I get lots of questions from dog owners through this website.  Some of the questions are pretty silly to be honest.  Some of them I never respond to because the person is obviously asking as a joke.  Most of the questions I respond to in one way or another, either by email or through blog posts.

I rarely get someone who thanks me after I have taken the time to answer their question.  Most of the people take the answer I give them and do what they will with it, either apply the training information or ignore it.  No problem with me.

There are those, however, who do take the time to thank me for the dog training tips I have provided them.  There is something in common with many of the people who thank me.  Those that take the time to thank me often have received ‘gimmicky’ tips.  Allow me to explain:

The solution to most dog training problems lies within these areas:

- Obedience training

- Supervision

- Correcting bad behaviors and praising good behaviors

- Being consistent with the proper techniques

Just about any dog training problem can be solved with a combination of several of the above mentioned areas.  There are some dog problems, however, that can be fixed or aided by what I call ‘gimmick’ methods.  Examples of ‘gimmick’ methods are:

- Using bitter apple spray on your furniture so the dog doesn’t chew.  This is a gimmick to me because it requires a spray to get the dog to not chew your furniture.  I want the dog to not chew my furniture because they respect me and my belongings, not because of a spray.  Having said that, bitter apple spray can be helpful and so it doesn’t hurt to use it so I will at times recommend it.

- Placing pots and pans hanging over the edge of a counter.  When the dog goes to get on the counter searching for food he may knock over the pots and pans and scare himself from counter surfing.  To me this is a gimmick because before the dog ever had the opportunity to get on the counter he should have been supervised and corrected for trying to get on the counter.  It can help some people, though, so I will mention this method.

- Placing dog stool in the hole.  By putting a dog’s own stool in the hole you can often help to fix a digging problem.  I consider this a gimmick because the dog is probably digging because of a lack of supervision, obedience training, and mental and physical stimulation.  Can putting stool in a hole work?  Yes, but it is a gimmick because the owner should be looking to the root causes of the behavior.

I believe the reason people that get ‘gimmicky’ answers take the time to thank me is because ‘gimmicky’ techniques are simple.  They take no effort on the owner’s part.  I think that when I tell people to obedience train and supervise their dog that they write me off because it is too much work.

There are partial ‘gimmick’ solutions to many dog behavior problems.  The reality is, though, that if you want to change your dog’s behavior it is likely going to cost you some time and effort.  If you have a dog, get ready for some work.