Training dogs is both fulfilling and challenging. Before you achieve success in teaching your dogs some skills from the most basic to the complex ones, you will go through a set of challenges. Some of the problems when training dogs may include the following.

1. Territorial Behavior
If you have taken in other animals with you aside from your dog, in most probability, your dog is exhibiting territorial behavior. It includes fierce barking, showing of teeth, or worst, waging a fight with other animals it deems a rival. Fortunately, you can curb this behavior through training. Most would approach this using the reward and reinforcement method. This takes time and you have to wait for your dog to associate the treat or the reward with non-territorial behavior when with other animals.

2. Problems with Scent Marking Inside the House
Another common problems when training dogs are scent marking and territory marking inside the house. Dogs do this by eliminating or urinating in the post they want to establish as their territory. The scent sends out a warning to other dogs that the territory is already taken. These usually happen in dominant male dogs or alpha males because they have a strong drive to mate with female dogs. They want to show other dogs that they are king so they establish their territory through scent marking. Sometimes, these problems can also occur when a dog feels insecure and has the tendency to mark their territory.

These problems cause a lot of headache for owners, but the good news is that there are measures to solve this problem. If your dog is an alpha male, you can neuter it to avoid scent marking. You can also teach your dog to eliminate and urinate on command in the proper post. Remember that your corrective measures should not scare your dog or else, it might only make matters worse.

3. Separation anxiety
Dogs also experience stress and anxiety. Often times, these anxieties are the causes of misbehavior. Separation anxiety is common especially for puppies or younger dogs, and can lead to behaviors like barking, howling, or worst destroying objects in the house. Some dogs even urinate or eliminate in inappropriate places. Fortunately, you can also solve these through training.

Problems in training dogs are common, but there are approaches and methods that you can use to solve them. With time and patience, your efforts would pay off. You can learn all about it in the Dog Training Blueprint.