Small dogs can get away with a lot of things compared to big dogs. Since they look cute and cuddly, bad behavior doesn’t look so bad. However, no matter what a dog looks like, bad behavior is still bad behavior and needs to be corrected.
Shelby is a dog owner who has a problematic pomeranian named Peanut. Her dog has a booming bark and is very attached to her. She asked assistance from dog trainer Victoria Stilwell because she has no idea how to solve Peanut’s issues.
One huge problem Shelby has is crating. Whenever she tries to put Peanut in a crate at night, the little dog reacts negatively. However, Shelby’s boyfriend and Victoria have no trouble when it comes to putting Peanut inside his crate.
Victoria points out that Shelby is spoiling her dog too much. Whenever Peanut demands attention, she gives in because of the dog’s cuteness. With the problem being identified, the training began.
The trainer teaches Shelby to ignore Peanut when he is barking at her. Shelby is only allowed to pay attention to Peanut when he pipes down. Peanut tries hard to get attention, but he eventually gives up.
The next part of the training involved teaching Peanut to wait before being given a toy. He was very demanding and kept barking at Victoria. However, Victoria was very resilient and knew that she is going to wait for a while for the dog to give up. After twenty minutes, Peanut went silent, and this was the time Victoria rewarded him with a toy.
The trainer asked Shelby to apply the same method when giving Peanut food. Victoria also went on to addressed Peanut’s crating problem. She used food to entice him into his crate without much protest.
Finally, Victoria also showed Shelby how to prevent Peanut from trying to stop her from leaving. It involved switching up her usual morning routine to confuse the dog. The suggestion worked perfectly.
Video courtesy of It’s Me or The Dog via YouTube.
