During lockdown veterinary oncologist Sandra Nguyen's family adopted a puppy.
Molly the schnoodle is now nine months old and has some habits they find a little frustrating at times.
"We got a pandemic puppy [and] I took her to a trainer a few weeks ago for pulling on the lead and jumping up on people," Dr Nguyen says.
They're two common problems animal behaviourist Joanne Righetti sees her clients dealing with, along with excessive barking.
Most often the issues stem from owners accidentally rewarding bad behaviour, rather than good.
"I understand when a behaviour is annoying, you want to stop it, so you interrupt it," Dr Righetti says.
"But in doing so you are giving your dog attention and ultimately reinforcing it."
She says while some of these habits may need professional intervention to help break long-term, there are things owners can try themselves as early management.
Jumping up on people
Molly gets very excited when Dr Nguyen has visitors.
"Our naughty puppy barks and jumps up on all our guests!"
Since working with a dog trainer, they've been able to successfully keep her occupied when people arrive at the door.
"We now have a jar of treats at the door, and if someone is coming in I start throwing treats all over the floor like confetti and she is so busy eating the treats so she can't bark or jump.
"We've tried this four times now and it's under control."
Dr Righetti says the idea is to keep all four of the dog's paws on the ground.
"Dogs want our attention, and they know by getting in our space they get it.
"Look at training your dog to be more productive — if they have all four paws on the floor, they get attention and treats."
She says the key is to wait until the dog is calm to start training.
"When excited, they can't learn — there is so much going on."
To manage the issue in the beginning, she recommends keeping a lead on your dog when people arrive, so you can teach the dog to sit by your side and reward it for doing so.
Pulling on the lead
We'd all love our dogs to walk calmly beside us but sometimes the excitement of going somewhere just gets the better of our pooches, explains Dr Righetti.
They key is to practise away from environments that stimulate them.
"On a night when they're calm and more tired, try walking them up and down the hallway," Dr Righetti says.
"Give the dog a command for walking by your side, like 'walk' or a hand signal."
When they do the right thing, praise them with treats, toys or pats.
Once you've mastered the hallway, you can try out in the backyard or up and down a brick wall.
Even trying on the way home from the park rather than on the way there will give you greater chance of success.
Excessive barking
Over-the-top barking is a symptom of many possible underlying causes, says Dr Righetti.
The most common being boredom, stress, excitement, disturbances in environment and attention seeking.
"Until you understand why they are barking, you won't be able to solve it."
To manage the problem in the meantime, you need to ignore the bad behaviour and reward the good.
You can also take steps to remove temptation. For example, closing blinds or putting them in the back part of the house if they bark at people passing by.
"It doesn't resolve the issue but it manages it," Dr Righetti says.
She says getting on top of barking can be hard work and requires patience.
If the barking is due to separation anxiety, it is likely you will need the help of a vet or animal behaviourist.
When you need a professional and what kind
If you aren't seeing results after a few weeks of training, or the bad behaviours return later on, you might consider seeking professional advice.
If you have a family vet you can always hit them up for recommendations.
Dr Nguyen says they should be able to help you determine if the problem requires veterinary intervention (like medication for behaviours related to anxiety), or the expertise of an animal behaviourist or dog trainer.
It might be a combination of both.
Fees for behaviourists and trainers can range from $60 an hour up to a one-off payment of $1,000.
Do you research to find something in your budget, and ask about their qualifications. Your vet may be able to recommend someone reputable.
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