How to select obedience class for your dog

Tips on selecting a good obedience class for you and your dog

A training class or obedience school is a place where you, the owner, are being coached by an experienced instructor on how to train your dog. This is a great way to educate your loyal buddy. Not only will you and your dog learn useful things together, but you also get an opportunity to spend non-interrupted quality time together that will tighten your connection. This is also a good place for your dog to be able to hang out with other dogs.

The objective of the class is for you to know the methods and techniques on how to train your dog. A basic training class typically deals with your main interests and concerns such as coming when being called, sitting and standing on command, and not pulling the leash.

When you take your dog to a training school, do not expect the coach or instructor to train your dog. His or her job is to explain and show you what to do. The instructor will first demonstrate the procedure and then have you try it a few times to make sure that you understand how it’s done and are able to do it correctly. You are then expected to practice it on your own with your dog for at least five times a week.

When you and your dog enroll at a training school, it is necessary and often expected that you attend every session. Generally, most training is done in sequence. Once you miss a class, you may find it difficult to catch up.

Word of mouth is usually your best bet in finding a good training school for your dog. You can ask for references from family, friends, and veterinarians. If you don’t know anyone who can refer you to one, check the Internet or yellow pages under the heading “Dog training” or “Pet school.” Call the school first to find out their place and time of meeting. Most obedience schools give you an opportunity to observe the class. This is a great way to find out if the school will be suitable for you and your dog. When observing a class, it is best to leave your dog at home so he does not interrupt the training.

Here are a few questions to consider while observing a obedience training class:

What is your first impression?

• Does it have a good, positive feeling?
• Is it a nice and welcoming atmosphere?
• Observe how the instructors interact with the dogs. Is he or she nice and gentle, or does he or she generate fear and aggression?
• Observe how the instructor deals with the dog owners, especially with those who are having a hard time training their dogs. It is important to have an instructor who is patient, helpful and encouraging.
• Are the dogs enjoying themselves, or do they appear bored and anxious?
  

How to deal with house training issues

Dog training – dealing with house training issues

The best house training uses the dogs own instincts to avoid soiling its bed to train the dog where and where not to eliminate. That is the basis behind crate training, in which the dog is confined to its crate in the absence of the owner, and den training, in which the dog is confined to a small area of the home. In essence, the crate, or the room, becomes the dog’s den. Dogs are naturally very clean animals, and they try their best to avoid using their dens as toilets.

This type of training usually works very well, both for puppies and for older dogs. Problems with this type of toilet training are usually the result of not understanding the signals the dog is sending, not being consistent with feeding times, or trying to rush the process.

While the house training process can be sped up somewhat by consistently praising the dog and rewarding it for toileting in the proper place, some dogs cannot be rushed through this important process. It is always best to house train the dog properly the first time than to go back and retrain a problem dog.

If the dog continues to soil the den area after house training, the most likely reason is that the owner has left the dog in the den for too long. Another reason may be that the den area is too large. In this case, the best strategy is to make the den area smaller or to take the dog to the toilet area more frequently.

If the dog soils the bed that has been provided in the den area, it is most likely because the owner has left the dog there for too long, and the dog had an understandable accident. Or it could be that the dog has not yet adopted this area as the bed. In addition, urinary tract infections and other medical conditions can also cause dogs to soil their beds. It is important to have the dog thoroughly checked out by a veterinarian to rule out any medical problems.

One other reason for house training accidents that many people overlook is boredom. Dogs who are bored often drink large amounts of water and therefore must urinate more frequently than you might think. If you notice your dog consuming large amounts of water, be sure to take the dog to the established toilet area more often, and provide the dog with toys and other distractions to eliminate boredom.

Boredom is the root cause of many dog behavior problems, not only house training issues. Chewing and other destructive behaviors are also often caused by boredom and separation anxiety.

Other problems with house training can occur when the dog’s den is not properly introduced. In some cases dogs can react to the den as if it is a prison or a punishment. Those dogs may exhibit signs of anxiety, such as whining, chewing and excessive barking. It is important for the dog to feel secure in its den, and to think of it as a home and not a cage.

The best way to house train a puppy or dog, or to re-house train a problem dog, is to make yourself aware of the dog’s habits and needs. Creating a healthy, safe sleeping and play area for your dog, as well as a well defined toilet area, is important for any house training program.

House training is not always an easy process, but it is certainly an important one. The number one reason that dogs are surrendered to animal shelters is problems with inappropriate elimination, so a well structured house training program can literally be a lifesaver for your dog.

How to keep your yard tick-free

3 ways to keep your yard tick-free

Did you know that a small tick can grow up to 50 times its normal size? We know this because a tick will attach itself to your dog and literally suck the blood from the dog's body. Once they make contact with that first bite, they will then bury themselves deep into your flesh to suck as much blood as possible.

Ticks are not only intrusive and painful, they also risk the spread of diseases like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The good news is that there are steps that you can take to keep ticks away from your dog.

1. Ticks like to hang out on vegetation that is several feet off of the ground so that they can pounce on you as you walk by. You can drastically reduce the ticks that inhabit your home yard and other surroundings by keeping your outside areas trimmed and clear of anything above ankle height. This removes the tick's advantage point and therefore you have less chances of getting chosen for the tick's next meal.

2. Take extra measures to minimize mice and other rodents in and around your house. Why? Because baby ticks tend to choose smaller animals to jump onto and feed from. This means that every small animal that is roaming your property is possibly carrying baby ticks whom are feeding from them and will eventually leap onto you. Be sure to clean up and remove areas like rock piles, old dump areas, etc. and this way you are taking the extra measures to reduce tick exposure.

3. If you are trying to clear out a tick problem and have too many mice running around then you may want to invest into a product called “Damminix”. Damminix is made up of cotton balls that are soaked with insecticide. What you do is place the cotton balls in specific areas where the mice will pick them up to help build their nests. Damminix will kill the ticks and fleas that are attached to the rodents but it does not harm the mice or any other small animals besides the parasites.

How to curb your dog's household destructive behavior

4 Tips to curb your dog's household destructive behavior

As dog owners, you probably have experienced just how destructive your pets can be around the house. They knock things over and bite anything that they can get away with, even when they know they are not supposed to do it. Even a well trained dog whom have been properly taught not to destroy household items just can't resist doing it.

“The vast majority of behavior problems that you have with dogs are normal behavior patterns, but inappropriate for the setting in which they're occurring,” says Daniel Q. Estep, Ph.D., a certified applied animal behaviorist in private practice in Littleton, Colorado.

What that means is that it is perfectly normal for a dog to chew things up, but it just doesn't mix well when you have your valuable stuff in the same area that the dog resides. The good news is that pets are quick learners so if you apply the following simple training tips then your dog will soon be off redirecting his 'chewing energy' onto something else.

1. Supply your dog with plenty of toys. Regardless if your dog is an adult or a puppy, be sure that there is always plenty of toys for them to chew on and play with. If your dog has plenty of its own chew toys around then it will tend to focus its energy on those toys instead of your belongings.

2. It is important not to give your dog toys to use, that actually belong to you. For example, we all love to give the dog our old tennis shoe right? It seems innocent enough, but think about that for a moment. You just gave your dog permission to chew and destroy something that belongs to you. Now how is he going to tell the difference between that shoe and your other belongings in the house? He is not going to be able to. In fact, you will confuse him even more.

3. Be quick to stop any type of unwanted chewing behavior immediately. Never let an instance go by where you caught your dog chewing up something that he shouldn't have. If you let the dog get away with it even for just a few times, it will be that much harder to train him in the future.

4. Create a unique room just for the dog. Whether it is a full blown room or simply a dog crate, designating a place that your dog is sent to for disciplining or when you have to leave the house is a great way to help curb his natural instincts to chew up on everything.

Preparing your dog for a new baby

If your dog is essentially the “only child” in the family, meaning that you do not have any kids, then having a newborn baby come home is a bit threatening to your pet. Most dog owners are conscious of this and educate themselves on how to prepare their dog for the new family member, but others have no idea.

This article will provide you a few basic tips in case you are soon to be in this situation with your dog and a newborn baby on the way.

1. Your newborn baby is very susceptible to germs so it is vital that your dog is in good health and free from parasites. Take care of this by having your dog checked by a veterinarian and treated for any problems long before your baby arrives.

2. As common sense as this may be, many dog owners overlook it, but please make sure that your dog has been properly trained in obedience. The animal must be in complete control at all times around the baby. If there is any reason that you feel the dog is not adequately trained then your first priority should be getting him to an obedience class to help teach both you and the dog for the upcoming baby scenario.

3. Allow your pet dog to explore and sniff around the new baby's room, it's belongings, and the other colorful and new items in the house. These sudden physical changes can be very upsetting for your dog so this is a way of allowing him to get to used to the additions to the atmosphere.

4. The dog should also have someone scheduled to watch over him ahead of time before the actual birth of the baby. When Mommy goes into labor and begins the process of having a baby, it could be quite sometime before she is back home from the hospital stay. You do not want the dog to be deserted or feeling like it has been forgotten. By preparing ahead of time for someone to come see the dog then you will prevent him from tearing up your favorite pillows in frustration of being left alone.