160 Bear Christiana Rd
Bear, De 19701
302-322-6488
Dr. Jim Berg
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Dog Questions
Dear Dr. Berg,
Our Lhasa Apso, Littleman, is going to be 10 years old in May. He is an only child who has been spoiled very much.
So much that he has some very bad behavior problems. It is possible to re-train him? He will bite and does not
take kindly to anyone coming into the house. Can you give me some ideas on the best way to undo what we have done?
Thank you.
N.J.F., Internet
Dear NJF,
Behavior problems can be some of the toughest to solve and will likely take a good bit of effort on both you and
your dog's part. I'd like to highly recommend a book that I am enjoying right now that has to do with behavioral
problems in dogs. How many of us who own dogs can truly say that our dog has no behavioral problems? Don't all
bark at once, please! What's worse is many of these "unusual behaviors" have been taught to our dogs
by their owners…..that would be you and me!
The book is called "Dog's Behaving Badly", and is written by Dr. Nicholas Dodman. It is arranged as an
A-to-Z book of behavioral problems. It starts right out with an excellent chapter on "Aggression" and
progresses through "Barking" and "Compulsive Behavior" right on through to 'Yawning" and
"Zoonosis". Dr. Dodman trys to explain behavioral problems from the dog's way of looking at the world.
By truly understanding a dog's motivation for a particular behavior, we are much more likely to arrive at a lasting
solution to the problem.
As I said in an earlier column, an animal behaviorist can be a big help in re-training a dog. The behaviorist will
spend a considerable amount of time taking a history as well as evaluating the dog's living conditions. It is surprising
how many of our dog's behaviors are actually taught to them by us…and we didn't even know we were teaching them!
So do you homework. Talk with your veterinarian about the problems and you might want to ask for a referral to
an animal behaviorist. There is a wealth of dog training literature in bookstores as well as on the Internet. Good
luck!
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