Dear Abby... dog style!

Here is a snippet of a letter I got asking for advice on some common dog problems and also my response. If you have questions you would like me to answer on my blog please go to badbehaviorgooddog.com and go to "contact me" you can email me your questions and I will reply to and post the most common problems here on my blog. I won't be able to address every question here so please understand you won't get a personal response unless your question is chosen for the blog. Head up your questions by putting "Ask Julie" at the top of your email so I'll know it was intended to be posted. Names will be changed or left off.

This question comes from a couple who recently adopted a 1yr old dog. The dog is neutered.

Q. "He is marking, we tried tying some fabric from an old shirt around him and after 15 mins he tears it off every time. I'm trying to be persistent and put it back on every time he gets it off. He's also getting up on counters, couch and on our bed. We take him to the dog park and play with him, we love how playful he is. The dog park normally wares him out but he still gets kinda rough with our little dog. He doesn't mean to, he just steps on her a lot."

A. The very best way to handle marking is to leash the dog for the first 24-48 hours. It is too late for that but if you leash him up now and keep him with you for a day or 2 you can catch him if he lifts and make a quick loud sound to correct him and get him outside. Also, get him on a schedule so he will know when he is going to be let out. Every 2hrs like clock work. An actual belly band will be less likely to be removed so easily and will be more comfortable so he might leave it alone.

As for getting up on things and being too playful, calming exercise will help. Dog park is really great for fun time but it works them up not calms them down. It's like a birthday party for dogs! (Think about how worked up kids are after an afternoon of partying.) Walking him at a fast pace and a good heel will be the best at calming him down. You can also hide treats outside for him to go search for like a dog Easter egg hunt. I use my dogs food and hide dozens of pieces... it can take them up to an hour to find them all! If he is getting lots of "calming" structured exercise it is not too much to ask him to lay down and stay on his bed when he is annoying the younger dog. Use a leash, take him to his bed, (if he doesn't have one you'll need to get one; it will help with getting on the couch and your bed) put him on it and tell him STAY. Every time he gets off it take his leash lead him back and do it again. Try for short amounts of time at first, 5 mins, then 10 etc...

Now is the time to start spending at least 30 min a day (broken up into 2 sessions) of working on sit, stay, down, come. Even if he can do some or all he needs to be practicing everyday! Try for a schedule like this: 30 mins a day of structured calming exercise (walking, jogging, bike riding) 20 mins a day of "fun" exercise (dog park, ball, find the treats) and two 15 minute sessions of command practice. If you do all that I promise you will see a different dog!

Hope this helped!

Julie Anderson