Dog Training Blogz

Dog training might seem like an uphill struggle if you’ve got a difficult dog, if you’ve never done it before or if all your previous pets have always been naturally well behaved. Some dogs don’t need training because their behavior fits in with their owners expectations of good behavior, and some are naturally quiet or timid so never get into trouble.

But, if you dog does misbehave and dog training becomes necessary, don’t panic. Dog training isn’t a mythical art that only professionals know how to use (although professional advice is an excellent source of help if you are new to dog training or if you’ve got a particularly difficult new dog), it’s just a case of teaching your dog to recognise certain patterns of your behavior, and get out of certain habits of it’s own.

Here’s three simple steps to get you started with training your dog:

1) Be nice to your dog! Whacking it with a stick or rolled up newspaper, starving it, locking it in a room or a small cupboard or anything else of this sort will only make matters worse. Some dog training techniques work on the premise that you should punish bad behaviour, and while this is a good idea to some extent, the punishment shouldn’t be so horrible that it will only exacerbate the dogs behavior.

Many dogs misbehave in the first place because they were mistreated in the past. Continuing to mistreat them will not make their behavior problems go away.

2) Make training sessions with your dog into a game. If you’re teaching your dog tricks, or even basic skills like “sit”, “stay” or “lie-down”, you can make them into a game by using balls or the dogs toys, and rewarding your dog with small treats when he (or she) performs well. Positive reinforcement works wonders.

3) Be patient, and stick with it. A well behaved, obedient dog won’t happen overnight, but it will happen eventually.

If you want to speed up your dogs training, consider taking professional advice. This doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive daycare center or a visit from a $1000 a day trainer - there are lots of cheap electronic courses available on the internet that will walk you through a complete dog training course, from start to finish.

Knowing your dog and interacting with him on a regular basis will help you determine the early signs of illness. Observing differences in normal behavior and detecting sickness early will help you save money and time.

When a dog is healthy, his temperature is about 102 degrees F, his heart beats 80 to 120 times per minute, and he takes 15 to 20 breaths every minute. His mucous membranes, such as his gums and tongue, are pink and have a fast rate of capillary refill. He has bright, vivid eyes, clean skin and lots of hair.

You should call your veterinarian if you observe any of the following signs of illness in your dog: shortness of breath or extensive labored breathing; gagging or vomiting; red, swollen eyes; runny or encrusted nose, or a discharge from the nose; twitching ears, or a discharge or odor from the ears; and strange or foul odors ..

Source: pet health questions

I have interviewed dogs that jump on people whether they like it or not. Most people become annoyed with too much and admonish, kick, or shame the animal. There are better ways to train this pesky habit for the better.

As a dog, I can’t help but get excited when my owner returns to the office. I listen for the click of the key in the lock, and the squeak of the door. Somehow, I know it is the editor and not a burglar…the editor smells funny.

I would suggest training your dog not to jump with the following ideas:

1. Tether you dog with a six-foot leash to a doorknob, or sofa and go towards him in a relaxed manner. If his front paws stay on the floor, pet and praise him or give him a treat. If his paws come off the floor, turn your back to him and say ’sorry’. Back off five steps.

Repeat this until his paws remain on the floor when you approach.

2. Once he has accepted this first step, go next to him and praise him.

If he jumps from this close, just spin around, turn your back and say ’sorry’ again until he gets the message. It may take you one to twenty times for him to realize the importance of ’sorry’. Don’t get discouraged.

Remember when you were a kid; it took many repetitions to seal in the message. Most dogs, however, are above average and catch on quickly.

3. Gradually, approach from more than fifteen away and use a squeaky to high-pitched voice as you get near him.

Initially, he will get excited and dance around and then realize that the same rules apply. Repeat in different rooms so he realizes that he is in the house with a silly but lovable owner.

4. What about guests?

Again tether you dog before the guests arrive and if they are willing, have them practice those beginning steps.

If they are not willing, keep your dog tethered until the excitement dies down and then unhitch him but hold onto the leash to prevent him from bounding at your guests.

(If the guests allow him to jump on them, give your guests a swat with a rolled up newspaper.)

Remember:

1. Tether.

2. Praise

3. Reward

The dictionary defines the word dogma as: The established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization, thought to be authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from.

There is an old saying among dog trainers that goes: “The only thing two dog trainers can agree on is what the third one is doing wrong.”

There are basically two schools of dog trainers. On one side you have the old school dog trainers that believe training is done by using a choke chain or prong collar to train, that you should never use food to train the dog.

On the other hand you have the food reward trainers that believe you should never use any kind of force or harsh methods to train.

Both sides will strongly argue for their way of training. I have been on both sides of the issue. I got my start training dogs with an old time trainer that had been training dogs since the 1950’s. If you used a treat in front of this guy, you had to be prepared for a verbal eruption that would make a sailor blush.

I have also been with trainers that think anything short of filet mignon not being used for treats is cruel. All kidding aside it can get confusing for someone trying to train their dog. Who do you listen to? Should you just use treats to train? Do you ever give your dog a correction?

The truth of the matter is that positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement can be extremely effective. There is no denying that there are thousands of dogs that are safely confined to their yards with the help of underground electronic fences.

There is also no denying that dogs learn much better when you use a reward based system of training. The important point is this: You want to make sure that you spend more time rewarding your dog’s behavior than punishing or getting physical with your dog.

The fact is that all good relationships are based on positive interaction. I once watched a group obedience class where all the dogs were on choke chains. Food was not allowed. In the course of one hour, I watched one guy give his dog over 150 corrections with the leash. They weren’t all hard corrections but he did yank on the leash that many times.

Over time, that dog will become tolerant to the choke chain and the owner will have to yank harder and harder and will probably damage his dog’s neck and trachea which will lead to one very grouchy dog. There’s no denying the fact that a dog being trained that way can easily develop an aggression problem, and here’s the rub. The dog is always blamed, never the training method Doesn’t it make sense to use a reward based training system?

Unfortunately this way of training has become the established belief or doctrine held by many dog trainers, and not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from.

Too bad for the dogs.

Is there one thing that you can do that will help your puppy to be a friendly, more stable, easier to train dog? Is there just one thing that you can do that will reduce the chances of your puppy becoming aggressive to other dogs, or people, including kids? Is there just one thing that you can do with your puppy that will make him much happier and less fearful?

Yes.

What is that one thing?

Socialization. Socialization is the absolute best thing you can do with your young puppy. Puppies have a socialization period where they are like little sponges. They are taking in a lot of information into their young brains and becoming familiar with their world. The socialization period that all puppies go through is a window of opportunity for you to expose your puppy to a lot of different sights, sounds, smells, and people. Expose your puppy to as many different things as you possibly can.

Puppies that are not properly socialized sometimes become fearful and aggressive. The best time to socialize your pup is from eight weeks to four months old. During that time I always advise puppy owners to bring their pups into the woods hiking, into the city for a walk around some busy streets. Take a trip to the beach or a lake. Bring your pup for a friendly visit to the vet’s office and the groomers.

It is also a great time to start obedience training. The younger the puppy starts training the easier it is to train the dog. Waiting until the puppy is six months old is a terrible myth. If your pup is brought home at eight weeks old and you wait until the sixth month you have lost four valuable months of training time. There is also a good chance that in those four months your dog will have developed some behavior problems like jumping that could have been avoided if training had started earlier.

Start socializing your puppy today. You and your puppy will be much happier.

All responsible dog owners need a leash when taking your dog for a walk. In many cases a proper leash is used at home especially if your dog is aggressive towards friends, strangers other family members and or pets.

Several options are available depending on your needs. They should fit correctly and be adjusted for comfort while wearing the leash. Always make them wear a collar and leash in public places for safety with the ID and rabies tags, just in case they get loose.

When the collar and leash is new try it inside first, then in the yard if you have one followed by short public strolls and observe behavior carefully for a few days. If your dog gets loose and injures someone or another animal often law suits follow, NOT GOOD! That’s why the correct collar and leash is critical. Don’t be tempted if their pulling you around, this is a common trap many folks fall into after nearly having their arm yanked out of its socket.

Many leash and collar options are available now using more advanced technology. The chest leash offers better control, the retraceable leashes are popular now but can still be a problem if you let your dog have to much of a lead always use caution as sudden excitement can cause trouble. A shorter, maybe 6 foot lead is advisable.

Collar options:

In the old days and even now, dogs were trained primarily with choke chain collars and while this is a tool option it is not considered the best choice nowadays. There are alternative choices we have today for training dogs, like head halter collars and no pull halters each having it’s devoted followers as does the simple buckle collar.

Controversy surrounds another type of training collar and it has been deemed by many as being cruel and inhumane. This type collar is better known as the prong collar. It looks like a dungeon torture chamber device, but it is really a kinder, gentler tool for many dogs and helps stop your dog from pulling your arm off. It is not right for all dogs, but it works quite well on anxious, strong or dogs that seem to have a high endurance for pain.

Prong collars are often the most misunderstood of the training options available today. They are not recommended for daily use and are not designed for very aggressive dogs. They are too hard on dogs that act scared or show fear once outside their comfort zone. This collar is not for young pups, however they are often used carefully by expert trainers for older pups.

The pinch or prong collar is made of interlocked metal links, each with two blunt prongs that pinch the dog’s neck skin when the collar is tugged on. They pinch similar to you pinching your own skin. They press evenly around the neck and they will not penetrate or break the skin.

Some companies now have rubber tips, in my experience they reduce efficiency. Your dog needs to feel the pointed prongs and the rubber simply acts as padding thereby stopping the prongs from doing their job. Putting rubber tips on the prongs means they are too sharp to begin with (test a metal one before buying with your own finger tips) FYI if the rubber tip comes off you may hurt your dog.

Prong/pinch collars are not for daily use and should only be used a few times for training purposes mostly. Although for more hard headed dogs it often takes a little longer. Remain calm yet assertive, and consistent because typically dogs are just a mirror our own emotions and actions.

Often trainers only use the pinch/prong collar on large dominant breeds, but the choices of course are made by the owner and the dogs personal relationship, show respect and your dog will give respect. Prong collars are not status symbols, or jewelry and should not be used as such.

Always set your dog up for success, this helps build confidence, and the rewards are a calm submissive state which allows you to live in harmony and peace with your best friend.

Yorkshire Terriers are one of the most popular breeds of dogs in The United States, Canada and Great Britain. Just one look at one and you know why. These cute and tiny companions, like most other terriers were not initially destined to be household pets. Yorkshire Terriers, commonly known as Yorkies, came from Yorkshire in Northern England during the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution sent many agricultural workers to Yorkshire to work in the coal mines. They brought with them various kinds of Terriers - such as Skye and Clydesdale- to catch rats that infested the mines. They were then bred with local long haired Terriers to produce Yorkies. At first they were much larger than they are now. Over time, people bred the smallest of the Yorkies until they gradually decreased in size. The first Yorkie that appeared as they do today made its appearance in a dog show in 1870.

Yorkshire Terriers have a long and silky coat of fur, with no undercoat. Thus, they seldom shed. When they’re born, their fur is black and tan. When they mature, the black usually becomes more of a blue-gray color. By standard, Yorkies have human-like hair that’s very soft and smooth to the touch. Yorkshire Terriers have flat heads and their snouts extend a medium-sized length. They have tiny black noses and their teeth are generally leveled, with no over or under-bite. They have v-shaped ears that stand erect on the top of their heads which causes them to look constantly alert. Yorkies weigh no more than seven to eight pounds and they’re normally a mere six to seven inches in height.

Like many purebred dogs, Yorkies are prone to some genetic disorders such as Distichiasis (eyelash that arises abnormally on eyelid), Hydrocephalus (water in the brain), Legg-Perthes disease (degenerative disease of hip joint), and bladder stones. Some other common health problems that Yorkies get include Bronchitis, Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver), and cataracts. Oftentimes, they’re prone to early tooth decay as well. To avoid dental issues, you might want to consider feeding your Yorkshire Terriers dry food and definitely clean their teeth regularly. Although it’s rare, they may suffer from paralysis due to herniated disks or other spinal problems. Tiny Teacup Yorkies are more likely to exhibit these problems.

Despite their small size, Yorkies are adventurous and mischievous. They’re energetic, clever, loyal, but nervous. While they’re affectionate to their owners, they are especially nervous with strangers. At times they may be stubborn but they are very trainable dogs. They do demand a lot of attention, though. Although small, Yorkshire Terriers make great watch dogs. They may snap if they get frightened or surprised but otherwise they are sweet and loving. Yorkies are yappy but they are intelligent dogs and can be taught not to bark!

Yorkies are active dogs but they do not require a big yard. They are very active indoor animals. They still, however, like all dogs, need to be walked regularly in order to avoid behavioral problems. They are good with people in general and they prefer mature children to little kids. Yorkies are loyal and wonderful dogs to have as a pet.

There are a few simple and easy grooming practices can help you prevent the premature aging of your pet. It is also a great way to bond with your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel because of the physical touching and interaction. This is also the perfect opportunity to examine your dog’s skin for fleas and ticks, lumps, cuts, or contusions.

Pet grooming clippers, dog brushes, nail clippers, toothbrush and dog toothpaste are a part of any smart dog owners animal tool kit. If you want to use an application that is sure not to irritate your dog’s skin, go to the health food store and pick up one of the following essential oils: rose, lavender, geranium, sandalwood or sweet almond.

Take the time out every day to brush your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. It only takes a few minutes and it will remove lose hair and prevent matting. Make sure you brush the dog’s ears They are long and usually the ears are the first to get matted. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel are also prone to ear mites and ear infections. While grooming your dog be sure to check their ears. If your dog has recurring ear infections the vet might suggest that you clip the hair around the ear or the vet might clip the hair around the ear. Dog ear infections are usually called Otits Externa; this means an infection in the outer ear.

Having your dog’s nails clipped is of vital importance because long and overgrown nails force your dog to walk on the sides of their pads. Walking on concrete does help to file the dogs nails but might not be enough. Be sure to have them clipped once a month.

Most dog owners do not recognize the importance of keeping the dog’s teeth free of tarter. Too much tarter can cause gum disease and loss of teeth. Have your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel get used to chewing on the tooth brush then gradually start brushing his teeth. Do not use human toothpaste, it is not meant to be swallowed and can cause harm to your dog. Always use dog toothpaste, you can purchase it at any pet store.

Bathing your dog once a week will keep him smelling nice, keeping him free of fleas and ticks. Brush him before his bath, use a mild dog shampoo and dog conditioner. Make sure to get his whole body including his face and ears.

A professional groomer may be a consideration for some of the more difficult tasks such as clipping their nails. You can bring your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel into your local groomer or vet just to clip their nails.

Just like with your own body, periodic grooming is necessary to keep your dog healthy. Remember a good dog is a happy and healthy dog.

Shih Tzu training can be a tough road to walk with a new puppy. What do you do with a puppy who pees absolutely everywhere and barks to no end? It can be so frustrating to deal with this and a real test of your patience. What is the best way and method for training your puppy? Here are some tips that most people don’t consider:

1.) Do not excessively scold or punish your puppy

In Shih Tzu training, scolding or punishing will be not be an effective means for training your puppy. In fact, this can actually make it harder to train your dog! This is contrary to popular belief and how many people approach training their pet. Don’t make this mistake! Shih Tzus best respond to positive and non-violent reinforcement.

2.) Use dog treats the right way

Treats can be very effective way in Shih Tzu training but only if they are used properly. Another mistake that is frequently made is to use treats as a way to bribe your puppy into good behavior. You do not want to use treats as a method for bribing your puppy into good behavior but as a way to reinforce good behavior patterns that your puppy is demonstrating.

3.) Do not force training upon your puppy

Shih Tzu puppies can have a very short attention span. So in Shih Tzu training, take time to train them in short periods of time. If you find your puppy is becoming distracted by something, don’t try to force them into training, but simply come back at a later time. The last thing you want to do is cause your puppy to resist training because you uncomfortably force them into training sessions!

Shih Tzu training can be a very tiring, and sometimes discouraging process, but the rewards are astounding! Stick with it, be patient, and take the time to apply these tips, and you will be on your way to successfully training your puppy!

Dog training aids involve more than just a simple collar and leash and over the years have seen good improvements in the range and availability of these training tools. If you are taking on the task of training your own dog then there are several advantages you can benefit from by using good dog training aids to assist you in achieving the goals of your training with your dog.

An obvious case of where this is true is whilst teaching your dog to fetch. It simply can’t be done without having something to be thrown, collected by the dog and brought back to you. Typically a stick is a good choice, but if you are in a park and there are dozens of similar sticks then your dog may become confused and you won’t have the same success.

An alternative to the stick would be something like a training dumb-bell. These can be thrown a good distance without much effort. They are bright and easy to retrieve - even when your dog doesn’t and many of these float on water if you are using it on a pond or lake. These are also easy and comfortable for your dog to pick up whereas I have seen sticks cause damage to a dogs mouth and gums over time.

Teaching your dog to heel can be aided by the use of a dog training line. This is essentially a long leash that can be used to indicate, by tugging, that you wish the dog to return to you when you issue the heel command. These training methods do not do away with the need for voice commands but instead make it easier for your dog to understand the desired response you are looking for when you do call to him.

Other training aids can include collars that discourage barking. These collars emit a pungent spray when your dog barks. The smell is not liked by the dog and over time the dog will realise that not barking prevents the release of the spray. The collar can be removed and hopefully the dog will not bark just as often as before.

If you are training your dog for more sporting activities then the use of whistles can be effective. Here you will typically issue a command to the dog like heel or sit and then back this up with a whistle command. The dog will eventually associate the whistle with the desired response. The trainer or owner can now issue the same command to the dog but over a larger distance. This technique is also used extensively by sheep farmers or herding dog owners for the same reason.

Training your own dog can provide lots of rewards and satisfaction, however it does take considerable patience. Good dog training aids can help reduce the amount of time required to reinforce the training and provide positive results. Remember to reward your dog when you see them showing the right response regardless of what training aid is being used.

The author runs a free dog training information site where you can pick up lots of hints and tips on training your dog. There are also some useful free dog training videos that can make the whole process of training your dog much easier to understand. For more advice on dogs please visit http://www.dogtraininghut.com . Training your own dog can be a rewarding and satisfying experience and will help you bond more closely with your dog.