Animal behaviourists Jen and Ryan Tate set out to create a quintessentially Australian book to answer every question they have ever been asked by anyone who owns a dog in the country.

The result is a practical guide called How to Train Your Dog.

"We focus a lot on getting people to understand the types of breeds of dogs we have in Australia and even the changes in the personality types of the dogs within those really popular breeds that we have," Ryan said.

"We have taken all of our knowledge on the most popular dog breeds we have in Australia and we have applied that to everything from apartment-style living to people living on acreages and rural properties and everything in between."

The book's topics include choosing the right breed for you and your lifestyle, socialisation and confidence building, play, exercise, tricks and rewards, and resolving common behavioural issues related to separation anxiety.

Dogs remain the most popular pet with almost two in five households (3.6 million people) owning a dog.

Pet ownership swelled during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Jen said the pandemic meant people could help their new puppies over a good few months to develop the confidence to be left alone.

"If people didn't adequately put into place some separation time and build them up slowly to being left alone, we are going to see a huge influx of owners struggling with dogs that have pretty bad separation anxiety," she said.

Jen stressed the importance of puppies slowly but surely learning to handle time alone.

"Being a social animal they are not naturally that way inclined," she said.

But don't forget to have fun with your dog too.

Jen said having fun with your dog was first and foremost.

"The more you can unlock how to train and how to understand your dog, the sky is the limit to how much fun you can have with them as well," she said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: