Archive for June, 2009



Tips for Puppy House Training

Tuesday 30 June 2009 @ 7:41 am
by Andyl Hannerl

It is going to be hard to refuse to accept the delightful face staring at you from the kennel at a breeders house ” not until that same pup decides to pee on your carpet. Puppy house training should be the first thing that you should do the moment he comes into your home in order for you to create a proper relationship with your new pup. Just remember that there may be times that doing so can also be a source of frustration to dog owners.

The good news is that there are some tried and true techniques that will have your dog pottying in the appropriate spot quickly and without the headache. Read on for tips for puppy house training that will make the first few weeks with your new pup a little easier to handle.

Crate Training

Crates have become a popular tool in puppy house training today for a number of good reasons. Dogs will generally refuse to go to the bathroom in the area where they sleep, so keeping your pup in a crate for a short period of time will teach him how to hold his urges until he is removed from the confinement. When you take your dog out of the crate, you can take him directly outdoors to do his business. Once he does, you can offer the positive reinforcement that will encourage him to use the backyard the next time around.

Using a crate for puppy house training will also provide a safe, comfortable place for your pet to sleep when you are not available to keep an eye on him. This is particularly useful for times when you will be asleep or away from home.

Puppies that are left to their own devices can often become destructive, so a crate offers an environment where your dog cannot get into trouble or become injured when you are not watching him. Make sure that the initial time spent in the crate is short, and gradually extend the time as your dog gets more comfortable with his surroundings. No dog should be left in a crate for longer than six to eight hours at a stretch.

Cleaning the Messes

When your puppy does have an accident in the house, it is best to ignore the mess rather than put your pup’s nose in it or scold him. Take your puppy outside to show him the proper place to potty and then clean up the mess while your dog is not around to watch you.

It is important to completely eliminate the smell while puppy house training, because a dog will return to the scent to potty again in the same spot. There are very good commercial cleaners on the market today that effectively clean up such messes.

Puppy house training is a process that requires plenty of time and patience, but it is far from impossible. With consistency and the help of a crate, your dog will learn the appropriate place to potty in no time. Puppy house training is the first step in raising a dog that is a pleasure to his entire family.

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Tips for Jack Russell Training

Tuesday 30 June 2009 @ 4:25 am
by Andyl Hannerl

Another popular choice for a family pet is the Jack Russell terrier. Not only are they the family pet choice, they are also the breed of choice in television and movies. This type of dog may be tiny, but it has a mighty will and tendency is, if its not properly trained, he will run your household.

Once youve decided to have this type of breed as a pet, make sure that he goes through the Jack Russell training to make sure that he knows that you are the head of the house.

As usual, training should begin the moment your puppy comes home from its breeder and this should continue when the dog learns to obey commands that are basic and learn how to treat his new family with respect. The tips that you will see here for Jack Russell training will ensure that your dog will give happiness to your family.

Be Consistent

The Jack Russell terrier is a very intellectual animal but they have such attitude that can be a setback during the Jack Russell training. They usually rebel against their owner even after theyve already learned the rules of the house. And this is the reason why you will need to be very consistent with your terrier. Make sure that you give him a firm reprimand when he breaks rules and give him praises when he follows your instructions.

Although training them will take more of your time and patience, they will most likely submit to their owners authority. You just need to bear in mind that the house rules must be consistent to keep your dog in line.

Natural Instincts

This type of breed has the instincts to hunt. And there will be times that if they see your family cat they will be provoked to attack it. There will also be times that he will take off his yard if he smells something interesting. These are things that are not trainable and will need the owners precautionary measures to keep them in control. This would mean keeping your dog on a leash when walking them and making sure that they are very confined when at home or when they are left on the yard.

Since these dogs can be diggers, it is a good idea to check the perimeter of your yard from time to time to make sure your pup is not creating his own escape route. It is also not a good idea to have a Jack Russell in the same house as cats or small pets like gerbils, since there is no guarantee that your dog will not decide to “hunt” your other pets on occasion.

Jack Russell training can take a bit more time and patience than training other types of dogs, but the rewards in a well behaved animal can be great. These small dogs are loaded with personality and intelligence, and most are fiercely loyal to their owners. With the proper Jack Russell training, your little terrier can entertain and delight your family for many years to come.

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Learn More About Dog Allergies With Our Tips

Monday 29 June 2009 @ 8:10 am
by Jamie Eve

Dog allergies result in uncontrollable itching, and forcing the dog to lick and scratch himself until sores develop on his body. These sores can grow to be infected, accumulate pus and become very agonizing. With persistent attacks, some dogs eventually end up with their hair falling out. By giving regular bath to the dog with cold water and shampoo, this allergy can be arrested.

Some dogs experience watery eyes which has home remedy. Cotton ball, some boric acid, ophthalmic solution, some Visine moisturizing eye drops and a wash cloth would be adequate. Wet the cotton ball in the boric acid solution, and with very light strokes, wipe across the centre of the eye from the inner corner to the outer corner along the eye lids when they are closed. This will lessen the suffering.

Common Labrador allergic diseases are ear infection. Ear infections will make the dog miserable. What makes this worse is that dogs have a heightened sense of hearing and an untreated ear infection can cause hearing loss. The finest way to circumvent Labrador allergies that result in ear infections is to dry the dog’s ears after bathing and frequently clean its ears with a cleaning solution in consultation with a veterinarian.

Some dogs suffer from skin atrophy as well. The skin is almost affected more badly than muscle. Symptoms are reddening, hair loss, blisters, and skin ulceration. Slowly, the affected skin becomes scarred. Treatment can be given by a composition comprising at least one thyroid hormone compound together with a pharmacologically adequate base suite for topical purpose. Faces get swollen due to infection, allergic reaction, acetaminophen toxicity, hematoma, cancer, muscle inflammation. Countless dogs with allergies rub their faces on the ground after eating, grind their feet, rub themselves along fence or will roll on rough ground to scratch their backs. As a result of the allergy, they may also develop bacterial or yeast infections of the skin. Such skin allergies can be naturally cured. Feed the puppy a nutritious diet and practice an exercise program apt for the dog.

Few important oils which are prescribed for such allergies are Bergamot for ear infections; Carrot Seed for dry, flaky, sensitive skin which is prone to infection; Cedarwood for skin and coat conditioning and dermatitis of all types; Chamomile for skin irritations, allergic reactions, burns; Clary Sage for nerve calming and nervous system sedation; Geranium for skin irritations, fungal ear infections; Ginger for motion sickness, aids digestion; Lavender for many common animal ailments; Helichrysum for healing of scars and bruises and effective for pain relief; Niaouli for ear infections and skin problems caused by allergies; Peppermint for arthritis, dysplasia, sprains and strains.

Most of the pet danders set in motion allergies and asthma, leaving no breed completely safe. All dogs create dander, yet there are some breeds which create less than others. Miniature Schnauzers are affected by sick sinus syndrome. Fainting is the main symptom. It is characterized by sinoatrial node dysfunction and often includes atrioventricular node disease and bundle branch block. The major sign is fainting. There are four types of dog allergies. These include airborne allergies (atopy), flea allergies, food allergies and contact allergies.

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Tips To A Successful Dog Training

Saturday 27 June 2009 @ 7:25 am
by Andyl Hannerl

To transform a puppy into an obedient dog that your whole family will appreciate is by using proper dog training techniques. Dogs, like kids, need to know and understand the rules of the house and will need to respect their owners.

A lot of pet owners fall in love with a scruffy, cute face puppy at the pet store or the breeders only to be disappointed when this little puppy bites on the house furniture and makes the carpet their rest room. While a lot of puppies have different styles of getting in trouble, what a responsible owner must do is to use up a lot of his time and tolerance to raise that little pup in to an obedient dog who will give joy to all. It is in this article that you will be provided with some basic dog training techniques to help you and your pup develop a joyful relationship.

Making The Rules

First thing that you need to do in training dogs is making the house rules. The sooner you start, the more successful your training is going to be. This just means that if you wont let your seventy pound hop on your bed at night, your ten pound puppy should not be an exception, not even once.

You can never say that it is too early to train your pup to not go near your furniture or not jump on your guests. Before taking your pup home, help your family understand and make them prepared to enforce the rules that you want your dog to follow and obey.

Being Consistent

As soon as rules have been set, you as the owner and the trainer will have to have the consistency in enforcing your own rules. A sharp NO! and a proper behavior should be given to your puppy if he breaks any of your house rules.

This goes to all aspects of dog training which would include house breaking and shoe chewing instead of him chewing on his toy. Like children, dogs learn the rules fastest when they are imposed without failure. The problem that an owner would encounter is the time and the patience spent on being consistent. However, being consistent in dog training will not only save your time and effort but your shoes as well.

Give Positive Rewards

When your dog follows the rule effectively, always reward him for his good behavior. To produce your desired results in dog training, use more of the positive reinforcement more often than using punishments. At the start of the process, you might want to use edible treats as rewards. As soon as your dog gets the hand of the process, you can then opt to praising and giving positive attention when your dog obeys your commands. Providing positive reinforcement consistently will make your puppy learn that it is to his benefit to listen and obey your command.

Dog training is not going to be hard to do but it takes a lot of patience, consistency and time to produce desirable results. In the long run, you will realize that the time you exert in training will be worth it and you will end up with a dog that will be very much enjoyed by your family and your guests.

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Ouch! Training a Puppy to Stop Biting

Saturday 27 June 2009 @ 1:48 am
by Andyl Hannerl

Taking home a new puppy is going to be an exciting new quest that will also bring a lot of responsibility in rearing the puppy and providing it with proper training. The moment the dog comes home, training should start immediately although this is the time when the owner is still enjoying the cute little pup. The owner must just keep in mind that everything he does will create an impact on the behavior of the puppy and will carry this on even when he is already an adult.

Same with the other dog training, puppy training should have the consistency all throughout so that behaviors that are acceptable for you will also be acceptable for other people that will be coming into your home. Make sure that you do not confuse your dogs with the behaviors that he can or cant have with you and other people. Whatever behavior is unacceptable to other people should be the same with you.

Biting

A usual issue that has to be prevented through training is biting. Puppies like to bite because they are still trying to explore their world and sadly, people at times get the burden of this attention.

Never ever hit or slap a puppy while training it to stop biting as they might take it as though you are playing with it. Leave the roughhousing to dogs.

One way to train the puppy to stop biting is to refuse to play aggressive games with it such as tug of war, chase or wrestling. Although these activities are fun for dog and owner, they encourage aggressive behavior which is not acceptable for the dog to exhibit with all humans that come into the home.

One of the best ways to train a puppy not to bite is to let out a sharp “Ouch!” whenever the puppy tries to bite and then removing eye contact and turning the back to the puppy. This is the same method that dogs use with each other, letting the other dog know that it hurt and they are not going to play that way.

This is one method that uses negative reinforcement in training the puppy so that he would know that when he bites, it will not be given the attention that its asking for. When the puppy calms down and does not bite, this is the time that the owner should praise him and give him the attention so that the appropriate behavior is reinforced.

If and when the puppy bites down on the hand, the owner should place a finger inside the mouth of the pup and let it stay under the tongue holding down the bottom jaw for about ten seconds. Make sure that the pressure is firm enough so that the pup cannot run away for the whole ten seconds. This will show the puppy that he will be given a negative reinforcement and that the behavior he did is unacceptable.

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