Dogs can bring so much joy to our lives: they provide companionship, act as a burglar alarm, and can even protect us from danger. However, if you have a dog with behavioral problems such as urinating in undesignated areas, chewing up household items, or barking uncontrollably, you may be occupied mainly with thoughts of how to make your dog behave. These 7 tips can help.

Tip #1: Avoid training when you are angry: Your dog is already extremely in tune with your emotions. If your dog does something to make you angry, wait until you have been able to distance yourself emotionally before trying to train your dog. Reason: if you are angry while training your dog, your dog will be distracted by your excited state and not be able to concentrate on your lesson.

Tip #2: Learn to think like your dog: If your dog does a behavioral no-no, think about what led up to the behavior. What was your dog doing before the behavioral mistake? Can you make adjustments to your dog's environment that would prevent this? The point is, try to make sense of the behavior rather than just reacting to it as an isolated event.

Tip #3: Start when the dog is a puppy if you can - but you can train adult dogs, too: Yes, of course you should try to start training your dog when he or she is a puppy (note: wait until they are at least 6 months old). But, if behavioral problems crop up later in life, by all means you can and should start a corrective training program at that time.

Tip #4: Show him who is boss: When you are training your dog, make sure that you are trainer first, friend second. You need to be strict with your dog so that there is no ambiguity about the seriousness of what you want him or her to do.

Tip #5: Avoid yelling at your dog: Similar to the tip about your anger above, make sure you do not yell at your dog. Yelling makes you seem out of control and will actually reduce the effectiveness of your training efforts. Instead, use a calm, authoritative voice to train your dog.

Tip #6: Maintain a consistent learning environment: Try to maintain a consistent environment for your training exercises. Keep the set and setting the same for each lesson and your dog will pick up on your educational cues more quickly.

Tip #7: Use a training collar if necessary: Use a 6 foot training lead to train your dog. However, if you find that your dog is difficult to control, by all means switch to a training collar while the behavior problems persist.

Having a dog with serious behavioral problems can be annoying, distressing, and even expensive. Through just one or two mistakes, a dog can ruin furniture, carpet, and other assets in your home. Poor behavior in dogs can also lead to painful injuries and even lawsuits, jail time, or fines for their owners. Show your dog who is boss while maintaining a calm, authoritative demeanor and your dog will be on the road to better behavior.