Dear Miss Behavin’:
My boxer mix “Pongo” is extremely unruly in our house. He jumps up on furniture, knocks things over, and generally creates chaos. How can we train him to behave indoors?
One great training tip that not many folks know about is a “tie-down.” A tie-down is a handy way to teach your dog good manners indoors, while you are home to supervise them. It’s less restrictive than a crate (not that we have anything against proper crate training, but for some people it’s just not feasible). The tie-down is meant as a teaching tool, not typically something to use forever. It’s especially useful for puppies and young dogs.
To use a tie-down, all you really need is a leash, a heavy piece of furniture, a cozy dog bed, and your dog’s favorite chew toy (preferably a natural animal rawhide or stuffed Kong). Attach the loop end of the leash to a heavy piece of furniture, and place the dog bed next to it. Then, whenever you need to, you can attach your dog’s collar to the leash and give them their tasty chew toy.
The idea is for your pup to learn to entertain himself without getting into any mischief. Since your dog will be attached to the leash, you never ever want to leave him unsupervised in a tie-down. This means a tie-down is useful for times you are home eating dinner, watching a movie, relaxing, or doing chores. It’s not meant to be used if you need to go run errands or at bedtime.
There’s no limit for how many times per day you can use a tie-down (as long as you’re supervising). As long as your dog is resting on his bed or happily chewing his toy, you can let him remain there. If your dog starts whining or barking, you can calmly go up to him and try to get him re-engaged in his toy. Try to let him off the tie-down when he is calm and quiet if possible. Eventually you will start to see your dog independently settling on his bed, and you can start to phase out the tie-downs.