Don’t Your Pets Deserve the Best?

 Most of the time, dogs disobey their owners because they’re not sure what is expected of them. In order to get your dog to be consistently obedient, you have to spend lot of time training him. Obedience training should start when the dog is still a puppy and be reinforced throughout the years. Some owners can train their dogs without any outside assistance; however, most will need to enroll themselves and their dog in a local obedience school. You and your dog will enjoy your time together much more once you can communicate effectively with each other.

Remember, when the dog obeys a command or an order, make sure to give him healthy, rewarding treats like greenies, to show him how much you care.

You might think its adorable when your big dog greets you at the door by jumping up on you and licking your face, but most of your guests probably won’t get the same kick out of this behavior. When a small puppy jumps on you it’s cute because you can control him and he’s not heavy enough to knock you over. Not so with adult dogs. Having a large dog hurl himself at you is not an experience that most people, even dog lovers, enjoy. So, how do you get your dog to stop jumping as a way of greeting you and your guests? Consistent training is really the only way. Ideally, you should begin discouraging this behavior when the dog is still a puppy. If you are unable to get your dog to stop jumping up onto people, then a stint at obedience school is highly recommended.  Be sure to tell him that he will be rewarded for his training, with many treats like greenies for his hard journey ahead.

Gnawing on a dried, smoked pigs ear may seem pretty gross to you and me—but, to Fido it is a delicious dinner. My German shorthair pointer, Barney, loves nothing better than to spend a rainy day chewing on a pig’s ear. Many times, I have even given Barney a pig’s ear to calm his excitement when I have guests over. I have taken Barney on long road trips and a pig’s ear really keeps him busy.

My friend owns a Labradoodle that barks constantly. My friend has tried everything from dog training classes, to canine anxiety medication. But the classes only made the barking worse, and the medication made the poor pup act like a zombie. I suggested he give his dog a pig’s ear to quiet his barking. And, guess what? It worked. The neighbors are no longer complaining and the car rides are no longer intolerable.

 Before buying doors for your dog, there are various factors you need to take into consideration, including the materials, measurements, styles and, of course, budget. Here are some tips that you must follow to get the best deals in a dog door.

First of all, you should determine the height of your door track. A common mistake of many dog owners is that they only make an assumption or estimate on the measurement of the dog door. What they usually forget is calculating all the portions of it, from top to bottom, using a measuring device. Remember that adjustment ranges for every dog door.

Be particular with the design too. Check if the color of the framing is appropriate to the design of the dog door. An eye for detail and harmony can make or break your over-all interior. Most designers recommend the use of neutral colors like aluminum white and bronze as they can easily blend with other colors inside your house.

It also pays a lot if you inspect the materials used on your walls. Assess if they match the materials of the patio dog doors you want to purchase. If you think installing them will not coordinate with your patio, better not do so. For sure, you can find other alternative dog door options that will suit your preferences.

Determining the measurement of the door flap must also be done. Make sure that it is big enough so that your canine can easily pass through it. You must provide a huge amount of space to allow possible adjustments in the futre. Add at least an inch in every side of the minimum width.

As regards to flap dimensions, know the the flap height and rise. If the height of the flap is measured accurately, you will make the life of your dog easier as he will not to hunker down in order to pass through the patio pet door.

Now your pet is ready to come and go as he pleases! Make his life easier by giving him lamb dog treats to take inside and outside the house.

 Just like in the army, boot camp is really just an introduction to a new career and new way of doing things. A tour through boot camp isn’t going to solve your alpha dog’s problems forever. It’s a way to get basic respect from a dog who’s been bullying you without having to resort to physical force.

How long should boot camp last? That depends on the dog. Some will show an improvement right away, others may take much longer. For really tough cookies, natural leaders that need constant reminders of their place in the pack, Alpha Dog Boot Camp will become a way of life. Social climbers may need periodic trips through boot camp if you get lax and accidentally let them climb back up a notch or two in the family pack order.

How do you know if you’re making a difference? If boot camp has been successful, your dog should start looking to you for directions and permission. He’ll show an eagerness to please. Watch how your dog approaches and greets you. Does he come to you “standing tall”, with his head and ears held high and erect? It may look impressive and proud but it means he’s still alpha and you still have problems! A dog who accepts humans as superiors will approach you with his head slightly lowered and his ears back or off to the sides. He’ll “shrink” his whole body a little in a show of submission. Watch how he greets all the members of the family. If he displays this submissive posture to some of them, but not others, those are the ones who still need to work on their own alpha posture and methods. They should take him back through another tour of boot camp with support from the rest of the family.

After a long hard day of boot camp, make sure to let him lay down and chew on his favorite treat, like bully sticks!

Once your dog has begun to accept this new way of life and his new position in the family, you should take him through an obedience course with a qualified trainer. All dogs need to be trained and alpha dogs need training most of all! You don’t have to wait until he’s through with boot camp to start this training but it’s important that he respects at least one member of the family and is willing to take direction from them.

Obedience class teaches you to train your dog. It teaches you how to be alpha, how to enforce commands and rules, how to get respect and to keep it. All family members who are old enough to understand and control the dog should participate in the class.

Obedience training is a lifelong process. One obedience course does not a trained dog make! Obedience commands need to be practiced and incorporated into your daily life. In a dog pack, the alpha animal uses occasional reminders to reinforce his authority. Certain commands, like DOWN/STAY, are especially effective, nonviolent reminders of a dog’s place in the family pack order and who’s really in charge here.  Giving them treats they enjoy, like bully sticks, is also very effective.

A well-trained obedient dog is a happy dog and a joy to live with. Dogs want to please and need a job to do. Training gives them the opportunity to do both. A well-trained dog has more freedom. He can go more places and do more things with you because he knows how to behave. A well-trained dog that’s secure in his place within the family pack is comfortable and confident. He knows what’s expected of him. He knows his limits and who his leaders are. He’s free from the responsibility of running the household and making decisions. He’s free to be your loving companion and not your boss. He’s free to be a dog - what he was born to be and what he always wanted to be in the first place!

Clicker Training - What is a Clicker ?

Clicker training is merely a tool that is used in operant conditioning. A clicker has also been called a bridge or a marker. Clicker training has been successfully used in animal training over the last couple of decades. Over 140 different species have been successfully “clicker trained”. Many of the animals you have seen in movies/theatrical appearances or commercials have been clicker trained.

To put it very basically, whenever an animal performs a desired action, the handler should immediately click with a hand held clicker, then deliver a reward the animal desires (such as a tasty treat like bully sticks). The animal will associate the click as a marker that clues the animal when it does a specific action, they will get a reward.

One of pet owners’ greatest frustrations is inappropriate elimination in the house. When the beloved family dog starts to use the living room as his own personal restroom, owners are understandably distraught. Aside from the monetary and time costs of cleaning up the mess left by their dog, the most serious cost can be to the relationship between pet and master. Unable to understand, and therefore cope with, the reasons underlying a pet’s continued housesoiling, some owners choose to give up their animal altogether. This scenario is unfortunate, and often unnecessary, considering that the behaviour is one that is easier to manage than most owners think.

The first thing that dog owners must understand is that there are many causes of inappropriate urination in the dog. Pinning down the cause is often half the battle, since identifying the problem helps us to select the appropriate treatment and greatly increase the odds of its success.

One sure fix is to make sure the dog is taken outside frequently, to promote outside urination.  Immediately after the animal urinates, make sure to give him a nice treat like dog beef jerky.

 by Sallie McConnell

House training a puppy is very important for the well being of both the puppy and the owner. The number one reason that dogs are surrender to animal shelters is problems with inappropriate elimination, so it is easy to see why proper house training is such an important consideration.
It is important to establish proper toilet habits when the puppy is young, since these habits can last a lifetime, and be very hard to break once they are established. It is very important for the owner to house break the puppy properly. In most cases, true house training cannot begin until the puppy is six months old. Puppies younger than this generally lack the bowel and bladder control that is needed for true house training.
Puppies younger than six months should be confined to a small, puppy proofed room when the owner cannot supervise them. The entire floor of the room should be covered with newspapers or similar absorbent materials, and the paper changed every time it is soiled. As the puppy gets older, the amount of paper used can be reduced as the puppy begins to establish a preferred toilet area. It is this preferred toilet area that will form the basis of later house training.

The Do’s of House Training Your Puppy:
1.  Always provide the puppy with constant, unrestricted access to the established toilet area.
2.  When you are at home, take the puppy to the toilet area every 45 minutes.
3.  When you are not at home or cannot supervise the puppy, you must be sure the puppy cannot make a mistake. This means confining the puppy to a small area that has been thoroughly puppy proofed. Puppy proofing a room is very similar to baby proofing a room, since puppies chew on everything.
4.  Always provide a toilet area that does not resemble anything in your home. Training the puppy to eliminate on concrete, blacktop, grass or dirt is a good idea. The puppy should never be encouraged to eliminate on anything that resembles the hardwood flooring, tile or carpet he may encounter in a home.
5.  Praise and reward your puppy every time he eliminates in the established toilet area. The puppy must learn to associate toileting in the established areas with good things, like dog treats (such as lamb ears), toys and praise from his owner.
6.  Always keep a set schedule when feeding your puppy, and provide constant access to fresh, clean drinking water. A consistent feeding schedule equals a consistent toilet schedule.
7. Using a crate can be a big help in helping a puppy develop self control. The concept behind crate training is that the puppy will not want to toilet in his bed area.
8. And finally, it is important to be patient when house training a puppy. House training can take as long as several months, but it is much easier to house train right the first time than to retrain a problem dog.

The Don’ts of House Training Your Puppy:
1.  Never reprimand or punish the puppy for mistakes. Punishing the puppy will only cause fear and confusion.
2.  Do not leave food out for the puppy all night long. Keep to a set feeding schedule in order to make the dog’s toilet schedule as consistent as possible.
3.  Do not give the puppy the run of the house until he has been thoroughly house trained.

House training is not always the easiest thing to do, and some dogs tend to be much easier to house train than others. It is important, however to be patient, consistent and loving as you train your dog. A rushed, frightened or intimidated dog will not be able to learn the important lessons of house training. Once you have gained your puppy’s love and respect, however, you will find that house training your puppy is easier than you ever expected.

by Sallie McConnel

Keeping the attention of a dog while training is not always easy. Dogs can be easily distracted, and it is important to not allow the training sessions to be sabotaged by boredom. Making training fun for the dog and the human alike is vital to creating a happy, well adjusted and well trained dog.

Providing random positive stimuli during the day is a great way to keep the interest of the dog. Doing things the dog enjoys, like walking in the park, riding in the car, and playing with other dogs, is a great way to keep the dog?s attention and reward him for small successes.

For instance, in order to reward the dog for coming to you, for instance, ask the dog to come to you, without giving any clues about a walk, a car ride, or other dog treats, like pig ears. After the dog has come to you and obediently sat down, attach the leash and start the reward. This can be either the aforementioned walk in the park, ride in the car, or anything else the dog likes to do.

Providing some kind of reward, whether a treat, a special outing, or just a scratch behind the ears, every time the dog does something you want, is a great way to keep your dog motivated. If the dog knows something great is going to happen every time he obeys your command, he will be motivated to please you every time.

Distraction training
When training any dog, it is important to not let distractions disrupt the training. The dog must be taught to ignore distractions, such as other people, other dogs, other animals and loud noises, and focus on what is being taught These types of distractions can even be used as rewards when training the dog to come when called.

For instance, if your dog enjoys playing with other dogs, whether in a local dog park or with the neighbor?s dogs, let him play freely with those other dogs. Then go into the park or yard and call your dog. When he comes to you, provide lots of praise, treats and other rewards, then immediately allow the dog to go back to playing with his friends. Repeat this several times and praise the dog each time he comes to you. The dog will quickly learn that coming to you means good things (treats and praise) and not bad ones (being taken away from the park).

If the dog does not master this particular type of training right away, try not to get discouraged. So called distraction training is one of the most difficult things to teach. Dogs are naturally social animals, and breaking away from the pack is one of the most difficult things you can ask your dog to do. Most dogs will be understandably reluctant to leave their canine companions, but it is important to persist.

Training the dog to come to you may require some creativity on your part at first. For instance, waving a favorite toy, or a lure, is a great way to get your dog?s attention and put the focus back on you. If your dog has been clicker trained, a quick click can be a good motivator as well.

Once the dog begins to get the hang of coming when called, you can begin to reduce and eliminate the visual cues and focus on getting the dog to respond to your voice alone. It is important that the dog respond to voice commands alone, since you will not always have the availability of a toy or other lure.