These tips will help you keep your furniture pristine, like this lovely furnished living room at Bridgelight apartments.
There's nothing better than the companionship of a furry friend, which is why many pet owners will want to take their dogs with them to apartments in Gainesville. However, pet ownership isn't always easy. When you have a mischievous dog, it can be exhausting cleaning up after them and trying to keep their destructive tendencies at bay. A destructive dog can lead to damage of furniture and personal items that can incur fees from your landlord, even if you live in a pet friendly apartment. To many who prioritize cheap Gainesville apartments, they can't afford to incur fees for damages. If you're having these troubles or anticipate having trouble with a dog at apartments in Gainesville, this article will give you helpful tips for keeping your dog's behavior in check.
The first step is to set clear expectations for what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is not. Dogs don't have the level of intelligence that we do, so dog owners need to go out of their way to set expectations in a way that their pet can understand!
The trick is that when you catch your dog chewing on a chair leg in your furnished Gainesville apartment, you need to immediately stop them and redirect their behavior. This doesn't mean that you can just sit on the couch and yell at your dog! This means that you need to get up, walk over, and physically stop your dog's behavior. If your dog knows that you're not willing to get up and stop them, they'll learn that you don't follow through. You need to make sure your dog knows you're willing to back up your bark with some bite.
Positivity Pays
This doesn't mean that you should punish your dog for their behavior; in fact, negative reinforcement is proven to be far less effective than positive reinforcement in dog training. Instead of punishing your dog, redirect their behavior in a similar but acceptable way. For example, if your dog is chewing on the furniture, stop them and offer them a chew toy instead. If your dog is peeing on the rug, stop them and take them outside instead. If your dog is getting rowdy and barking at neighbors, distract them with some high energy playtime. If you get a little creative, there's no dilemma that can't be solved with redirection. Reward your dog for good behavior and eventually they will come to understand what behavior is not okay. More importantly, they'll learn what behavior is acceptable instead.
Consistency is Key
Finally, once you've started disciplining your dog, keep it up! The name of the game here is consistency. Be sure to correct your dog every single time, and don't let any bad behavior slip through the cracks. If your dog thinks they can get away with bad behavior when you're in a good mood, they'll start testing your boundaries to find out just how much they can get away with. Remember, you have to be more stubborn than your dog! Repeatedly correcting your dog is your way of saying that the behavior is unacceptable not only sometimes, but under any circumstances.