Teaching your dog to behave while it is home alone:

Teaching your dog to behave while it is home alone:

This one is tough. Dogs are smart and opportunists. They know when humans are home and when they aren't. Part of what makes this difficult too is the way dogs think. More often than not when we are away, dogs think they are allowed to get into stuff. The problem too is that no one is there to tell them they are not allowed. I often hear from people that their dog knows it was bad because when they walk in the dog is cowering. In response to this, a dog cowers because it is reading your body language. The first time you walk in and see the mess your body language is speaking to the dog loud and clear. Each time you walk in and see this your body language is probably getting more subtle, so to the human you feel like you aren't displaying anything, but to the dog you still are. All that being said: What is the best way to train your dog not to get into stuff when you aren't there? Managing often times is key. If your dog is getting into everything then a crate should by utilized. If the crate is introduced correctly it can be a place of comfort, not torture. If your dog is just getting into things here and there then managing may be the best route. Make sure everything fun is put away so the dog's behavior is not reinforced. (If the dog gets on the counter and then gets a reward, whether its food or just something the dog can have fun with, it is reinforcing its own behavior. When a behavior is reinforced its likely to continue/get stronger.) One thing that can be done is to teach a " leave it" cue. To successfully train a leave it cue to this magnitude you will want to practice it so that it’s as close to perfect as possible when human is in sight. When the dog is doing really well with the human in sight you can practice leaving the room. The first time you leave the room keep it to a second. Go back in and reward if appropriate. Continue to leave the room for longer and longer, return and reward. This is one way to teach a dog to leave something even if the human isn't present.