Browsing the blog archives for March, 2009.

Find HelpfulInformation About Training Your Dog To Sit Like You

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The trick of “sitting up” is easily taught to small dogs, but should try not be included in a big dog’s education, as it is difficult for them to preserve their balance.

The training of sitting up is one of the first tricks to teach and forms the groundwork for many other dog tricks. To train a dog to sit up, prepare some treats as a reward, and set your dog on his haunches in a corner, so that he cannot fall either backward or sideways and has very little or no space to lose balance.

Keep him from pitching forward by holding one hand under his chin and with the other hand hold the treat above his nose and keep repeating distinctly and deliberately say, “sit up.” Do not make him sit up too long at any one time, but repeat the lesson frequently and reward him often with plentiful of praise and treats.

During his first lesson he will require considerable assistance from your hand to prevent him from pitching forward, but as he gets control of the balancing muscles and understands what you want, he will depend less and less upon your hand to keep him in position and you can gradually render him less assistance until you will only have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from his neck or chin, so as to be ready to prevent him pitching forward; later on you can withdraw this hand entirely and simply hold the treat just above the level of his head.

By constant practice he will sit up well after you set him up; then he should be set up against the wall, so as to afford him a support for his back only, and after he has been well schooled at this and can keep his position easily, practice him against chair legs, cushions or other objects that afford him less and less assistance, until finally he learns to preserve his balance and sits up without anything to lean against.

During all these lessons the words “sit up” have been impressed upon his mind by frequent repetition, and now comes the final lesson to teach him to sit up as soon as he hears the words, and the chances are, if he has been diligently drilled, it will be necessary only to call him out in the room, show him a treat, hold it up a suitable distance from the floor, say “sit up” and he will do so, when he should be given the treat while still in position.

The only necessity to perfection is to practice him several times a day until he will sit up at the word and without being shown a reward; that can be given him after he has obeyed.

You have now a foundation for many other tricks. He can be taught to beg by moving your hand up and down just in front of his paws, which he will move in unison with yours. He can also be taught to salute by bringing one paw up to the side of his head, or to hold a wooden pipe in his mouth, or to wear a cap on his head or other articles of wearing apparel.

In teaching a dog to submit to being dressed up, do not attempt to get him to wear too many things at once; try him at first with a cap and after he becomes accustomed to that you can put on a coat and gradually accustom him to the other clothing articles.

Enjoy teaching your dog the “sit up” trick and most importantly have fun along the way!

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Want a FREE “5 Dog Training Myths” Report? Visit click here to find out more!

Read about house training dogs.

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How to Stop a Dog From Chewing - Get Helpful Tips

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There are a number of things you need to consider if your dog is displaying chewing behaviors in order to effectively combat this destructive habit. The best way to learn how to stop a dog from chewing is to examine several factors:

First, what is he chewing? Cushions, shoes, his own feet? Some objects may need to be removed from temptation, especially while a puppy is still learning good behavior and self-control. Some things may be just too hard to resist. Others can be saved with the use of a bitter chewing-deterrent spray, which also works on feet and tails. Simply creating a terrible taste will likely be enough to stop chewing and prevent future episodes, without harming your pet.

Next, what is the underlying cause of the chewing? If a puppy is teething, she definitely needs something to work those gums on. Try offering a toy or treats specifically designed for this purpose. Even better, freeze the chew toy for several hours, then give it to your puppy. This will both relieve his teething pain, AND distract him from chewing other objects. Win-win!

There are, of course, other causes of chewing, including boredom, stress and loneliness. Your dog requires a certain level of stimulation, similar to a child. And just like a child, if your dog is ignored, this can lead to him getting into trouble if adequate activities and interaction are not provided.
Other Points to Consider

- When there are times in the day that your dog must entertain itself, tie your dog up outside or have it somewhere where it can not reach anything but its toys to chew on. Maybe give your dog a little chew treat, or even better, one he has to chew in to get some peanut butter or other food inside. Mental stimulation is key!

- Practice obedience training your dog everyday, and make sure he gets plenty of exercise. This will help stimulate your dog mentally and physically, and thereby reduce its boredom.

- Do not physically punish your dog, as this will only cause more anxiety, and most likely increase his chewing.

- Do not play tug of war or wrestling games with your dog. This will only encourage him to bite and chew - not a good thing!

- Never try to pull a toy from your dogs mouth. Instead, distract him with a treat, and remove the object once he has dropped it. You can also teach him the “Leave” command.

- Ensure that he has plenty of toys to keep him occupied while you are out. You may want to rotate them, for added interest.

- If you think he suffers from any separation anxiety, make your exits very low key, so as to cause as little stress as possible.

For more information on Dog Behavior Problems I suggest you check out this great Dog Training site.

For the house training dogs information, please visit this blog.

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Dog Crate Training Tips

Puppy Training

If you have just brought a new puppy home, getting a dog crate for him will be essential and will serve various purposes. Puppies are too small to adjust to large spaces and they will get easily intimidated by the sheer size of the space around them. Keeping him in a good sized crate will reassure him and help him to cope with the large space that he sees around him.

If you are trying to housebreak your puppy, a large dog crate will serve as an invaluable training tool. Regardless of your puppy’s size and breed, a dog crate is vital for training him. A crate is also very useful if you have a puppy that is naughty and need to contain his excitement. If it gets difficult for you to handle your puppy all you have to do is put him back in his crate and that should help him to relax and calm down. You can also use the wire dog crates if you want to leave your puppy alone for a few hours. A young puppy that has just walked into your house will have a strong tendency to bite and chew onto things and may also soil your carpets. Putting your puppy into the crate before you leave your house is a good way to ensure that your puppy doesn’t get into trouble and doesn’t mess your furniture.

If your dog gets easily distracted, feeding him can be a task because after every few morsels he will go around sniffing and playing. You can use a crate to feed your puppy if he tends to get distracted often. Just place your puppy inside the crate with his feeding bowl so that he can eat in peace.

Here are a few tips that will help you select the perfect dog crate for your puppy

Choosing a crate of the correct size is important if you want to maximize its effectively as a training tool. While choosing a crate for your dog keep his height and width in mind. This is particularly important if you are using the crate to potty train your dog. If the small dog cages is too small it will be uncomfortable for your puppy but if it is too large he will segregate it into two parts and use one area to sleep and the other area as a bathroom. So it’s essential to keep in mind your dog’s size before you buy a crate.

Some puppies tend to grow faster than the others depending on their breed. If you own a puppy of a large breed the best solution for you would be a crate meant for adult dogs that comes with a built in divider. This is also a wonderful choice for larger puppies. The built in dividers help you to manage the space that you allot to your puppy. With the help of the dividers you can give him enough place to lie down comfortable and turn around if he wants to.

Finally if you are using a dog crate you will need to use some kind of bedding on the floor. Many pet owners are dismayed to find their puppy’s using the crate as their bathroom even though the size of the crate is perfect. If you are also encountering a similar situation you may want to take a look at the choice of your bedding. A thick luxurious bedding may look very inviting to your dog to urinate on. Instead go for thinner bedding. Relatively easy to use and inexpensive bedding is a news paper. It is fairly thin so it doesn’t induce a tendency to urinate in your dog and it is also very hygienic because it can be discarded if your dog soils it

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Get Useful Information About Training Your Puppy

Puppy Training

There are as many ways to raise a puppy as there are to raising a child. In fact, one way per family in general! But most of us agree that when it comes to children, certain things are universal and undisputed. Here are three things that a lot of people just do not think of when it comes to raising their dogs, however. How many times have we heard, “My dog just won’t listen to me”, or “He just won’t behave!”

1. Dogs do not understand English until we teach them.

The thing we all love about puppies the most is the way they live for us, the way they focus all they have on us, the way our lives become theirs. in the beginning, they study us to learn our body language, our facial expressions and our language. Until we teach them the English language, it’s all they have. If we say, “Wanna go out?” one day, “Have to go potty?” the next day, and, “Hafta pee?” the third day, if they DO figure out what we want, it is because we have picked up the leash and moved toward the door with a happy face! If you want to speed up his training by three-fold, teach him YOUR language. Pick a command for EACH behavior and stick with it. Tell all in your family to use the same words and commands, and your puppy will amaze you at how much faster he learns.

2. A young puppy’s metabolism is racing along faster than we think.

The younger your puppy is, the faster he is growing, the more food and water he needs to fuel his metabolism, and the more often he has to go potty. Do not punish your puppy when he makes a house-breaking mistake. These are YOUR fault. Your puppy’s age in weeks and his breed size determine how often he must go out. Once an hour is not too often for a large 6-week old puppy, especially if it is summertime. Dogs love the exciting smells outdoors, so there is no excuse to not have him housebroken by 7-8 weeks of age. Right after a nap, after he eats and after grooming are the key times, and he will signal you. If he is happily chewing a toy and gets up suddenly with his nose to the floor, move quickly! And every time he goes potty outside, praise him to high heaven! “What a good BOYY!”, “GOOD go potty!” and the like. Dogs love our happy faces, and they will do anything to get it.

3. Dogs live for our facial expressions and body language.

Because of this, the worst punishment you ever need to give your dog is a scowl and to turn away from him. You can see his tail fall down and his face get so sad. He will learn the lesson, I guarantee it. But his attention span is only 3-5 minutes, so do not scorn him any longer. Love him up and give him your happy face again. Physical punishment is never necessary. Use consistent commands and loving praise and he will know what you want of him before you know. He will become a master of your body language and facial expressions in no time at all.

Naturally there are many aspects of training your puppy well. Loving kindness works just as well for puppies as it does with children, creating a happy, well-adjusted and obedient dog for life. These three important tips, used consistently with confidence, will start him well on his way.

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Want a FREE “5 Dog Training Myths” Report? Visit how to stop a mastiff chewing to find out more!

Make sure you also know these house training dogs tips.

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Precautions Before Adopting A Dog

Advice

From thousand of years humans had a relation with many species of animal and they are sharing bond with each other. Among the animal’s entire dog is the most loyal friend of human from several of years. For survival and protection human and dogs are depended on each other.

If you want to know more information about types of dog breeds, visit this link.

1.When you are adopting a dog first read the policies.

2.Your living style should be matched with your dog, it is very important and main thing which you should be considered at that time.

3.Your dog might need to be trained if he has aggressive nature.

4.Did you have any pet in your house consider it at the time of adopting a dog.

Adopting a dog means you are helping one little soul by giving him shelter. You love your pet and want them to lead a long and healthy life, follow these points to protect their health.

Now a days they are many sites which are providing facility of purchasing dog, if you are confused then no worry. You can check out www.indianpetdogs.com and you can whole packed information about dogs and you can also buy your favorite dog.

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Tricks On Building A crate cover

Advice

Making a personalized custom crate cover for your beloved family dog isn’t as difficult as some people may think. There are many different companies that can provide you with the materials you need to accomplish this, or you can make it even easier on yourself and just purchase everything you need that is custom built for you.

If you desire to make this as simple as possible, then purchasing dog crate covers that are custom built to your specifications is the way to go. By following a few quick and easy steps you will be on your way to creating a beautiful and functional crate cover for your best friend.

A custom built crate cover setup can consist of several parts: a fluffy bottom layer for a bed, an inner liner and a fabric cover that totally blankets the entire metal dog crate. Adding all these individual pieces into one custom crate setup will provide your pet with the ideal combination of comfort and safety.

In order to have your custom built crate cover built, you will have to provide the dimensions of your dog crate to the company you are working with. You will have to provide accurate measurements to ensure a great fit, so be sure to get the precise dimensions of your dog kennel which include the length, the width and the height.

After you have the dimensions, then it is the fun part of the project! You will have the options of choosing from a solid color scheme or from many different patterns. If you plan on placing your dog crate in a place such as your living room you should be able to easily find a color or pattern which compliments your decor nicely.

Once you have settled on a fabric color or pattern, then you can decide on the bedding material for inside the crate. How thick or thin of a custom dog bed do you want? Smaller dogs usually can get by with beds that are thinner the ones that are needed for larger dogs so you can decide accordingly.

An inner liner is always a good thought to add to your custom built dog crate. A waterproof liner set underneath the fluffy dog bed at the base of the crate can help contain any “accidents” that may happen.

Another item to include to your crate setup you may want to consider is a fabric cover for the inner walls of the crate. This provides a softer environment inside the crate for your dog and helps prevent any crate related injuries.

Building or ordering a custom built dog crate cover is not a difficult process. By following these few quick and simple steps you can easily order a custom dog crate that will add to your dog’s enjoyment of life.

For the information about house training dogs - watch this video blog post.

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How To Properly Train a Puppy

Obedience Training

Unless you have a big empty space in your chest that chucks out ice cubes, having to discipline your puppy can be a heart wrenching task! Of course that little puppy is adorable and sweet and he or she is still going to be just as adorable and cute and love you just as much with discipline. Without discipline your adorable puppy will not be such an adorable dog with bad manners and behaviors that are out of control! Discipline is not about putting the absolute fear into them! Discipline is establishing boundries and eliminating bad behaviors in a firm but positive way. While providing tough love, you must start your puppy’s training in those early years! If you want your doggie to look good and stay clean then get some organic dog shampoo and cheap dog clothes to keep your dog fresh and looking really nice.

This is the golden opportunity and if you put it off, then training is going to be more difficult! In just two years, your puppy will be a teenager, and much like human teens without proper guidance and discipline can be troublesome! What is there to do? How do you be firm but still loving to your little puppy? Well by following these easy guidelines you won’t need to scramble for money you don’t have on obedience classes. It is imperative that you teach your dog how to behave during this prime early socialization period. The ages between 3 and 16 weeks is the optimum time for such training. You may need some pet carriers if you travel or walk alot with your puppy.

Another good rule of thumb is to be CONSISTENT! You have to be consistent every time! No falling for the “puppy dog eyes”. Ask yourself these questions: Am I establishing open lines of positive communication between the puppy and myself?, Am I supplying the puppy with the basic necessities of life; good nutrition, sound sleeping quarters, and a clean atmosphere?, Am I setting and maintaining consistent rules and boundaries?

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Getting Your Dog Insured

Health and Safety

Many people would love to get a dog of their own. However the spiraling cost of pet medical care stops them from doing so. If you are a dog owner you will have to come to terms with the fact that eventually your dog may require medical attention even if he is not grievously injured or ill because you may have to take him to the vet for regular check ups. All of this requires money. Fortunately help is at hand. Today many companies offer pet insurances. These are particularly helpful for people who own more than one dog. A pet insurance is akin to buying an insurance policy for human beings. You will have to explore all the options available and read everything given in fine print to find a pet insurance policy that suits your needs

So before you choose a company you may want to get all the information about the products offered by them. A few questions that will help you to get started are-

The first thing that you should find out is if any pre existing medical conditions are exempted from the insurance cover. This is a very important question to ask because if your dog has an injury or a condition related to any preexisting ailment your insurance may not cover it. This means that you will have to pay for it yourself. So it’s important that you inquire about any such clauses in the insurance contract.

Not all insurance companies will have the license required to sell an insurance policy in your state. So before you choose a company, find out if they have the necessary approvals and documents to conduct business in your state. A company that tries to sell you an insurance policy without being authorized to do so is just cheating you out of your money. If your flying with your dog you will need airline dog crates and possibly insurance.

Go for a company that has a solid reputation backing it. A newer company may not be able to offer the features and benefits provided by an experienced older company. You will also have to read the policy to find out the things that the insurance does not cover. Some of the common things that you may find in this category are dealing with endo parasites and heartworm, regular check ups and dental care. This are frequently occurring health needs so it is important for your insurance to cover them. Be sure to view these dog pj’s and dog dress for your doggie.

As far as pet treatment goes, some of the most expensive procedures are CAT scan, reconstructive surgery and bone scan. Make sure that your insurance policy covers all these procedures. If your dog is gravely injured or ill you may have to get one or all of the above procedures done. Also check on your deductibles and find out if there is a cap on any kind of ailment or injury that your dog may have to go through.

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Cats and Dogs - How To Make Them Get Along

Advice

When you first introduce your dog and cat for the first time, more than likely the cat will be the first to run away out of fear. The cat may perceive your dog as a threat. In very few circumstances though, it may be your dog that retreats if you have a small breed dog or a poorly socialized dog. Small dogs that may have had a previous encounter with a cat that went badly will cause him or her to runaway and be fearful of the cat. There are various results in how a dog will behave with the new cat at first introduction. You may need to get some dog accessories to help tame the situation. For some dogs, they may get in a predator-prey kind of mindset, meaning they see the cat as prey. Then you may have a dog that will take a less aggressive approach and just be curious about the cat.

This is tricky though, because this curiosity can either be playful or can turn aggressive depending on how your feline friend reacts to your dog. Your dog may start by playing as it would another dog or puppy but your cat may not interpret this kind of play as harmless friendly behavior. The cat in question may become defensive which can cause your dog to counter with aggression. On the flip side, there are some cats that they fall in love with a dog upon first glance especially if their wearing dog dresses or dog pajamas! It’s true, they are relaxed when the cat is about and view this animal as the ultimate play toy.

In these cases, if the cat reacts the same way towards your dog, your work is done! Unless you are an animal psychic or intune with your animals more than they are, there is no way to predict on how your dog and cat will take to one another. If you are still not sure about how this initial meeting, then follow these rules of engagement! For starters, be aware that the manner in which you introduce your dog and cat can either create a long lasting friendship or it can result in one or both being injured as a result of a fight. Usually it is the cat that is the injured party. It is extremely necessary that you start this introduction slowly-with babysteps.

The success of a friendship of your cat and dog that allows them to co-habitat together in the home, really depends on friendly familiarity! Make sure that when you ready to start the introduction, always be on your best guard for your cat’s safety! Another good guideline is that you should never leave them alone together until they are compatible with one another. When you cannot be there to supervise them, keep them separated in different areas of the home. You are going to feel like a babysitter but hang in there!

It is extremely necessary and crucial to the success of friendship and harmony between your dog and cat that they have you guide them through this process. In truth, however it can take as little as a matter of days to months for them to learn to tolerate each other. What is important that you maintain your patience in this difficult adjustment for both animals and help guide them with the goal being that they will eventually be forever friends!

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