Studies show that pet ownership helps reduce stress, lowers blood pressure and fends off feelings of loneliness and depression.

While nothing can top the love and companionship of a dog, there are some unpleasant behaviours that just won’t do – from barking all night to wetting the floor to chewing on your shoes when you’re not looking.
If your dog is exhibiting this type of behaviour, it may be acting out due to boredom, a lack of stimulation or simply because it hasn’t had enough training.

With proper lifestyle adjustments and diligent training, you’ll be on your way to having a happy, well-behaved pet. The following tips will help your furry friend become more obedient:

1) Dogs love stimulation – ALL dogs. Even if your schedule is tight or if you just plain feel tired out, make some time every day to play an interactive game with your dog. They will love it and it helps to break up the monotony of their day. Physical stimulation is one thing (going for a daily walk) but too many dogs are lacking stimulation of a mental kind. Keep their brains as fit as their bodies and you will notice a huge difference in the way they behave.

2) Routine. Dogs thrive on routine. Try and ensure that most things in your dog’s life have a routine, it helps to avoid confusion and stress. For example, if you are going out for a while, have a routine where you settle your dog in to their bed with a treat – if you do this EVERY time, after a while they will associate this with your going out. In some cases, they’ll actually be quite excited by the fact you’re going out! This applies to other aspects, travel, feeding, walking etc – try your hardest to maintain a routine, you’ll see how contented your dog will become when they work out what’s happening.

3) Socialiation is key. Dogs are social animals. Whilst you should never simply thrust your dog on other dog owning members of the public, it’s a really valuable bonus if you can find other dog owners whom your dog can strike up a friendship with. This stimulation and socialisation will make them feel so much happier.

4) Patience is a virtue. We live in a society where we want things now, instantly. Dog training is much like building a house, without the foundations in place, it might look like a house but it’s ready to fall down at any moment. Do the boring things with your dog such as teaching them to stay, walk to heel, come when called (first time, every time) – work on their discipline by teaching them to wait for food, to wait before jumping in to vehicles and to stay even when tempted to break (i.e. by teaching them to wait until being asked to fetch a retrieve you have thrown). These ‘boring’ tasks all go toward a magnificent set of foundations and well create a much more stable, reliable dog.

5) Recall. Never short change yourself on recall work. It’s a subject in its own right – and a hefty one at that, which we will be covering more via The Better British Dogs website and our mastermind group – but teaching a dog to come when called is really, really important. Never assume that because your dog comes ‘sometimes’ that this is enough. It isn’t. First time, every time – that’s your goal!