Chasing is an instinctive behavior in dogs. Dogs love chasing cats, joggers, bicycles, cars, other dogs and almost anything that moves. Moving objects stimulate dogs to chase. If your dog is a herding breed, then your dog's nature to herd the moving object is even greater. Often the dog's predatory nature is stimulated and causes the dog to chase. Sometimes it is just the dog's play response. Dogs love to chase and be chased.
Until you have learned to control your dog's chasing instinct, do not let him off-leash. It's dangerous for him and the person or animal he is chasing.

Before exposing your dog to a situation where he will want to chase, you must train him in a controlled setting. It is important that you set up a situation where your dog can concentrate and understand the behavior you want. He must have the opportunity to perform the correct behavior repeatedly since up until now he has probably only had practice misbehaving.

Start the training session indoors in your own home. Put your dog on leash and stand with him at one end of a room or hallway. Wave a tennis ball in front of him but don't allow him to touch it. Now, roll or toss it across the room or down the hall and tell him 'OFF.' If he starts to go after it, command 'OFF!' and give him a firm tug on the leash. It's extremely important that you do not allow him to touch the ball or he will think that the word 'OFF' means for him to chase and get the ball. We are not trying to teach the dog to fetch. Practice this several times a day until he gets the message that 'OFF' means: don't go after the ball, i.e.: don't chase. When he gets it right, praise him profusely and give him a special treat.

When he seems to understand this new 'game,' repeat it in different rooms of your house. Practice in the garage and in your back yard. When it's clear to you that he really understands the meaning of 'OFF,' then try it without holding onto his leash. Leave his leash on, dragging on the floor so you can grab it or step on it quickly should he forget what 'OFF' means. When he has mastered this, try it completely off-leash, but still in your own home and yard.

Now it's time to practice with a jogger. Enlist the help of a friend to pose as a jogger. Stand with your dog on leash and have your friend jog by repeatedly while you repeat the 'OFF' exercise as you did with the tennis ball. Be sure your dog performs perfectly on leash before you try this off-leash.

If your dog is chasing cars, ask your friend to meet you on a quiet, secluded street to help you train your dog. Again, repeat the 'OFF' exercise as your friend repeatedly drives by. Be sure your dog is perfect on-leash before you try it off-leash. It's important that you practice this in a set-up situation. You must know that the driver is aware of the training so he/she can stop the car should you lose control.

By now you should have some degree of confidence that your dog will obey because of the hours of practice and his level of performance in the staged situations. Always use good judgment. If the real situation seems too tempting, too distracting or too stressful, don't ask your dog to perform miracles. Practice with him daily and with every opportunity that arises. Praise him profusely every time you say 'OFF' and he obeys. If he disobeys, give a strong tug on his leash, command 'OFF!' and realize he needs more practice.

Don't wait until your dog is in full chase before doing something. Success is most likely when you use 'OFF' as a preventative command. If your dog has a strong predisposition to chase, it is your responsibility to be alert for his safety and others. If you feel you cannot pay attention to the environment around you when you're with the dog, simply do not let him off-leash.

Some older dogs may become restless at night, and stay awake, pacing through the house, or vocalizing. Pain, the need to urinate or defecate more often, the loss of vision or hearing, changes in appetite, and neurologic conditions can contribute to this behavior.

Any medical condition contributing to this behavior problem should be treated. Again, remote corrections may be helpful, or it may be necessary to confine the dog in a location away from the bedrooms during the night.

The reason most dogs and puppies jump up on people is because they are happy and excited to see them! Jumping, leaping and bouncing are ways your dog shows affection and receives attention. The behavior is usually learned while they are puppies. When a puppy is very young, we usually sit on the floor, let them wiggle into our laps and allow them to lick and nuzzle up close to our face. When they come bounding over to greet us, jumping and stretching up to our knees, again we bend down, pick them up and exchange hugs and kisses. All this time we are training and rewarding the puppy for jumping up. Eventually we decide we don't like this behavior anymore. What used to be cute is now obnoxious and even dangerous if the dog is jumping up on children or the elderly.
The Jumping Problem Continues
Our inconsistency perpetuates the problem. Some of the time we tolerate the jumping and ignore it. Other times we reward the behavior by exchanging enthusiastic greetings. But when we're dressed up and the dog's paws are muddy, it's a different story. Reprimanding the dog for jumping up usually does not work. Either the dog misunderstands the reprimand as praise or he gets even more excited and the jumping gets worse. If the reprimand is severe enough, the dog may stop jumping at that moment but it doesn't solve the problem altogether; and it certainly is not a very nice thing to do. It's very similar to a person approaching you with a big smile, arm extended to exchange a hand-shake and you bopping the person in the nose. Even if your dog learns that jumping up on you is not a good idea, he will usually get away with jumping up on everyone else.
The End of the Jumping Problem
A better solution is providing your dog with an alternative method of greeting you and others. Teach your dog to sit-stay. He cannot sit-stay and jump up at the same time. When he is sitting you can then kneel down and give him a warm hug and kiss. Practice is essential. If your dog is excitedly jumping up when you return home from work and this only happens once a day, then he is only getting one practice session a day. If he is jumping up on your company and you only have visitors once a week, then he is only getting one practice session a week. In order to perfect the proper greeting routine, your dog needs much more practice than that. You can speed up the training process by leaving through the back door and returning through the front door over and over again. When your friends come over, have them do the same. Each time, ask your dog to sit-stay before opening the door. At first his excitement will make it difficult for him to concentrate but after you've repeated this process 10 times, he will calm down and be able to concentrate. Before asking your dog to sit-stay in this distracting and exciting situation, be sure he has a reliable sit-stay in normal, non-stressful situations.

It is not unusual for dogs to have behavior problems related to the car. Usually it is car sickness, fear of riding in the car, unruly, hyperactive, territorial behavior and chasing cars.
If your dog is either fearful of car rides or gets car sick, then you must show your dog that there is nothing to be afraid of and no reason to be sick. Many dogs associate car rides with something unpleasant or with previously being carsick. Reintroduce the car to the dog again slowly and in a non-stressful way.

Start out by just sitting in the car with the dog. Don't go anywhere. Don't even start the motor. Just sit in there and read a book or listen to the radio. Soon the dog will realize that nothing terrible has happened and that it did not get sick. Keep doing this until the dog is obviously relaxed and not fearful. If the dog does get sick, then you've stayed too long and should begin for shorter periods. When you see that your dog is comfortable with this activity, progress a little further and start the engine, but still do not go anywhere. When the dog is relaxed with the motor running, then begin taking very short trips, perhaps just around the block.

As your dog gets more and more comfortable, go for longer rides. Drive to places where the dog has fun. Take a short ride up the block to the dog's favorite walking area or to the beach, park or a friend's house. Let the dog associate car rides with fun, pleasant and rewarding experiences.

Do not rush the dog into anything, or it may just slow down the process even further.

Some dogs associate the car with good times to the point of becoming overly excited. In this case, begin taking the dog for short rides that do not end up at the park or beach, but back home again. Teach your dog some obedience commands like down-stay. Sit in the car with your dog and practice there. Start out on a quiet street. Obviously do this with the car parked. You cannot drive and train the dog at the same time. Once the dog has mastered the down stay, then begin practicing in more distracting places. Make sure your dog can and will obey before giving the command in rush-hour traffic.

Alternatively, you can teach your dog to be calm in the car by restricting his movement via a crate or safety harness.

If the dog goes bonkers, barking, leaping and bouncing around in the car, just ask him to quiet and down-stay until the distraction passes or you arrive at your destination. There is no reason a dog shouldn't have good car manners. It is probably that you just haven't taught the dog what down-stay means in the car. Even a dog that knows these commands in the house or obedience ring will have trouble performing in the car until they practice there.

If your dog is constantly licking, biting and chewing herself or pulling her fur out, the first thing to do is visit your veterinarian. These are often signs of health conditions that need medical attention. Pain and discomfort from more serious problems, as well as from minor skin conditions, can cause a dog to chew herself, so please, do not try to diagnose the problem yourself. See your vet.
Usually when the ailment troubling your dog goes away, so does the self mutilating behavior. Sometimes the behavior continues as a habit even though the health problem is long gone.

Many dogs have excess nervous energy and no where to vent the stress, so they develop a habit or pastime of licking themselves raw. Other dogs actually learn this behavior because their owners make such a fuss over them whenever they indulge in such activities. It doesn't take long for Rover to realize this is quick and easy way to gain instant attention and affection.

The key to stopping this self mutilation habit is distraction - giving the dog something else to do and not unintentionally rewarding the dog. First, be sure to provide your dog with plenty of opportunity to run, play, exercise and vent her energy. A well exercised, trained and happy dog is not likely to have to relieve stress or entertain herself by self mutilation.

Whenever the dog begins to lick or chew herself, try making a very short, sharp, loud sound just enough to startle the dog into stopping and looking around to see what happened. After the dog has stopped for some period of time, just a few minutes or several seconds, depending on how severe the problem is then call her over to play a game, do some training or even get a massage.

Realize that this habit is often just as hard for a dog to stop as it is for humans to stop habits such as fingernail biting or cigarette smoking, so please be patient and keep trying.

Train your puppy proper leash behavior before pulling on leash becomes a difficult habit to break.
Leash Training Do's
-Use a body harness and train your puppy to accept it the same way you teach puppy to accept a collar. Check here if your pup is frightened or leery of the collar/harness or leash.
-Use lures and praise to keep puppy at your side.

-Keep the leash loose at all times. If you see your puppy starting to forge ahead, abruptly reverse directions so that puppy finds himself suddenly behind or beside you instead of forging in front of you. Don't wait until the puppy is clear at the other end of the leash, pulling ahead before you take action. The leash should always remain loose except for that one split second it takes when you're reversing direction. Do not drag your puppy back to your side. Use a quick tug, then immediately release so the leash is slack again. If it doesn't all happen in 3/10ths of a second, it's taking too long and your puppy will not learn to walk nicely on leash. Put another way: Instead of correcting your dog after he is already pulling, do not give him the opportunity to pull. If he never pulls, he will never learn to pull. You must correct him BEFORE he pulls!

-Practice now before your pup learns to pull. Since your pup is unable to walk the streets yet, begin teaching him to walk around your house and yard. He should be taught not to pull before hitting the streets.

Leash Training Don'ts
-Do not let your puppy pull you around.
-If you cannot correct the puppy in time, do not reward his pulling by letting him continue on his way. Better to slowly just turn around and go the other way, or stop in your tracks and say, "We are not going one inch further until you stop pulling." Then wait, it may take 30 seconds; it may take 20 minutes. Do not move until your puppy is in control. Now you can start over and give the correction before he starts pulling again. If again you are too late in your correction, start again.

-Do not yank and pull on your puppy's throat and neck. Use a soft, adjustable, non- restrictive harness. As soon as your pup learns leash manners, you can switch to a regular collar for walking. Do not leave the harness on your dog unattended. Use it only while you are practicing.

-Never use a choke collar.


Pulling on Leash

The Leash Problem Begins
Most leash pulling begins as soon as the dog sees the leash and knows she's about to go for a walk. If the walk begins out of control, the precedent is set for the entire walk.
Before expecting your dog to calmly walk beside you on leash, train her to be calm when you are putting her collar and leash on! Ask her to sit-stay while you are putting on her leash. If she does not stay, the walk is delayed until she does. Don't give in or she will learn that it's OK to be out of control. If your dog doesn't have a reliable sit-stay, then practice training her to sit-stay without the distraction of the prospect of a walk. If you do not know how to teach a reliable sit-stay, enroll in an obedience training class.

Leash Training Warm-Up
Most dogs learn very quickly that they must sit while the leash is being attached to the collar. They usually tremble with excitement, ready to explode into a frenzy as soon as this phase is accomplished. If your dog bolts toward the door, dragging you behind, then the situation is still out of control. Simply hold onto the leash, stand still and let your dog dance, ricochet and bounce around at the end of the leash. It may take 5 minutes or more, but she will soon realize that you are not going anywhere and will begin to calm down. When this happens, praise her for being good. After another minute or so, take your first step, but NOT towards the door. Instead, walk your dog around your house, garage or yard to give her a chance to practice her 'not-pulling' skills. Every time she pulls, lunges or strains on the leash, simply stand still again. When she calms down, talk to her, praise her calmly and quietly. Try to keep her attention on yourself instead of the door that leads to outside. When you feel that your dog is in control and she is walking nicely without pulling in your house or yard, then it is time to proceed to the great outdoors.
Training Outdoors
Every time your dog pulls on leash and you continue the walk, you are rewarding her for pulling and lunging. Every time your dog gets out of control it is essential that you instantly stop the walk, stand still and wait for her to calm down before continuing. It is a tremendous effort in patience at first but it will pay off if you persevere. You may only get to the end of the block or even your driveway on your first outing, but if you give in to your dog's demands, then she will continue to pull. You can speed up the process by asking her to sit- stay for about 5 to 10 seconds every time she begins to pull. Of course this will only work if your dog already has a reliable sit-stay

How to Avoid Dog Attacks.
Avoid going onto private property unless specifically invited.
Do not run when confronted with a threatening dog. Running only stimulates the dog to increase its aggression.
Hold your ground and demonstrate moderate dominance by telling the dog firmly to go home. This usually works wonders. Firmly saying "no" and "sit" may also work.
Avoid direct eye contact, which the dog interprets as a challenge. Instead, appear nonchalant.
When the dog begins to back away, slowly retreat also, keeping the dog in view without paying much attention to it. If the dog begins to come back, stop and wait until it moves off again.
Do not try to outdistance the dog on a bicycle. Stop, dismount and stand with the bicycle between you and the dog. Without something to chase, the dog may lose interest.
Do not try to pet a strange, free-roaming dog.
Never attempt to touch or pet a dog that is eating or sleeping.
Do not be embarrassed to jump on a car, climb a tree, or call for help if you are threatened.
Do not be embarrassed to ask a dog owner to restrain the dog until it clearly recognizes you as a friend.
Avoid any encounters with guard-trained dogs. Find out if any are patrolling before you walk in a new area.
Report all aggressive loose dogs or incidents of actual bites.
Keep still and try to remain calm. Do not scream or run. (J. Michael Cornwell, DVM, advises children to "be a tree," with feet together, elbows against your chest and hands under your neck.)
Glance at the dog so you know where it is, but don't stare it in the eyes.
Don't turn your back on the barking animal.
Let the dog sniff you. In most cases, it will leave as soon as it realizes that you aren't really a threat.
Speak to the dog only in a calm voice. You might try: "Go away," "Go home" or "Nice dog."
Wait until the dog leaves, then slowly back away until it's out of sight.
As a last resort, throw or pretend to throw an object at an aggressive dog.
If attacked, "feed" the dog something else--your jacket, bike, purse, books--to distract it.
If knocked down, curl into a ball, and use your hands to protect your head and neck.
Seek immediate medical attention for dog bites. All bites should also be reported to the police or animal-control department