My little Chihuahua, Leon, has been a registered therapy dog for two years now.  He has dazzled older and younger people alike.  He’s helped children have the courage to read out loud, and he’s brought memories back to seniors who had dogs when they were younger.

We had our re-evaluation test yesterday and my favorite little crowd pleaser; FAILED.

He wasn’t acting himself from the beginning and every bad behavior he has, came out of him in that moment.  He was barking and unruly.  He wasn’t paying attention to my commands.  And when he was told to “sit”, he just looked at me….My little wonder dog has been “sitting” since he was 8 weeks old.

I knew the evaluation was over and I was devastated.  I was furious with my sweet little dog.  I was hurt and embarrassed.  I was scared that my little dog would continue to let me down because he just decided not to perform and that bothered me immensely.

Today I have a new perspective on the day.  I realize that yesterday I was thinking only of myself.  So, my little dog didn’t sit when I told him to…with the day behind me, I am able to look at the bigger picture.  We can try again in May without any lapse in our registration and I have some time to work with him.  I really haven’t continually trained with him in months, and maybe it’s time we started it up again.

So, he had a bad day. I still love him to death and he still has the opportunity to bring smiles to everyone we meet.  Every Dog has his day and yesterday just wasn’t Leon’s…and it’s O.K.

It’s true that the amount and number of walks vary greatly, if you are thinking of getting a dog, you should understand that taking a walk is part of the deal.

Most people don’t understand that Chihuahua’s love to take walks.  They can actually walk up to a couple of miles and enjoy getting out in the sunshine.  Leon has always enjoyed his walks, as you can see on his video.  You can see that he is walking very easy and happily; he’s not pulling or being dragged.  This is the mark of a true nomadic walk.

There are alternatives to walking outside, although it is good for both you and the dog to get outside in the fresh air as much as possible.  But sometimes it’s too cold, or you don’t have the time; and in this times, a good jaunt on the treadmill is a good substitute.  When the snow is piling up outside, Leon does just fine on his treadmill; but look at how happy he is on the video…why NOT go outside and walk…