In regards to leash pulling there are several important things to do before addressing the leash pulling itself that will help.
1) Teach your dog/puppy impulse control
2) Condition proper training aids - if the dog/puppy is too strong and can drag you around then properly conditioning a training aid such as a sensation harness or a gentle leader can be life saver to help get the training started. The biggest mistakes that people make when using training aids is they buy them in hopes to fix the problem instantly. Training aids do not fix the problem, training has to fix the problem.
*DO NOT go buy a training aid put it on your dog and go for a walk. Training aids need to be properly conditioned for a minimum of a two week time frame before being used to aid in training.
3) Motivating treats that your dog/puppy doesn't get except when you are working on Loose Leash Walking.

To address the jumping what is most important is prevention, prevention, prevention. When you know your dog/puppy is in a situation that they are most likely going to jump set your dog/puppy up for success:
1) step on the leash
2) feed rewards on the floor or ground for a sit or down
3) ask people to withhold from petting until your dog/puppy settles down a little bit.

The one thing to remember when working with any problem behavior is that if you trying a training technique and it's not working you may have something out of order that is not allowing it to be successful.

I'd be curious to learn more about "impulse control" and what exactly that entails. I'll admit it's a term I haven't heard of. And thanks for your responses on the pulling, but is there an actual technique/routine you've had a lot of success with? I'd also be curious to hear that.

Deferred gratification and delayed gratification denote an animal's ability to wait in order to obtain something that he or she wants. This intellectual attribute is also called impulse control. Using a variety of different training exercise we teach dogs impulse control. This comes into play when the dog sees a squirrel they want to go chase or smells something that they want to go investigate. If the dog learns impulse control through the exercises that we teach then the dog learns a "mother may I" habit to check in with their owner before darting up to a strange dog or person. We don't only use this for leash walking but use it for recalls, stays, and to help develop off leash skills.

As far as a specific technique I have not found one technique that works for every dog. I give suggestions after meeting a client and their dog per their situation. I have also used techniques that not all people are physically capable of utilizing and therefore would choose a different technique per that individual and dog.

There is a short list of things that I would implement ASAP to curb the habit of chewing inappropriate things in an adult dog.
1) remove freedom when not supervised
2) have a dog proof area with toys and chew bones for dog to be confined
3) ask kids and husband to keep shoes in closets, clothes in hampers, and toys picked up when they are being used.
With these things in place then you will be able to monitor the dogs behavior at all times when he's free to roam the house or yard and therefore will be in a place to redirect his bad chewing habits to appropriate chewing habits.

Note: this is a lengthy process to get changed and will take some time to teach the dog what you want him to do instead of what he has been choosing to do on his own.

As our pets get older, as with people, they can sometimes suffer from some cognitive dysfunction. There are some great products available (most of them neutraceuticals as opposed to "medications") that may be quite helpful. One example is a product called Novifit. Another that comes to mind is Senilife. Also some prescription diets are available that contain ingredients thought to help with some of the neurochemical anomalies that may be occuring.
If just nervousness/anxiety is a problem, some have reported success with Thundershirts. I would check with your veterinarian first, to make sure there are no medical issues, then he or she can recommend what they have found to be helpful.

my big dog did this. good luck trying to grab paw and step on other. I was never able to. I just gently put my knee into his chest and firmly say 'down'. I do it so it is a pretty decent shock to him to get it, but not harmful. then when he is down, i pet and praise him. In no time the habit was broken. Thats what I tried and it worked for us. Good luck :-)

As noted above in a different response:
To address the jumping what is most important is prevention, prevention, prevention. When you know your dog is in a situation that they are most likely going to jump set your dog up for success:
1) step on the leash
2) feed rewards on the floor or ground for a sit or down
3) ask people to withhold from petting until your dog settles down a little bit.

It's important to remove the leash and give the dog a choice after several weeks of consistent training and see what choice the dog makes. If the dog makes a good choice make sure to reward for the appropriate choice. If the dog makes a bad choice and jumps then go back to the above steps and train a little longer.

Training is all about the order of science. For example if your dog jumps, you ask him to sit and then reward you have created a behavior chain of jumping, sitting, and getting a cookie. With the above steps it sets you up in a place to prevent the action of jumping all together and puts you in a place to be able to reward good behavior sooner without accidentally creating a behavior chain.

The one thing to remember when working with any problem behavior is that if you're trying a training technique and it's not working you may have something out of order that is not allowing it to be successful.

The situation you are describing above is far to complex to give any quick answers in a blog response; however I would consult your nearest Veterinary Behaviorist. In this area it would be Dr. Dana Danks in Ankeny to discuss your dog's crate issues. It sounds like your dog may have some anxiety issues that may need to be addressed with medication.

The resources guarding would need to be addressed through an extensive process of desensitizing and counter conditioning. A good book resource for the resource guarding is by Jean Donaldson called "Mine". We use this as a guide when we are working with clients with this issue. It's a book with a two week extensive training program on working through resource guarding issues.

I am not an expert of canine nutrition however I have heard of dogs eating defecation because of a lack of nutrients or if their body isn't properly absorbing the nutrients that they need from they food they are being given. I would suggest consulting a veterinarian who specializes in canine nutrition for further advice.

This is a frustrating problem. Diet is usually not a concern, as long as a good, high quality dog food is being fed. The current " treatment" of choice is avoidance-- meaning pick up stools immediately. This means outside on a leash and whatever other steps need to be taken so there's no access to it. Eventually the theory is that they will forget this behavior. There are a lot of products available to use on the food for prevention, I've had very limited success with these. You could also try switching to another food, but again, limited success.

IMO, save your skin and your furniture and get your cat declawed — saying it's cruel is definitely a stretch. Again, just my opinion. My fiancé and I got our 1-year-old cat declawed a few months ago (just the front). He was a little lethargic for a day, but then he was fine. And I can assure you he functions just fine without the claws.

This topic can become quite a hot-button issue, but I have declawed many cats without any problems. The younger, the better, as there is much less weight for them on their toes while healing. Make sure you find a veterinarian that believes in good pain control medications, and you may want to consider finding one that uses a surgical laser for less pain and bleeding.

We have an 18 yr old cat WITH claws. When she was a kitten I worked with her and 'taught' her to scratch her scratching post. I would take her little paws and put them gently on the post, and show her how to use it. And reward her with love and petting. She quickly learned and has been a wonderful pet all these years. You do, however, need to cut their claws from time to time and that is also something you need to teach them. When they are relaxed, hold their paws so they get used to you doing that. I am torn on the de-clawing issue. I would still consider de-clawing a cat if the destruction was an issue in the home. Some pets are very teachable....others not so much. Good luck in your decision! :)

I would have a leash on the dog in any situation that they are pron to jump. That may mean I just keep a leash handy so if the doorbell rings then I can casually clip it on the dog and then attend to the door. It's also important to remember that this works great for when guests come over when the owners are already in the house to work with the dog or when out on a walk with your dog.

Is there any place for him/her to urinate and deficate?

I agree with the information above as a part of many things I look at when assessing a situation. A behavior problem is something that the dog needs a training protocol to help them feel different about a situation: like being fearful of strangers or dogs, resource guarding behaviors, or separation anxiety.

The issues listed above are different than problem behaviors which I would define as dog behaviors we don't like or that annoy us such as digging, barking, or chasing rabbits. These behaviors would also need more than just more physical exercise however that is always one piece of the puzzle I look at. The other piece I would also take into consideration is cognitive stimulation (training puzzles and challenges). There has been at least one study done on cognitive stimulation vs. physical exercise that I am aware of and although both are important the results concluded that cognitive stimulation when done properly wore a dog out two times as long as the same amount of time spent just on physical exercise.

One dog sport in particular is my favorite to recommend for those dogs with problem behaviors and that is agility. This is because when the dog and owner learn to run agility together three things are being accomplished at the same time.
1) Cognitive stimulation
2) Physical exercise
3) Opportunity for a strong relationship to be built between the dog and handler while building communication that both understand.

Any small dog would probably be fine as long as you're okay with walking it across the street and picking up waste. I have seen some very small dogs (like chihuahuas) that can be trained to use a litter box!

Every situation is going to be unique in that I will look at many variables and decide which route I would like to take first to help that dog and individual. There are so many variables in any given situation that if just one of those variables were changed it can make a night and days worth of difference such as exercise which you have mentioned.

Medication is not and should not be the first or only choice in any situation however the use of that variable would be determined by the needs of each case. In some severe situations there could be a chemical imbalance or the anxiety could be too high to effectively implement a successful treatment plan. In such cases I want to ensure there is nothing medically wrong with the dog or that the dog wouldn't benefit from medication before proceeding with a behavior modification treatment plan. Also in such cases I prefer to work with the guidance of a veterinary behaviorist that can benefit the dog in ways that I can not.

In those circumstances after the dog has been examined by a veterinary behaviorist then I am confident that I can proceed forward with the treatment plan I have put together which may be any number of things including yet not limited to:
* Cognitive Exercise
* Owner/handler's communication skills
* Owner/handler's mechanical skills
* Physical exercise
* Living situation
* Desensitization/counter conditioning